Research Where
the Decisions
Get Made.
SIS International runs primary market research across every US state and Canadian province with native field teams, owned focus group facilities in New York City, and bilingual panels for English, Spanish, and French-Canadian fieldwork. Not remote dispatching. Researchers on the ground, in the market, speaking the language.
North America Market Research That Survives Scrutiny
Most North America market research fails at the same point: the gap between what respondents say in a survey and what they actually do in a store, a boardroom, or a browser. SIS International closes that gap by pairing quantitative instruments with ethnographic observation, shopper intercepts, and in-depth qualitative probing conducted by field teams who live in the markets they study.
The US and Canada present distinct regulatory, cultural, and competitive structures. A pharmaceutical launch strategy built on FDA approval timelines operates differently from one navigating Health Canada’s Drug Submission process. Buy American procurement rules shape B2B industrial purchasing in ways that don’t apply north of the border. CUSMA (formerly NAFTA) trade provisions create cross-border supply chain dynamics that surface in everything from automotive sourcing to agricultural commodity pricing. Our North America practice accounts for these structural differences at the research design stage, not as an afterthought in the analysis deck.
SIS has conducted primary research in North America for over four decades. Ruth Stanat founded the firm in New York, and our headquarters remain here. The institutional knowledge of how US and Canadian markets operate is not something we outsource. It is the foundation of every study we design.
All 50 States. Every Vertical.
From executive IDIs with procurement VPs at industrial manufacturers in the Midwest to shopper intercept studies at mass-market retail in the Southeast, SIS fields quantitative and qualitative research across the full US geography. Our US practice covers CATI and CAWI fielding, in-person ethnographic research, product concept testing at our New York CLT facility, and win/loss analysis for enterprise technology sales cycles. We navigate FTC disclosure requirements, CCPA data privacy compliance in California, and SEC-adjacent research protocols for financial services clients.
Explore US Coverage
Every Province. Both Languages.
Canada’s market research challenges go beyond translation. Québec’s consumer behavior operates within a distinct cultural framework that surfaces in brand perception, media consumption, and purchasing triggers. Our Canadian practice fields French-Canadian focus groups with native Québécois moderators, bilingual CAWI instruments validated through cognitive debriefing, and B2B interviews across the Toronto financial corridor and Vancouver’s technology sector. We handle PIPEDA data privacy requirements, CFIA food and beverage regulatory contexts, and the provincial licensing variations that shape healthcare and pharmaceutical fieldwork across Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Explore Canada CoverageWhat This Looks Like in Practice
Three recent engagements that illustrate how SIS fieldwork in North America translates directly into client decisions.
A European Consumer Electronics Firm Entering the US Market
The client assumed US consumers would respond to the same product positioning that worked in Germany. SIS ran 12 ethnographic in-home studies across four metro areas and 800-respondent conjoint analysis. The research revealed that US buyers weighted after-sale service reputation over technical specifications, a pattern invisible in their European data. The client restructured its US launch messaging around warranty and support infrastructure.
A Mid-Cap Pharma Company Evaluating Biosimilar Competitive Threat
With three biosimilar entrants approaching FDA approval, the client needed to understand payer switching behavior and formulary positioning dynamics before the first competitor launched. SIS conducted 18 structured IDIs with pharmacy benefit managers and hospital formulary committee members, triangulated with secondary analysis of CMS reimbursement data. The research identified that mid-tier health plans were likely to switch faster than large national plans due to rebate structure differences.
A Japanese Industrial Components Manufacturer Assessing US Distribution
The manufacturer’s US distributor relationships were deteriorating, but internal sales data could not explain why. SIS designed a Voice of the Customer program with 25 distributor IDIs and an online quantitative survey of 200 channel partners. The research surfaced that distributors were frustrated by lead times that had increased post-CUSMA tariff reclassification, not by pricing. The client restructured its North American warehousing to cut fulfillment cycles rather than reduce margins.
What Separates Our
North America Practice
Six structural advantages that protect data quality and deliver research your leadership team will trust enough to act on.
SIS operates its own focus group and CLT facilities in New York City. Clients sit behind the glass, observe in real time, and redirect probing mid-session. No third-party facility broker. No scheduling queue. This is where we run taste tests, packaging evaluations, and concept screens for brands that need controlled test environments without outsourced logistics.
Our B2B respondent panels are verified by employer, title, purchasing authority, and professional credential. Digital fingerprinting prevents duplicate participation. This matters most in niche verticals like medical devices, industrial automation, and enterprise SaaS, where a single fraudulent respondent can distort a 20-person IDI program.
Bilingual research in North America fails when a firm translates an English instrument and hands it to a Spanish or French speaker. We conduct cognitive debriefing and cultural adaptation of scales and stimuli before fielding. Our Hispanic market moderators in Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles understand regional dialect differences. Our Québécois moderators are native to the province.
Running the same survey in the US and Canada and calling it “North America research” ignores regulatory divergence (FDA vs. Health Canada), trade policy (CUSMA rules of origin), and cultural response norms. We design instruments that enable cross-border comparability without flattening the structural differences that drive distinct market behavior.
Ethnographic in-home observation. Shopper intercepts. CATI and CAWI quantitative fielding. Conjoint analysis. Win/loss interviews. Central location product testing. We select the method that fits the research question, not the method that fits our operational convenience. Most North America projects combine two or three approaches.
CCPA in California, PIPEDA in Canada, FTC endorsement guidelines, SEC quiet-period restrictions for financial research, HIPAA considerations in healthcare studies. We manage compliance at the design stage so your legal team reviews a clean protocol, not a remediation plan.
What Does Your
Next Study Require?
Tell us the market, the vertical, the decision timeline, and the respondent profile. Our North America team will scope the right fieldwork design for the question you need answered.
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