A happy and surprised client
What surprises and delights your customers?
Normal oranges with one unique pink orange
What consistently makes your product or brand unique and innovative?
Using a card to pay for services online
Who is stealing your share of the customer wallet and why?
Checking the price on a product
How do your customers see you? What are your brands biggest challenges?

Our Story

Global Consumer Research is a bespoke, independent customer research consultancy, managed by Deirdre and Matthew Randall where every project is customised to yield maximum return in customer information, knowledge and wisdom. 

It’s crucial to listen to customers: make customers’ wishes realities and to exceed their expectations. We need to know what customers desire before they even know it themselves, so that when they see a product or service, they think ‘that’s exactly what I need.’

We've summed up our interaction with customers into the 3 R's of consumer research:
1= Respect +2 = Recognition + 3 = Results.
This provides 'Return' for our clients as their customers 'return too' and they gain new ones!

Our Edge

Icon of hands around a group of people

We treat customers as individuals with emotions, needs, wants, rational & irrational behaviour rather than as data, by looking at the emotional spectrum which drives their behaviour.

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Our clients are intuitive. They have an excellent idea of what customers would like. We use their instincts. We take their ideas and shape them so the product works amongst all customer segments, without compromising on the value of the brand or the brand signature.

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Our years of experience in interacting with customers & our psychological background has contributed to providing meaningful and intuitive analysis in defining customer preferences and shifts which inform brand and retail strategies.

Forging relationships icon

We forge relationships so that we find out not only what customers do/want but the thought which goes into their decisions - the why? We then translate this into strategic intent.

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Culture is fluid and constantly adapting to change. We keep in touch with the ever changing needs of customers which impact on product development, so that customers view upgrades as a nudge (which is less jarring) & seamless than dramatic change.

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Passion > purpose > interpret > actionable results > delivery > on time!

Our Services and Methods​

Building Customer Panels & Insight communities

in-store intercepts

Synopsis of trending
customer conversations

Tracker + Deep dive/dip stick
online surveys

Skype/WhatsApp/Zoom focus groups

Home product taste trials

Patient satisfaction surveys for medical practices (e.g. Optometrists, Physio's, etc.)

Customer focus groups,
customer interaction

Client satisfaction surveys

Walk the Talk customer floor walks

Our Clients

What our Clients Say:

I have worked with some of the world's leading retail brands and must say that Deirdre Randall  is brilliant when it comes to analysing, interpreting and presenting customer data to make it relevant for a retail business.  She is a proven professional and one who I would highly recommend.

Andrew Jennings
Andrew Jennings
Formerly CEO of many of the world’s retail brands |Global Retail Advisor | Board Member | Chairman. Author of ‘Almost Is Not Good Enough – How to win or lose in Retail.

Deirdre has developed a unique Food Innovation Customer panel which contributes to research.  Her work involves constant interaction with customers with whom she develops strong relationships based on integrity.  Deirdre is professional in designing research methodology, the implementation thereof and delivery. She contributes much to food product development, innovation, sustainability & communication. A  remarkable lady in many ways!

Simon Susman
Simon Susman
President: Woolworths Holdings Limited

I have worked with Deirdre for over 20 years both in the UK and in the South African premium food retail market. She has provided a consistently outstanding consumer insight service for multiple product areas of the business. The research is customised for each brief and delivered to schedule in an easy to understand and use format. The reports equip the teams with essential background customer insight to enable better informed decisions. Deirdre continues to refine and develop her research options and it is a pleasure to have her insight capabilities available for the team. 

Cathy Chapman
Cathy Chapman
Director of Food Product Development and Direction Marks & Spencer

I have worked with Global Consumer Research on many occasions over the years. As new food industries have presented potential opportunities GCR have played a valuable role in defining consumer preferences and shifts which have informed our brand and retail strategies. Their professionalism and intuitive insights have proven invaluable. 

Judy Sendzul
Judy Sendzul
Senior Executive, Invenfin Foods

GCR's knowledge and excellent ability to understand and interpret food customers needs and trends  make their service in qualitative customer research extremely valuable to any major food retailer or manufacturer. Having worked on many projects with Global, I am pleased to be able to call on their experience and insights when deciding on how best to meet our customers needs. 

Trudie van Niekerk
Trudie van Niekerk
Senior Product developer. Marks and Spencer

I worked with Deirdre extensively over a long period of time. She was wonderful to work with. She has a magical way with people, they literally 'eat out of her hand' as she engages with them on customer research. She is always efficient, timeous and very organised and an asset to have in one's team. 

Nicki Russell
Nicki Russell
Head of Innovation & Trend, Pick n Pay

I was very fortunate to work with Global Consumer Research early on in my career. Besides being very professional and always meeting commitments, Deirdre was always very generous in sharing her vast knowledge of consumer behaviour and market research with me. I have found this fundamental knowledge of market research invaluable in the rest of my career. Deirdre does not only do survey research and conduct focus groups but also utilises many years of retail experience as the context for her findings and this combination delivers truly actionable insights. It has been a great privilege working with GCR and I look forward to future collaboration. 

Wayne Idas
Wayne Idas
Client Analytics Manager: Old Mutual

They don't make them like Deirdre anymore! Her unwavering passion for customers and customer satisfaction mixed with a dose of reality and a great sense of humour is what sets her apart from the rest of the pack. A classy lady who says it as it is and just gets it done. A pleasure to work with. 

Harry Azima
Harry Azima
Director of hospitality, S.U.A

I had the privilege of working with Global Consumer Research on several projects. They are  professional at executing their work and the attention to detail and their reports are outstanding. Furthermore, they have the ability to under-promise and over-deliver. This is a reflection of their level of commitment to the assignments they complete with absolute precision. Deirdre and Matthew are well respected and honoured for their professional ability whilst at the same time able to work with people at all levels of society with a true understanding of psychology and consumer purchasing behaviour. 

Lyn Brandon-Podd Render
Lyn Brandon-Podd Render
Retail & Business Analyst. Change in Action.

Our Work

Our Team, Associates & Business Partners

Deirdre Randall

Deirdre Randall

CEO/Senior Researcher
Matthew Randall

Matthew Randall

MD/Senior Researcher
Lauren Henderson

Lauren Henderson

Cape Town Team Leader
Erika van Heerden

Erika van Heerden

Customer Focus Group Support
Mpho Mpofu

Mpho Mpofu

Senior Qualitative Researcher
Caroline Allen

Caroline Allen

Senior Qualitative Researcher
Pueta Radebe

Pueta Radebe

Field Researcher
Glen Alexander

Glen Alexander

Field Researcher
Thembi Dube

Thembi Dube

Field Researcher
Suzan Losaba

Suzan Losaba-Mabitsi

Data Analysis
Natassia Cruz

Natassia Cruz

Data Analysis
Danika Corral

Danika Corral

Data Analysis
Tanya Fourie

Tanya Fourie

Account Manager
Busi Ntshangase

Busi Ntshangase

Business Reports
Mandla Luvengo

Mandla Luvengo

IT Support
Flip Jones

Flip Jones

Videographer
Lauren Kruger

Lauren kruger

Multi-Channel Designer