Network Chile
Qualitative market research agency in Chile
MindMarket is a market research agency that runs qualitative studies in Chile, from in-depth interviews and focus groups to UX research and online diaries, with moderators who live in the country and one project manager for your whole study. Chile has 19.9 million people, 88.3 per cent of them in urban areas and 94.5 per cent online (DataReportal, Digital 2026). It is one of the most connected markets in Latin America, and shoppers there judge a brand on what happens after they pay as much as on the product. We have run remote sessions with shoppers in Chile and Mexico for a major US retailer, with the client team following live.
AT A GLANCE
Chile at a glance for researchers
- Population. 19.9 million people, median age 36.9, 88.3 per cent in urban areas (DataReportal, Digital 2026). A long, narrow country where a large share of the market lives in and around Santiago.
- Languages. Spanish, as Chileans speak it: fast, full of local expressions, and different from the Spanish of Mexico or Spain. Our moderators live in Chile, and your team follows through simultaneous interpretation.
- Internet and mobile. 18.8 million internet users, 94.5 per cent of the population, and 27.6 million mobile connections (DataReportal, Digital 2026). Online sessions reach the regions, from Antofagasta in the north to Punta Arenas in the south.
- Where fieldwork happens. Santiago first, then Valparaíso and Viña del Mar on the coast and Concepción in the south. Online sessions cover the far north and south.
- Data protection. Chile's Law 19.628 on the protection of private life applies, and a new data protection law, Law 21.719, takes effect on 1 December 2026. Consent is collected before each session.
- Timing. Summer runs from late December to the end of February, and January and February are holiday months. The national holidays of 18 and 19 September stop work for most of a week, and Christmas and the New Year close the year.
IN THE FIELD
How does an interview run in Chile?
Chilean shoppers are experienced online buyers and exacting ones. They will tell you about the product, and then about the delivery, the refund and the three passwords it took to place the order.
- Follow the purchase past the checkout. In Chile the experience after payment shapes whether people buy again: stock, delivery, promotions honoured or not. A short online diary followed by a conversation shows where the experience kept its promise and where it broke.
- Three accounts for one shop. In our study for a US retailer, a participant in Chile described three accounts for the same shop, and a card from one country that did not work on another country's site. The study confirmed the retailer's plan to merge its regional accounts.
- Your team follows live. In that study, bilingual local moderators ran the sessions in Spanish while simultaneous interpretation let the US team follow every conversation as it happened. Questions from the client reached the moderator during the session.
- Chilean Spanish, not neutral Spanish. Everyday words change from one Spanish-speaking country to the next, and Chile has many of its own. Guides and stimulus are adapted with a moderator who lives there, so that the object on the screen has the name a Chilean shopper gives it.
RECRUITMENT
How do you recruit participants in Chile?
- We recruit through local partners in Santiago and the regions, by income, district and category use, across the city and not only in its wealthier districts.
- For the US retailer's study, the brief asked for two kinds of shopper: people holding several regional accounts with the same brands, and people who already used one account everywhere. Recruiters found both.
- MindMarket pays every participant's incentive itself. You never handle it.
METHODS
Which methods work in Chile?
Most studies in Chile run as in-depth interviews and focus groups, with UX research, online diaries or mystery shopping when the question needs them.
| Method | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| In-depth interviews | Online shopping, finance and personal topics, remote across the regions | Neutral Spanish in the guide; rewrite it for Chile |
| Focus groups | Concepts, brands and communications in Santiago | Groups drawn from one part of the city only |
| UX research | Accounts, checkout and delivery journeys | The steps after payment; they decide the next purchase |
| Online diaries | An order followed from purchase to first use | Include people whose orders were cancelled or changed |
| Mystery shopping | Retail and service networks from north to south | The same visit plan in Santiago and in the regions |
QUESTIONS
Questions buyers ask about research in Chile
How much does market research cost in Chile?
A full-service qualitative study with MindMarket starts at $40,000 for the first market, and Chile added to a multi-country study starts from $8,000. Simultaneous interpretation and regions outside Santiago move the price more than the number of sessions. Every quote is itemised and follows within 48 hours of a first call. Estimate your study.
How do I choose a market research agency in Chile?
Choose by what the study has to decide. A Chilean institute fits a national survey or panel study. A qualitative specialist such as MindMarket fits a brand from outside Chile that needs local people heard in their own language, by moderators who live there, with one team across every country. Read how to choose a global qualitative research agency.
Can my team follow sessions in Chile live?
Yes. A US team followed all 20 remote sessions of our Chile and Mexico study as they happened, through simultaneous interpretation from Spanish, and passed questions to the moderator during the conversation. We set up the same arrangement for any team abroad. Read the case study.
Is Santiago enough, or should I add other regions?
Santiago is enough for a first read, because a large share of the market lives there. For a national decision, add Valparaíso or Concepción, or online sessions with people in the north and south, where delivery times and retail differ from the capital.
Can a moderator from another Spanish-speaking country run my study in Chile?
Can you help us decide, not only run the interviews?
Yes. Beyond the fieldwork, our Customer-Led Strategy work turns what people in Chile told us into a recommendation: what to do, what not to do, and why. We form the hypotheses, test them with your customers and recommend from their words. If you already work with strategy consultants, we work alongside them.
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