Ipsos Update - December 2019 (EN)

New technology is already disrupting the way we drive. Our new white paper on the future of mobility presents the latest consumer thinking in 10 countries on the key mobility trends: autonomous driving, electrification and shared mobility. It finds broad acceptance of new forms of mobility, but questions remain open. Prospects for autonomous driving are held back by safety concerns, and shared mobility still has a way to go before becoming a mainstream option. Meanwhile, there is strong support for electric vehicles worldwide, but people are less convinced charging technology.

Indeed, electric vehicle charging suffers the lowest rating of all infrastructure sectors globally, according to our 2019 Infrastructure Index across 28 countries. Overall, 37% say they are satisfied with their country’s infrastructure, but there are differences by country and between sectors. This year, local road networks have been displaced by solar infrastructure as the top priority area of investment. And for future infrastructure planning, the public think that ‘environmental impact’ and ‘quality’ are the most important considerations.

Our Throwaway World survey finds that consumers calling for action to tackle the mounting challenge of plastics and packaging waste. In this new research on the topic, 7 in 10 people around the world say single-use plastics should be banned and 8 in 10 believe manufacturers should be obliged to improve recycling and reuse of the packaging that they produce.

Turning to our two-part survey in 24 countries on world affairs, the first finds that 8 in 10 people think the world has become more dangerous in the past year, particularly those in Latin America. It explores people’s views on the greatest global threats today and levels of public confidence in their governments to provide security and protection from them.

The second part explores the question of influence in the current and future world order and finds our global respondents are split on whether the US or China’s economic and political model is best. Canada comes out top in terms of perceived positive influence on world affairs, followed by France and Germany.

We present Ipsos’ view on online sampling in our new white paper, which focuses on how to ensure quality throughout the process and the challenges and pitfalls of an increasingly complex online environment. It argues that, as sampling is the foundation of the data and insights that influence big decisions, expert handling is essential for reliable and accurate results.

What helps and hinders gender equality? Our 26-country study finds a number of issues cited in different countries, but overall, employers not addressing the gender pay gap emerges as the top barrier to achieving women’s equality. There are some marked differences in perceptions on what it takes for men and women to succeed at work, with ‘intelligence’, ‘confidence’ and ‘never giving up’ considered more important for women than for men.