Emerging markets — from Southeast Asia to Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa to the MENA region — are where tomorrow’s growth stories are unfolding. These regions represent rising consumer power, young populations, rapid digitization, and a growing middle class. For global brands and investors, the potential is undeniable.
Yet tapping into these opportunities requires more than ambition — it demands local insight, cultural sensitivity, and methodological flexibility. At Market Delvers, we’ve conducted fieldwork and panel studies across dozens of emerging markets, and we’ve learned that while these geographies are rich in opportunity, they come with unique research challenges.
Here, we share real-world perspectives on conducting successful research in emerging markets — and the best practices we rely on to get it right.
While online surveys are the default in many developed countries, internet access and smartphone penetration remain uneven across emerging economies — especially in rural or low-income populations.
How we address it: We use mixed-mode research designs — combining CATI (telephone), in-person interviews, and mobile-optimized surveys based on regional access. For example, in rural Indonesia or Eastern India, CATI often yields better data than online-only approaches.
Direct translations don’t always capture meaning. In multilingual societies like India, Nigeria, or Egypt, literal translations can miss idiomatic meaning, introduce bias, or create respondent fatigue.
Our approach: We work with native-speaking linguists and local moderators to ensure that survey wording feels natural. Pre-testing and cultural adaptation are standard in our questionnaire design process — especially for sensitive topics like health, finances, or gender norms.
Reliable, representative online panels are limited or nonexistent in many Tier-2/Tier-3 cities or rural areas — especially for niche groups like small business owners, specialized healthcare professionals, or lower-income consumers.
What we do: We build access through local recruitment partners, offline-to-online strategies, and community referrals. In MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, we often combine digital targeting with on-ground outreach to reach real, engaged respondents.
Data privacy laws are evolving rapidly in emerging markets, and research approvals can be complex — particularly in health and financial domains.
Our standard: We ensure GDPR-like compliance, secure data handling, and clear respondent consent across all markets. We also partner with local legal advisors when required (e.g., for ethics approvals in Latin America or health studies in North Africa).
We collaborate with vetted local fieldwork partners who understand regional context — from recruitment to moderating. This helps us ensure cultural accuracy, logistical efficiency, and trusted access to hard-to-reach audiences.
Example: In Kenya, we worked with Nairobi-based healthcare recruiters to conduct qualitative IDIs with oncology specialists, achieving a 93% participation rate in a 10-day field window.
Rigid research templates often fail in emerging contexts. We tailor every study based on literacy levels, tech access, and market maturity — whether that means using audio-assisted surveys, WhatsApp-based recruitment, or tablet-based CAPI in rural interviews.
Example: In rural Peru, we used a combination of tablet-based interviews and community intercepts to gather consumer data on nutritional products, adapting language to Quechua in some areas.
For qualitative work, moderator quality is paramount. We deploy trained, native-speaking moderators who understand social norms, power dynamics, and linguistic subtleties — ensuring that respondents open up and insights run deep.
Example: In Saudi Arabia, our female moderators were key to running focus groups with young women on skincare routines — a group less likely to speak freely with male facilitators.
Emerging markets can pose data integrity risks — from rushed fieldwork to fraudulent responses. We mitigate this with:
Conducting research in emerging markets requires patience, adaptability, and deep local intelligence. At Market Delvers, we combine global quality standards with on-ground agility to deliver insights you can trust — even in the most complex environments.
Whether you’re expanding into new regions, launching a localized product, or tracking consumer shifts across borders, we help you get closer to the market realities that matter.
Clients choose us for our proven track record, tailored methodologies, and global reach—with research spanning 50+ countries. Backed by advanced tools and strict quality controls, we maintain a 97%+ client retention rate. Our verified global panel and agile execution enable us to handle both quick-turn projects and complex multi-market studies.
At Market Delvers, we’re more than just a vendor—we’re your research partner. Let’s turn data into decisions that drive real impact.
