Market research is an essentially social activity when it requires primary data collection among consumers. While much publicity on the effects of SARS in China has been focused on the airline, health-care, tourism, and restaurant industries, secondary effects are wide ranging.

These include initially less obvious targets such as seafood sellers in Australia who report plummeting prices as the normally high-spending Hong Kong buyers absent themselves from fish markets while dining out in Hong Kong becomes almost non-existent. In the domestic Australian market today, a coral trout usually priced at around $25 USD per kilo can be had for less than half that amount.

Yet it is in China and Hong Kong where SARS is changing working and personal lives of almost all and constitutes a threat significantly greater than to any other population center or economy.

Today Beijing, China's bustling capital city, along with the whole Shanxi province and Toronto in Canada were added to the WHO list of centres with strong travel advisories due to the prevalence of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in each place.

Today also, Beijing's railway station was thronging with people vacating the city, and perhaps even spreading the virus to other parts of China.

In the meantime, as reported in our earlier item on SARS strikes market research in Asia, the SARS virus continues to force major changes to the administration of market research in perhaps the world's most exciting consumer market.

One of our sources, a managing director of a major research agency located in Beijing reported that almost all ongoing research within his company had been postponed. His communication follows:

"...As you might have already aware the SARS situation in Beijing is getting serious. In Beijing, everyone seems to be in a panic at present and are starting to store food, hence the supermarkets have already depleted their stocks of detergent, salt, soy sauce etc. The Chinese Labour Day holiday will start from 1st May until 6th of May which means in this period we are unlikely to conduct any interviews. The holiday has been curtailed by the government, but most people will stay indoors and at home during this period, holiday or not. As far as I understand some of the international market research companies in Beijing have either closed down or are only operating at 50%, which means employees are working in shifts with the rest staying at home until the 6th of May.

The following procedures are now in force...

• The office is to remain open at reduced capacity with a receptionist and representative personnel from each department to monitor the telephones and any visitors. All other staff are to work from home, with regular telephone conferences. This is to remain in force until at least the end of the May holiday period.
• Working hours start from 10:30am and ends at 7:00pm for employees to avoid peak traffic hours.
• Until further notice there is to be no visitors to the office, except for purposes of an obviously important business nature.
• Until further notice there are to be no visits outside the office for business.
• There is to be no delivery of food (lunch boxes) to the office until further notice. All food is to be brought from home or provided by the company.
• Provide employees with Chinese herbal medicine and detergent to wash hands as well as masks to reduce the possibility of getting the disease.



• All windows must be opened at all time to allow air circulation
• All questionnaires delivered to clients at this time will be disinfected.