I am not sure how big the base is, but it started for me about 25 years ago. A local company called 'Delve' would sign up people to be in their database, and they would call me a few times a month to ask questions, and if I qualified, I would go to their offices to be on a focus group panel. Pay ranged from ~$50-$150 for an hour or 2 of providing opinions. In some cases they would send you products to try at home then come in and talk about them. It was a pretty sweet deal, I was working PT as I had young kids at home so a little extra cash was nice. Over time, Delve got bought by a bigger company, and then a bigger company bought them, and everything started just being online. Rare to get an in person cash offer, mostly it was points for online surveys that you could turn into cash, and it only netted a couple of hundred a year or so. But I do survey work from time time in my business, so I stayed plugged in as it was just interesting to me. The latest iteration was called 'Knowledge Panel' (which I still see in some methodology footnotes as the database they used) but that was I think it was either bought or partners with Ipsos. Started feeling uncomfortable with the idea that they asked a lot more personal questions and no longer made responses optional so I bailed, but my hubby still does them. He gets political surveys from time to time and I look over his shoulder at the questions. But I do answer phone surveys that randomly come in, they are mostly for local and state candidates, and they ask demographic info at the end so when it gets to the income part I hang up. None of their business.
Wow, this is educational as I never knew about this survey things and that lots of people participate
I am not sure how big the base is, but it started for me about 25 years ago. A local company called 'Delve' would sign up people to be in their database, and they would call me a few times a month to ask questions, and if I qualified, I would go to their offices to be on a focus group panel. Pay ranged from ~$50-$150 for an hour or 2 of providing opinions. In some cases they would send you products to try at home then come in and talk about them. It was a pretty sweet deal, I was working PT as I had young kids at home so a little extra cash was nice. Over time, Delve got bought by a bigger company, and then a bigger company bought them, and everything started just being online. Rare to get an in person cash offer, mostly it was points for online surveys that you could turn into cash, and it only netted a couple of hundred a year or so. But I do survey work from time time in my business, so I stayed plugged in as it was just interesting to me. The latest iteration was called 'Knowledge Panel' (which I still see in some methodology footnotes as the database they used) but that was I think it was either bought or partners with Ipsos. Started feeling uncomfortable with the idea that they asked a lot more personal questions and no longer made responses optional so I bailed, but my hubby still does them. He gets political surveys from time to time and I look over his shoulder at the questions. But I do answer phone surveys that randomly come in, they are mostly for local and state candidates, and they ask demographic info at the end so when it gets to the income part I hang up. None of their business.
I’ve participated in those too, though not recently.