Audience research
Part of Researching social commerce buyers by interviewing the transaction, not the ideal self
Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Jisc or Typeform for social commerce research? Governance first
Compare Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Jisc Online Surveys and Typeform for social commerce research, with cost, data checks, UK GDPR duties and a worked scoring example.
Four general-purpose tools are common choices for social commerce research: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Jisc Online Surveys and Typeform. A merchant asking why UK customers abandon a social referral needs branching, anonymous access, raw export and controlled retention. This article compares the four on those needs, then covers the UK data-protection duties that decide the choice.
The comparison uses each supplier's public description, checked in October 2026. Features, prices and terms change, so confirm them with the supplier before collecting personal data.
What to take away
- Choose a survey tool by your research protocol and existing governance, not by a universal best label.
- Google Forms and Microsoft Forms suit teams already running those suites. Typeform suits short mobile surveys. Jisc Online Surveys is built for education and research bodies, so most retailers cannot buy it.
- Tool features do not make a sample representative; recruitment, eligibility, wording and exclusions do.
- Under UK GDPR you need a lawful basis, minimal data and a written processor contract before launch.
- Archive a blank questionnaire, branching map, invitation text and data dictionary before launch.
Side-by-side comparison
- Google Forms:free with a Google account, and also included in Google Workspace plans. Supports logic from earlier answers, sharing by link or social media, and export to Google Sheets. Check the Workspace data-region settings and the account type respondents must use.
- Microsoft Forms:included in Microsoft 365 plans. Supports branching, multilingual forms and Excel export. Check external-respondent settings and tenant data location with your administrator.
- Jisc Online Surveys:a subscription service for UK education and research institutions, with routing, piping and access control. Price and eligibility come from Jisc, so a commercial retailer may be unable to buy it.
- Typeform:conditional logic and branded, one-question-at-a-time forms. Paid plans are priced in US dollars and capped by monthly responses. The Basic plan listed 100 responses a month when checked. Ask where responses are stored.
Other products exist. SurveyMonkey is a general-purpose survey service with paid tiers, and Qualtrics is an enterprise research platform sold by quotation. Both need the same governance checks.
Tools built for social shops
If the question is "how did you hear about us?" after a purchase, a post-purchase survey app may fit better than a form. Fairing and KnoCommerce are Shopify apps that put a short survey on the thank-you page after checkout and tie each answer to an order. Zigpoll is another option. Check current prices and data terms in the Shopify App Store.
The comparison criteria
Apply the same questions to each candidate: Can an external participant respond? Does the product describe conditional routes? Can analysts export raw answers? Who administers access? What documentation will the organisation need to review for storage, security, deletion and subprocessors?
Prototype before comparing services
- Build five-question prototype
- Include hardest route and screening
- Add an early exit
- Export the answers
- Inspect missing values
- Distinguish skipped from blank
Five questions to prototype
- Can an external participant respond?
- Does the product describe conditional routes?
- Can analysts export raw answers?
- Who administers access?
- What documentation is needed for review?
Before comparing services, build a five-question prototype containing the hardest route, including screening and an early exit. Export the answers and confirm that analysts can tell a skipped question from a displayed question left blank. That tests the data structure the team will analyse. It does not prove reliability at scale.
Google Forms
Google Forms' official product page describes several question types and logic from earlier answers. It describes sharing by email or social media, website embedding, automatic charts and export to Google Sheets.
Google Forms at a glance
| Google Forms | |
|---|---|
| Question types | Several types |
| Logic | From earlier answers |
| Sharing | Email, social, embed |
| Export | Google Sheets |
| Fit | Governed Workspace teams |
It suits a team that already governs Google Workspace and needs straightforward collection. For a customer survey, set it to accept anonymous responses and avoid attaching account identity unless it is necessary. Verify that your account, settings and agreement meet your requirements, rather than treating a product-page statement as approval.
Microsoft Forms
Microsoft's Forms page describes browser and device access, multilingual support, branching questions, real-time charts and Excel export. It links the product to Microsoft 365 plans, so it fits organisations that already manage that environment. That does not establish data location or policy compliance for a particular tenant.
Before selection, test external-participant settings in a non-production form and have the administrator document ownership, access and deletion.
Jisc Online Surveys
Jisc's own description positions the service for education and research institutions and lists question formats, piping, routing, access control and email distribution. Eligibility and licence fit therefore need checking before a commercial retailer assumes it can buy the service.
It fits where an eligible research partner, such as a university running a consumer study with you, needs structured routing and institutional administration. Review the applicable agreement and current support materials for the purchasing decision.
Typeform
The official Typeform survey page describes several question types, conditional logic, branching and branded survey design. Those features suit a short mobile questionnaire reached from social content, and pricing scales with response volume. Supplier claims about engagement are promotional, not evidence of better completion in a UK customer sample.
Pilot the exact form on the devices and hand-off used in the journey. Record incomplete responses and any effect of one-question-at-a-time presentation.
UK data-protection duties before you choose
UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply whenever a survey collects personal data. You need a lawful basis, a privacy notice at the point of collection, and data limited to the stated purpose. The ICO's data-minimisation guidance expects personal data to be adequate, relevant and limited. Remove default requests for names, email addresses, exact location or sensitive characteristics when the analysis does not need them.
The survey supplier is normally your processor, so Article 28 of UK GDPR requires a written contract covering instructions, security, deletion and subprocessors. Consider a data protection impact assessment where the survey is large or collects sensitive data. If you invite people by email, PECR also applies, and a survey invitation that promotes your products can count as marketing.
Worked scoring example
Take an illustrative protocol: a short anonymous mobile survey sent to customers after a TikTok Shop order, with branching, raw export and a UK-GDPR-compliant processor contract. Score each mandatory requirement pass, test or fail from the public descriptions above.
- Google Forms:external response passes, branching passes, export to Sheets passes, processor terms need testing.
- Microsoft Forms:external response needs testing, branching and Excel export pass, processor terms need testing.
- Jisc Online Surveys:eligibility fails for a retailer acting alone, so it is dropped before scoring the rest.
- Typeform:external response and branching pass, export needs checking on the chosen plan, and processor terms need testing.
The result is a shortlist of Google Forms and Typeform for the pilot, with Microsoft Forms viable if you already run Microsoft 365. Keep mandatory requirements separate from conveniences, record the first-party page and access date, and rerun a short privacy, accessibility and security review after configuration. For who to survey and how to ask, see the guide to researching social commerce buyers.
At closure, record the response export time, deleted test submissions and transformations applied during cleaning. This stops a polished chart from hiding changes in routing or exclusions.
Before you act
- Confirm supplier details on accessibility, availability and contract terms before collecting personal data.
- Sign or accept the supplier's processor terms and check where responses are stored.
- Run a five-question prototype containing the hardest route, screening and an early exit.
- Check whether analysts can distinguish a skipped question from a blank one.
- Remove default requests for names, email addresses, exact location and sensitive characteristics.
- Record the response export time, deleted test submissions and cleaning transformations at closure.
Common questions
Which survey tool is cheapest for a small social shop?
Google Forms is free with a Google account, and Microsoft Forms comes with Microsoft 365. Typeform's paid plans are in US dollars and capped by monthly responses. Jisc Online Surveys is a subscription for eligible institutions. Check current prices on each supplier's page.
Which laws apply to a customer survey in the UK?
UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to any personal data you collect. PECR applies to electronic invitations that count as marketing. Your survey supplier is normally a processor, so you need a written contract with it.
