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Market Research

Market research future: 5 trends

October 6, 2022

Market research is crucial for a business on so many levels. We have covered ‘the why’ in a recent post . But what does the future looks like for market research? In this article, we will look at a few ideas that will impact market research in the coming years.

Here are some macro-level trends that you should pay attention to:

1. Microdata will gain more importance.

In the last ten years, researchers have stayed bullish on the possibilities of big data. For the uninitiated, big data involves the analysis of large amounts of data using technology.

The thing is — data is freely available in our world already. But the valley between public data and useful business insights is widening.

Finding relevant insights from macro-level data is like searching for a needle in the haystack.

Experts believe that big data is stuck in the ‘trough of disillusionment’ — a phenomenon first described by Gartner , a consulting firm, as one of the stages in the lifecycle of new technology. (Figure 1 below)

market research future - trough of disillusionment

Today we are starting to see a shift of opinion as more experts are now vouching for the effectiveness of micro-data as opposed to big data for market research. The focus will shift towards qualitative research for understanding individual customer behaviors.

Qualitative research on a micro-level while staying closer to the target audience is arguably more useful. It helps in personalizing offerings, staying relevant, and achieving meaningful outcomes.

Solutions that help capture micro-level insights, like user feedback, will work well for businesses of all sizes.

2. Data collection will get more complex and costlier.

Getting access to relevant data is the core of market research, and in a world conscious of data privacy, this process will become harder.

Initiatives around fair data usage policy, first-party data collection, and privacy laws like CCNA and GDPR are already at play.

Tactics like audience snooping and platforms that deep-dive into user behaviors will fail. We already saw this happening with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica debacle.

facebook controversy and market research future

The post-pandemic scenario limiting offline research isn’t helping the scenario either. It’s hard to get your hands on meaningful insights, especially for companies with low budgets already. This will get only harder and costlier in the coming years.

Getting access to clean and consented data will drive market research’s future. So, tools and strategies with a fair data use policy and real-time access at scale will become more useful.

3. Online and social listening will drive research.

The pandemic has expanded the horizons for online market research.

Sarah Boumphrey, the Global Research Director at Euromonitor International, says, “Companies will have to get ever closer to the consumer in 2021. Agility, innovation, and bold choices will be needed in order to identify growth opportunities. In this environment, market research and the actionable insights it provides are even more crucial than ever.”

But reducing budgets for primary research has seriously threatened market research’s agility. This scenario has increased the demand for online market research tools.

In the future, market research will keep pivoting to an online-first research model.

Techniques like social listening have already become crucial to gather data insights. Tools that help uncover insights from online feedback, sentiments, and public data are sought after.

Primarily because of the power to scan real-time trends and data analytics. Also, it helps save time and money that is otherwise spent on gathering focus groups.

Social listening and online trend analysis help discover early signs and opportunities. This also helps you address apprehensions, pivot faster and improve their proposition. This trend will affect how market research happens across the world.

Plus, this method is more cost-effective for early-stage startups and founders looking to pivot based on user feedback.

Article: How to do market research in 5-minutes per day

4. Real-time market research will pick pace.

Traditionally, market research has always been seen as a costly and one-time activity.

But today’s evolving business models need more agility than conventional market research offers. You cannot afford to waste time on long feedback loops and costly market research processes.

Real-time user feedback has helped several companies achieve a product-market fit faster and succeed quickly in the past.

Take the example of Dropbox . When they first launched, their core product idea was released in a video about what Dropbox could do.

Using the comments on the video and direct feedback emails, Dropbox added missing features, improved its MVP, and released it publicly. We all know how successful it turned out to be eventually.

Continuous market research driven by real-time user feedback is the need of the hour. Real-time feedback impacts important product decisions in a modern business.

For example, real-time social listening can help identify when your audience is searching for a solution.

Real-time market research helps prioritize in-demand solution and get a comprehensive picture of market needs, audience needs, and user behavior — all of which is useful for building a successful company in 2022.

A tool like GapScout that scans user feedback in real-time will work better for market research in the future. It will help build a customer-centric growth roadmap that promises success.

5. Technologies like AI will rule the research domain.

Businesses need crisp and relevant data faster. And artificial intelligence caters to this need well. Unlike earlier technologies for gathering data and analytics, AI is smart. It can understand the intent behind data through NLP and improve qualitative insights from market research. Using AI for market research helps in:

Automating recurring tasks like feedback/pain point discovery based on micro-level trends.
Analyzing publically available data to derive meaningful and focused insights for business success.
Identify trends based on interactions using natural language processing (NLP) models.

AI’s reasoning and perception capabilities will help remove problems associated with big data.

The right balance between technology and human foresight will help market research and drive decision-making in the future. Be it for product discovery, data-driven product road mapping or launching a new offering.

Reinvent your market research process so that you will to take part in the market research future.

Automation and deep analytics pave the way for success in a competitive ecosystem. So, naturally, market research as a function will see meaningful reinvention.

The future of market research belongs to the micro-level analysis of audience insights. If this is new to you, then don’t worry, GapScout can help by automating review analysis in your industry.

Ready to Automate Your Market Research? Get exclusive access to GapScout prior to release!

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Unlocking Tomorrow’s Insights: The Exciting Future of Market Research

Table of content.

Current Trends in Market Research
Challenges in Market Research
Prospects and Developments for the Future
New Technologies and Tools
Challenges and Opportunities of AI in Market Research
FAQs on the Future of Market Research

The way market research is conducted has undergone significant changes in recent years. Traditional methods like telephone surveys and in-person interviews now take a back seat to approaches that leverage digital technologies and automation. The transformation in the market research industry is not only remarkable but also necessary to keep up with rapidly evolving markets and consumer behaviors.

In this blog post, we will delve deep into the future of market research. We’ll explore current trends in the industry, discuss the challenges that market researchers face, and shed light on promising developments and technologies shaping the future of market research. Additionally, we’ll touch on new tools and approaches available to market researchers to make informed decisions and gain valuable insights. The future of market research is exciting and full of possibilities, and this blog post will help you navigate this evolving landscape.

In the dynamic world of market research, trends are crucial for gathering relevant and accurate information. In this section, we’ll illuminate current trends in market research and show how they are reshaping the industry.

Digitalization and Big Data

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Digitalization has revolutionized how we collect and analyze data. Nowadays, massive amounts of data are available, and the ability to effectively process and interpret this data is of utmost importance. Modern tools and technologies allow market researchers to quickly process complex data and extract meaningful insights.

Consumer Behavior in the Digital Age

Digitalization has also significantly impacted consumer behavior. Consumers increasingly interact online, whether while shopping, on social media, or seeking information. Market research must, therefore, focus on this digital consumer journey and understand how consumers operate in this new landscape. This enables companies to tailor their marketing strategies and products to the needs and preferences of customers.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Utilizing AI in Market Research

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken on a significant role in market research. Automated processes such as chatbots and machine learning are used to collect and analyze data. These technologies can process vast amounts of data in real-time and identify trends and patterns that would be challenging for human researchers to discern. The use of AI allows market researchers to work faster and more accurately.

Pros and Cons of Automation

While automation offers many advantages, it also comes with challenges. The primary benefits are efficiency and cost savings. However, ethical concerns related to data privacy and confidentiality are of concern. Market researchers must ensure that automation complies with applicable laws and ethical standards.

Mobile Market Research

Mobile Surveys and Data Collection

Digitalization has also changed how surveys are conducted. There’s a clear trend away from desktop applications toward mobile surveys. This shift is logical, as consumers now primarily shop and communicate using smartphones. Worldwide, more than 50 percent of websites are accessed from smartphones , and the trend is growing. However, some market researchers remain skeptical, as the user experience on mobile devices is not always ideal. Startups are working to make Mobile-First surveys resemble WhatsApp chats, aiming to increase the response rate. The goal is to make surveys more convenient and efficient and to reach customers more effectively.

Benefits of Mobile-First Approaches

The introduction of Mobile-First approaches allows companies to respond quickly to changing customer needs. These approaches take into account the increasing mobile use and enable real-time data collection. Mobile market research is not only cost-effective but also provides a broader and more up-to-date database.

These trends in market research are critical for a company’s success and their ability to keep up with rapidly changing markets. They are key to gaining valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences and making informed decisions.

Diverse Sampling

The proliferation of smartphones has made it easier to select samples in market research. People can now participate in surveys at any time, day or night, regardless of their location. This not only facilitates sample selection but also allows for the creation of more diverse panels . As a result, companies can access a larger and more diverse target audience and better cater to their needs.

Video Surveys and the Selfie Generation

Another significant change in market research is the increased use of video surveys. This is due to a societal shift. Lockdowns and the constant use of video conferencing tools have made people more comfortable with recording videos of themselves. The selfie generation, which constantly presents itself on social media, is also a reason for this shift. As a result, more people are willing to provide their opinions in the form of video statements, allowing companies to gain more comprehensive and authentic insights into consumer behavior.

Using Social Media for Market Research

Social media platforms remain a crucial source for market research. Every post, video, and selfie on these platforms contains valuable information about users’ preferences and interests. The “noise” on these platforms is captured and analyzed in real-time, allowing companies to develop new products and offerings.

Agility in Market Research

As customer needs and market trends change more rapidly, agility in market research becomes crucial. Agile methods allow for flexible survey execution and quick results analysis. This enables companies to dynamically respond to market changes and specific customer requirements.

This combination of trends and developments demonstrates how dynamic the world of market research is and how important it is to keep pace with these changes to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences and make informed decisions.

The market research industry faces a variety of challenges that influence its ability to gain accurate and valuable insights. In this section, we will take a closer look at these challenges and understand how they shape the industry.

Data Privacy and Ethics

GDPR and Data Protection Regulations

Data privacy has become one of the most pressing challenges in market research. With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar regulations worldwide, market researchers are obligated to ensure that they collect and analyse data ethically and in compliance with the law. This requires a comprehensive understanding of data protection regulations and the implementation of appropriate security measures.

Ethics in Data Collection

The ethical dimension of data collection is of paramount importance. Market researchers must ensure that they collect and use data in an ethically responsible manner. This includes obtaining participants’ consent, ensuring anonymity, and transparency in data collection. Adhering to ethical standards not only contributes to privacy protection but also helps maintain consumer trust.

Information Overload

Dealing with Information Overload

The digital world has led to a true information overload. The volume of available data is overwhelming, and it is becoming increasingly challenging to distinguish relevant information from irrelevant. Market researchers face the challenge of finding ways to manage this overload and focus on data relevant to their studies.

Filtering Relevant Data

Effectively filtering relevant data is crucial to ensure the accuracy and relevance of market research results. Automation and intelligent analysis systems are helpful as they can assist in identifying patterns and trends amid the data deluge. The ability to isolate relevant data is key to avoiding information overload.

Competition and Diversification

New Players in the Industry

The market research industry has seen an influx of new players in recent years, including technology companies, startups, and management consulting firms. This heightened competition forces established market research companies to be innovative and continuously evolve to remain competitive.

The Need for Diversification

Diversification is crucial for market research companies to adapt to changing customer needs. They must look beyond traditional methods and develop new approaches to offer a broader range of services. This requires constant adjustment to changing market demand.

Addressing these challenges in market research is vital to ensure that research remains relevant and continues to provide valuable insights for companies and organizations.

The future of market research promises exciting developments and a range of promising prospects. In this section, we will delve into some of the key developments that will shape the industry in the coming years.

Predictive Analytics and Forecasts

Utilizing Data for Future Trends

The use of predictive analytics allows market researchers to analyze data from the past and present to predict future trends and developments. This method employs advanced algorithms and machine learning to create forecasts based on historical data and current patterns. This opens the opportunity to make business decisions based on precise predictions.

Advantages of Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics offers a multitude of advantages. It helps businesses identify the need for proactive planning to use resources more efficiently. This reduces risks and enables better strategic decisions. Predicting future trends can give companies a significant competitive edge.

Customer-Centric Approach

Customer Orientation in Market Research

A customer-centric approach is becoming increasingly crucial in market research. Companies recognize the importance of direct customer feedback and understanding customer needs. Market researchers will increasingly aim to gather first-hand information from customers and integrate customer feedback into their decision-making processes.

Enhancing the Customer Experience

Integrating a customer-centric approach into market research allows companies to optimize the customer experience. By better catering to the needs and preferences of their customers, companies can develop products and services that increase customer satisfaction. This leads to stronger customer loyalty and ultimately higher revenues.

Globalization and Market Research

International Perspectives in Research

Globalization has transformed market research into an international endeavor. Companies are increasingly seeking information about global markets and require insights into cultural differences and preferences. Research needs to expand to include international perspectives to support companies in expanding into new markets.

Adapting to Cultural Differences

Understanding and adapting to cultural differences are crucial for success in global markets. Market researchers must ensure that their methods and questionnaires are culturally sensitive to collect accurate and relevant data. The ability to consider cultural differences is a key to successful global market research.

The future of market research promises exciting developments that will help companies make informed decisions and adapt to changing market dynamics. From predictive analytics to globalization, these trends will significantly influence how market research is conducted in the coming years.

Market research is undergoing exciting changes as innovative technologies and tools open new horizons and transform the way data is collected and analyzed. In this section, we will highlight two significant developments.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

Application of VR/AR in Market Research

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has taken market research to a completely new level. Market researchers can provide consumers with immersive experiences to better understand their behavior and preferences. This enables testing products and services in a realistic environment and analyzing customer reactions in a simulated setting. VR and AR allow respondents to immerse themselves in scenarios that are difficult to replicate in traditional surveys.

Immersive Research Experiences

Immersive research through VR and AR enables market researchers to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior and reactions. These technologies offer the opportunity to create virtual stores, product presentations, and test environments that maximize respondents’ experience. This leads to more accurate and valuable insights that help companies tailor their products and services more effectively.

Blockchain Technology

Security and Transparency in Data Collection

Blockchain technology has the potential to significantly enhance data security and transparency in market research. By using decentralized and immutable databases, market researchers can ensure that the data they collect is protected and unaltered. This strengthens consumer trust in data privacy and the integrity of research results.

Potential Applications of Blockchain

Blockchain offers numerous potential applications in market research. These include secure data collection, consent and privacy management, and tracking the origin of data. The technology can also help reduce fraud in market research and increase the accuracy of results. Companies integrating blockchain into their research practices can gain a competitive advantage and strengthen consumer trust.

The integration of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain into market research opens up exciting new possibilities and improves the quality and security of data collection. These technologies will undoubtedly continue to shape the future of the industry and increase the value of market research.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Market Research

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has profoundly influenced market research in recent years and will continue to do so in the future. In this section, we will delve into the role of AI in market research and how it is changing the industry.

Automation of Processes

AI enables the automation of processes that were previously time-consuming and resource intensive. This applies not only to data collection but also to data analysis. AI-driven systems can process large volumes of data in a short amount of time and identify patterns and trends that human researchers alone could not achieve. This automation allows market researchers to work more efficiently and achieve faster results.

Precise Predictions and Segmentation

AI can be enormously helpful in making precise predictions and segmenting target audiences. Using historical data and ongoing information, AI can forecast future trends and make accurate predictions about consumer behavior. This is crucial for developing targeted marketing strategies and adapting products to meet customer needs.

Sentiment Analysis and Text Mining

One of the most impressive applications of AI in market research is sentiment analysis and text mining. With these technologies, market researchers can understand how consumers talk about products and brands on social media, review platforms, and other online forums. This allows companies to respond to customer feedback, manage their reputation, and continuously improve their products.

Personalization and Customer Engagement

AI enables higher levels of personalization in marketing and research approaches. With the help of AI, companies can create individually tailored surveys and research programs that cater to the needs and preferences of individual customers. This contributes to customer engagement and increases the relevance of research results.

AI in Survey Creation

AI can play a significant role not only in data collection and processing but also in the creation of surveys and questionnaires. By analyzing historical data and considering specific research objectives, AI can assist in formulating questions and designing surveys. This results in precise and targeted surveys that ensure higher participation and better data quality.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) undeniably has the potential to revolutionize market research, but it also presents challenges and risks. In this section, we will illuminate both the risks and the future opportunities of AI in market research.

Risks and Challenges

With the growing role of AI in market research, new challenges in data privacy and ethics arise. Extensive data collection and analysis can endanger the privacy of survey participants. It is crucial to ensure that data collection is done ethically and in compliance with the law, with participants’ consent.

Quality Control and Bias

The use of AI can lead to quality control issues, as algorithms are trained on the data provided to them. If this data is flawed or biased, the results of AI research can be biased or inaccurate. Identifying and addressing bias in AI systems is of great importance.

Changes in the Workplace

The automation of research processes by AI can lead to changes in the industry. Some manual tasks may be replaced by AI systems, which can have implications for jobs and skill requirements in market research. It is essential to consider the impact on employees and the need for retraining and adaptation.

Automated Responses in Surveys

In a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated chatbots are becoming increasingly prevalent, market researchers also face new challenges. One of these challenges is that survey participants are increasingly relying on Large Language Models (LLMs) to answer surveys automatically, rather than doing so themselves.

This practice raises a range of questions and issues. One fundamental problem is that automated responses generated by LLMs often lack human nuances and contexts. This leads to impersonal and standardized responses that do not reflect the full range of human opinions and experiences.

The use of LLMs in surveys can therefore compromise the quality of the collected data. Automated responses are not always of high quality and can be inaccurate or irrelevant. This affects the validity of survey results and makes it difficult to obtain reliable insights.

Another issue is the distortion of results. When survey participants use LLMs to answer surveys without providing their own opinions and experiences, the collected data may not be representative or reliable. This poses a serious challenge to market research.

Market researchers must therefore increasingly focus on monitoring and quality control to ensure that surveys receive authentic human responses. This can be achieved through the integration of mechanisms to identify and detect AI-generated responses.

Opportunities and Future Developments

Greater Efficiency and Accuracy

AI will advance market research by increasing efficiency and accuracy. Through machine learning and big data analysis, market researchers can quickly and thoroughly evaluate data and gain relevant insights.

Real-Time Insights

By continuously analyzing data in real time, AI enables companies to respond quickly to changing market trends and consumer behavior. This leads to more agile business strategies and a competitive advantage.

Personalization and Individualization

AI enables deeper personalization of research approaches and marketing strategies. Tailored surveys and research programs result in better customer engagement and more effective business decisions.

Global Perspectives

AI’s ability to analyze large amounts of data facilitates market researchers’ access to international markets and the adaptation to cultural differences. This allows companies to include global perspectives in their research.

Conclusion: The Future of Market Research

Market research plays a crucial role in the business world, and it is undergoing exciting changes. Current trends, such as digitization and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), have transformed the way we collect and interpret data. The future of market research offers opportunities for more accurate predictions, deeper customer engagement, and a global perspective.

AI is revolutionizing the automation of processes and enabling precise predictions and customer segmentation. Sentiment analysis and text mining provide insights into customer feedback. AI even helps in creating surveys.

Challenges lie in data privacy, quality control, and changes in the workplace. The automation of surveys poses the risk of inaccurate and impersonal responses from automated systems.

The future of market research promises greater efficiency, more agile strategies, and a stronger customer focus. Companies that embrace these trends and consider ethical concerns will succeed in a changing business world.

What are the key trends driving the future of market research?

The future of market research is shaped by several key trends, including the adoption of Predictive Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for more precise predictions and personalized insights. Customer-centric approaches, driven by direct customer feedback and enhanced user experiences, are also at the forefront. Additionally, globalization and the integration of technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are expanding market research's reach and capabilities.

How does AI impact the quality of market research?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) significantly enhances market research by automating processes, enabling precise predictions, and improving data analysis. AI systems process vast amounts of data quickly and identify patterns, providing more accurate insights. They also support personalized surveys and can analyze sentiment and customer feedback, ultimately enhancing the quality and relevance of market research results.

What challenges does market research face in the era of automation and AI?

Market research faces challenges in data privacy and ethics, as extensive data collection can raise concerns. Quality control and addressing biases in AI systems are essential to maintain research integrity. Automation may also lead to changes in the workplace, affecting job roles. Additionally, the increasing use of automated responses in surveys raises concerns about data quality, highlighting the need for monitoring and authenticity checks.

Ines Maione

Ines Maione brings a wealth of experience from over 25 years as a Marketing Manager Communications in various industries. The best thing about the job is that it is both business management and creative. And it never gets boring, because with the rapid evolution of the media used and the development of marketing tools, you always have to stay up to date.

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Predicted Market Research Trends for 2022

by Sarah Schmidt , on December 1, 2021

This blog post shares different perspectives on these key issues from a wide variety of market research professionals in the field. Check out the quotes below to find out more about what the future may hold for market researchers and the industry overall.

Brian Clayson, Director of Custom Research, The Freedonia Group Within the custom research business, I expect to see a continued need for greater granularity being influenced by uncertainty in supply chains and inflation pressures. There is also a need for continued refining of client datasets and testing assumptions that may have changed over the last 18-24 months that were fairly consistent in the past.

Kristin Luck, Founder, ScaleHouse First, researchers will need to (in the words of ESOMAR Congress 2019 keynote Chris Burggraeve), start thinking like a CFO, and presenting like a CMO. Insights pro’s need to think like big consulting, if that’s who we intend on unseating, and adopt more holistic strategies that drive business performance rather than focusing on project-by-project issues. Secondly, I’m hopeful that more firms will move from an “office first” to a “remote first” mentality. We are living in a time where, as knowledge workers, we have unparalleled access to global talent. “Remote first” practices ensure you’re not only hiring the best talent but also the most diverse—which has been shown time and time again to drive innovation and increased profitability.

Anne E. Beall, CEO, Beall Research, Inc. We’re seeing an increased interest in the role that emotions play in purchasing. We’ve increasingly been told by companies that they want to connect with their customers emotionally and to create a strong bond that will lead to greater loyalty and purchasing. The pandemic appeared to have made many marketers aware of the raw emotions that drive much of our consumer behavior.

Ray Poynter, Chief Research Officer, Potentiate 2022? More of 2021—more mergers and acquisitions, more non-researchers conducting research, and more non-researchers interpreting and using research—with the key enabler being platforms. Usage will favour simple solutions over complex solutions, usage will favour whole solutions (e.g. a concept test), rather than a clever method (e.g. facial coding). Most AI will still be a cross between “proof of concept” and hype, but everyday useful products will be rare.

Kathryn Korostoff, President, Research Rockstar Training & Staffing I see several themes, but the big four for me are as follows:

Back to basics, fixing data quality issues : Increased emphasis and investment on improving survey data quality, especially sampling aspects.
My researcher, my data consultant : The successful researcher can be expected to recommend methodologies that blend or leverage data from various sources.
Automation, when it makes sense : Automation frees up the professional researcher to focus their brain power on the value-add steps so critical to research success.
Remote work, remote collaboration : Many team members are being given WFH or hybrid options . And so far, the signs point to many professionals opting out of full-time, in-office work

Joe Newsum, Founder, Kentley Insights The pandemic has massively disrupted supply chains, fueled inflation, changed our workforce, and transformed the foundations of many industries. As we look towards 2022, it will be critical to have insightful and timely market research to understand how these disruptions will impact your industry. In particular, it will be important to understand growth rates, inflation, operating costs, profitability, competitive dynamics, inventory levels, and compensation trends.

Bob Lederer, Consultant, Producer & Editor, RFL Communications, Incorporated 2022 will be one of the more complex that the market research, insights, and analytics industries will have ever faced. Marketers and their corporate bosses need to cover a lot of possibilities. Assume COVID will no longer dominate the environment. But if that is to be the case, MR, insights, and analytics functions will be busy covering a plethora of possibilities. The country and world won't be anything like the giddy pre-COVID world of 2020. Marketers need to be on the mark for the almost- or fully post-COVID environment. How'd you like to be Campbell Soup: a roaring giant during COVID and filled with marketing questions about how to maintain its 2020-2021 gains when it is over?

Michael D. Lieberman, Founder, Multivariate Solutions I believe 2022 will be the year that the marketing research industry expands into the data strategy business. Companies store fields of data within their silos—large retailers like Kroger’s and Walmart are already selling access to their data. They would like to refine that data into either an actionable predictive model or a commercial product. I believe they will turn to analytics translators, quantitative professionals now working in marketing research, to accomplish this.

Pamela Danziger, Owner, Unity Marketing Nothing beats qualitative, person-to-person research for understanding the underlying psychology and motivations of consumers. Big data can provide the basics—who the customer is, what and how they are buying—but you’re still left inferring the why’s behind consumers’ purchases. Qualitative research bridges the gap. Understanding the whys behind consumer behavior is the most important insight to have for long-range strategic, product, and market planning and trend predictions. Consumer behavior can and does change on a dime, but the motivations that underlie consumer behavior are stable over time. If you want to chart a path to the future, qualitative research is your roadmap.

Jack Plunkett, CEO, Plunkett Research, Ltd. Thanks to COVID, the greatest research need for the near-term is better insights into how market needs, customer desires, and consumer perceptions about the future have changed, both B2B and B2C. The mid-pandemic world of today continues to evolve quickly on its path to an eventual post-pandemic era—that era may look surprisingly different in some respects, while returning to traditional patterns in other ways. This presents an exciting challenge for market research providers and their clients. For example, Plunkett Research will be busy forecasting 6-year growth rates for specific industries for our Industry Analytics reports. Another big focus at Plunkett will be evaluating post-pandemic technology demand in terms of better cybersecurity, online payments, and digital transactions in general.

Lisa W. Miller, President, Lisa W. Miller & Associates, LLC Demand for marketing research is at an all-time high as companies seek to drive growth on the other side of the pandemic. However, just like there's a supply chain issue in chicken wings, we have a supply chain issue in marketing research. Finding qualified panelists is a challenge and will remain a challenge in 2022. Companies need to be judicious in their sampling strategies as to not burn through all the panelists.

Paige Arnof-Fenn, Founder & CEO, Mavens & Moguls Whatever we thought we knew or understood before COVID about our customers/market must now be checked because the world has changed so much since last March. The two biggest trends I see expanding are:

Social listening —Because we spend so much time on social media, it is becoming more important to listen to online conversations to derive sentiments. Social media is highly emotive so there is more context on the source of ideas, complaints, purchase behavior, and macro/micro trends. Using social listening, you can isolate the data you care about and watch for short-term indicators around consumer research to help identify actionable opportunities early.
Online qualitative research —With limitations on in-person focus groups and other qualitative research methods due to the pandemic, having the ability to moderate video discussions while collecting data from a diverse audience is no longer limited by geographical boundaries which is a huge advantage.

Kajoli Tankha, Senior Director, Consumer Product, Retail, and Growth, Microsoft Companies that know how to use experimental design in research will be more successful.

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6 Key Market Research Industry Trends (2024)

1. Online surveys transition to mobile-first

In recent years, the market research industry has been sticking to what they know: online surveys work.

Today, nearly 90% of market researchers say they use online surveys regularly.

Market researchers have come to rely on online surveys because they’re fast and cost-effective .

Nearly all consumers are on the internet — only 37% of the world , including people in developing countries, has never been online.

Statistics show that 5.3 billion people use the internet as of late 2023, and that number is growing by 3.7% each year.

Experts expect the popularity of the online survey market to stay high, growing 16% each year through 2026.

With the popularity of online surveys, it’s logical to expect to see similar popularity in mobile surveys.

Across the globe, 68% of website visits in 2020 came from mobile devices. That’s nearly a 5% increase over 2019.

However, only 60% of market researchers say they use mobile surveys regularly.

Experts point to poor UX and survey length as reasons why consumers don’t complete surveys on their smartphones.

Searches for "UX design" have increased by 118% in the last 5 years.

At the end of 2018, 33% of online surveys were started via mobile.

That was a substantial increase from 2013 when only 3-7% of surveys were taken on smartphones .

SurveySparrow , a company founded in 2017, aims to make mobile-first surveys the future of market research.

The company’s founder was inspired by WhatsApp, keeping the tone of the platform’s surveys convenient and conversational.

SurveySparrow says their approach gets a 40% higher completion rate than traditional online surveys.

Pollfish , another mobile-first survey company, stresses that mobile surveys are a much better option than desktop online surveys.

They say mobile surveys provide a greater reach, especially to consumers in Gen Z, and drive an increased response rate.

Experts suggest that mobile-first surveys must optimize the user experience . Doing so can lead to data differences of 10 percentage points or more.

2. Redefining the representative sample

Market researchers have always been mindful to create their groups of research participants in proportion to the population of the market as a whole.

In other words, they recruit participants that mirror their target audience in terms of gender, age, and location.

In the past few years, there’s been a push to expand what a “ representative sample ” truly means.

In one survey, 80% of market researchers said they were interested in learning best practice solutions for multicultural insights, research, and strategy.

The CEO of ThinkNow , a cultural insights agency, described it this way:

“An inclusive approach to research relies on a diverse sample of respondents and employs cultural understanding to provide psychological safety for them. This enables you to gather open and honest responses”.

The inclusion standard extends beyond ethnicities to include people with physical disabilities, those with intellectual disabilities, and people in LGBTQ+ communities.

Inclusive market research doesn’t present an entirely new way of doing things. But it does include several meaningful changes that can drastically improve the quality of the data collected.

For example, researchers are becoming more mindful of the nature of their questions. Are they offensive or dismissive to certain groups of participants? Are they stereotypical or inclusive?

Conducting market research among Millennials is one example where diversity in the audience is essential.

When it comes to Millennials in the United States, Hispanics make up more than 20% of the group . In order to get accurate data, market researchers must ensure the makeup of their sample is 20% Hispanic.

LMD, a Maryland-based communications agency, recently completed market research for a multi-year anti-litter campaign for Prince George’s County.

They were careful to draw upon a diverse group of participants that matched the County’s actual population breakdown: 61% Black, 14% Hispanic/Latinx, 12% white, and 12% other races/ethnicities.

They also completed the research in English and Spanish , further serving the diverse group of research participants.

3. Video becomes the tool of choice for qualitative research

Research from Take Note found that 93% of market researchers are using online/video focus groups more often than three years ago .

They also discovered that 90% are using consumers’ online video submissions and in-depth video interviews more than they were three years ago.

The main reason behind this transition? Consumers are now much more comfortable being “on camera”.

Thanks to the pandemic, video conferencing platforms are now part of daily life for many people. In fact, more than 300 million people used Zoom every day during its peak.

They’re also ready and willing to create user-generated content . More than 5 million videos were shared when Instagram first debuted its video feature.

Experts agree that companies can gain more market insights through video than text.

Video is more interactive, more genuine, and provides “unspoken” data like body language, tone, and facial expressions.

Medallia’s LivingLens video software offers companies the opportunity to capture 6x more information with video surveys compared to open-ended text responses.

Nearly every industry is taking advantage of video-based market research , from automotive companies to the beverage industry, to healthcare organizations.

Del Taco recently launched a video feedback initiative. The company took advantage of more than 10 hours of customer video content in reaction to menu changes.

In the past, market researchers have been concerned about the scalability of video insights. Manually combing through hours of unedited video footage is nowhere near efficient.

But, in today’s market, video delivers fast results at scale.

Dozens of video analytics platforms exist.

Affectiva’s technology can “detect nuanced human emotions, complex cognitive states, activities, interactions, and objects people use”.

The company was recently acquired by Smart Eye , a Swedish technology company focused on eye-tracking systems, for $73.5 million.

Other companies, like Speak , use AI to transcribe consumer videos and analyze the text, creating a searchable database of media and insights.

4. Bringing market research in-house

Another response to the current demands placed on market researchers is bringing their efforts in-house.

Global consumer goods corporation P&G has cut its number of agency relationships by 60% over the past seven years. This has resulted in serious cash savings: $750 million.

One report by SurveyMonkey shows that more than half of market researchers estimate their use of full-service research vendors will decrease.

The same report said 70% of market researchers are very likely or somewhat likely to transition to more DIY tools in the next year.

In one example, Organic Valley adopted user-friendly tools that made it easier for coworkers outside of the research department to dive into the data and discover their own customer insights.

Companies that are investing in in-house research see it as a way to keep their efforts customer-centric and use new technologies to empower their brand.

In essence, brands want more transparency, more control, and a streamlined process for market research.

Investors are taking notice of this trend.

Research platform quantilope raised $28 million in a Series B funding round announced in July 2020.

The company commissioned the Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact study , which found their market research platform provides an ROI of 319% over three years and $2.7 million in net benefits.

5. Faster, more cost-effective market research

Companies cannot afford to be slow in their market research.

In the post-pandemic world, businesses are acting 20-25x faster than usual when it comes to making certain changes.

As one CEO puts it, companies must have “accurate, up-to-the-minute research ” if they hope to gain useful insights about their consumers and their business.

Traditional market research methods like focus groups still have their place. But speed is not their strength.

That’s where agile market research excels.

This type of market research is defined by gathering consumer feedback, applying technology, and launching campaigns quickly . That way, companies can test and make decisions without extended periods of time being devoted to each step.

Zappi is one agile market research platform that’s showing incredible growth.

The company grew sales by more than 30% in 2021 and launched a new tool, Zappi Amplify TV .

At least part of this dedication to faster results is driven by budget constraints.

According to SurveyMonkey, 56% of companies have continued demand for market research but face limited or shrinking budgets.

Automated market research is one way to support the agile method and deliver quicker insights with fewer people on staff.

The results are pretty convincing : 60% of market researchers say automation allows them to deliver results faster, 50% say it’s allowed them to lower costs, and 80% of market researchers say they believe the trend will continue to grow.

6. Social media listening gives insights in real-time

Social media platforms are full of conversations, interactions, likes, and dislikes that are relevant to a business’ brand.

Each of these interactions is a window into the preferences and attitudes of a company’s target audience.

Social media listening involves gathering historical and real-time data from social media. Like other market research methods, this data can inform decisions and inspire new offerings.

Statistics show that 5.85 billion people worldwide will be using social media by 2027.

Better yet, 80% of what people post on social media is about themselves.

This means businesses that invest in social media research methods essentially have access to their target audience in real-time.

Those that can effectively monitor social media and make sense of the data will get a wealth of valuable information: what customers like, what they dislike, how they use products, what trends they’re interested in and much more.

With a variety of social media listening platforms and price points, this type of market research method is available to businesses of any size.

Talkwalker is one of the most comprehensive social media listening platforms and was recently featured in a Forrester report as one of the “ top 10 providers that matter most ”.

The Talkwalker platform crawls nearly 150 million websites, 30,000 podcasts, more than 10 social media platforms, and 187 different languages.

Businesses should take note, though, that one of the drawbacks of social media market research is the incidence of skewed results caused by herd mentality.

People on social media act impulsively and are largely swayed by other users. Which means the data isn’t always 100% accurate.

The market research trends that lie ahead on the horizon show us that social media, smartphones, and DIY data research should dominate the market in the near future.

Customer needs are constantly changing and that means market research will always be key to any successful organization.

The brands that can quickly and effectively anticipate customer wants and needs are the brands that will be able to surpass the competition and never look back.

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Larry Friedman: ‘The future challenges and opportunities of market research’

For more than 40 years, Larry Friedman Ph.D has been a pioneer in his field. Currently Co-Editor of the GreenBook blog, his career started in academia, before becoming the Chief Research Officer at TNS North America. In 2009 he won the ARF (Advertising Research Foundation) Great Mind In Innovation award.

In the first edition of our Market Research Visionaries, Larry explains how research has evolved, and what today’s challenges are, and what the future looks like.

A whole new world

Market research is nothing new. In fact, Larry explains, the field of market research is more than a hundred years old. “But it’s always been about getting information, and the various methodologies that were used,” he says.

“However, the rise of scientific management in the early part of the 20th century, led to scientifically oriented researchers. Instead of just making decisions based on opinions, these managers wanted data , and that data didn't exist.

“Market research was invented to get the data that marketing managers and senior management needed to make decisions.”

So, that's exactly what they did.

“We generated new data. And various methodologies were used, certainly survey research was a core part of that. But the basis of the business was getting new data.

“However, that’s now changed,” says Larry.

A data-rich world

We’re no longer living in an age where data is scarce. As Larry puts it: “We’re now living in a data-rich world.

How you use that kind of data, and when, and how you integrate it with new data that you may need to still get, requires a very different skillset and mindset than traditional market researchers have.

“This has been a real struggle for people over the past 10 years. I think there's finally some good progress that's being made, but it's still a struggle.”

New platforms, new challenges

Another challenge has been how quickly market researchers have had to adapt to new platforms.

“Digital marketing platforms (DMPs) are core to what marketers use right now,” says Larry. “It’s become central to a lot of companies. So, the future for much of market research is, ‘How do we work with marketers to make those digital marketing platforms more effective?’”

What does this mean in practice?

"It means, how do we find out more about more individuals? And, how do we make use of that information to communicate with them on a one-on-one basis, at a scale of millions?"

Surprising insights

“One of the most impactful slides I ever did was at a strategy presentation for a major beverage company,” says Larry. “They had invented a whole new subsegment of that industry some years before, and really had dominated it. It was a huge, huge profit center for the company.

Generic category benefits

“However, the company started losing their edge from a business perspective, and others were coming in and gaining significant share. So I created a slide with three lines on it where I wrote down their brand name, and I said, ‘That equals to generic category benefits’.

“And then, I wrote down on two other lines, two other brands that had been later entrants, and for each one I said they had those same category benefits, but they added different specific brand benefits to it. What the newer entrants did was turn the client's brand into a generic, “white label” product in that category.

“It was clear that their big challenge was going to be finding brand benefits that they could add in.”

I'll never forget the look on the category manager’s face who was sitting in the front row in the room when I was presenting this – he looked like I hit him across the forehead with a baseball bat!

The problem wasn’t that the client didn’t have a great product, the problem was that other companies came to market with the same benefits, turned these benefits into generic category benefits, and added new benefits on top of it.

This meant the client brand became a completely bland brand. It just didn't have the vitality that the newer entrants had.

Distilling insights

Over the next few years this brand struggled to find the right brand benefits to include. “Unfortunately, they never really were able to do it,” laments Larry. “It's still a good selling product, but not nearly what it could have been.

“I think about that a lot, because what I did was distill, literally, a hundred pages into three lines, which many researchers find a real challenge to do. I laid out what the fundamental challenge for their brand was, and I did it in a way that they just hadn't even thought about.”

Essentially they thought they had a brand benefit, but what they actually had was a category benefit.

What’s the lesson? “Just because you're first in a category, if you're not continuing to really try and build your brand on top of that category, you may face a significant long-term challenge,” says Larry.

Current trends

What trends should market researchers be aware of right now? “First is the automation trend,” says Larry. Automation is the future of market research. So how to differentiate? “The companies that are one step ahead are moving more into the consulting end of things, and bringing not just insights to clients, or nice reports, but really doing consulting about what research programs mean for their business.

How to work with automation

Automation is a major trend right now. In fact, the “whole movement towards automation has become absolutely critical. It’s now table stakes.” What does this mean for technology? “What Qualtrics has built and can bring to the market has just had a huge impact on the industry and on clients.”

But automation isn’t enough. Organizations need the ability to translate insights into action. This ability is “ultimately what will help differentiate them for success.”

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Catherine has more than 15 years’ experience in journalism and content marketing, having written for a whole host of magazines on everything from HR and healthcare to finance and fashion. Today, she spends her time bringing breakthrough XM stories to life and finding new ways to tell our customers’ stories.

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Market Research Industry: Current Stats and Future Trends

The market research industry has grown steadily over the last five years. But innovations could rapidly increase potential market research revenue in the research industry in the future. What should companies in this Industry expect in the years to come? Here are a few market research stats and trends.

Here, we’ll look at key market research stats and trends from various new reports covering the market research industry. Read on to gain a quick overview of the Industry’s performance and important new trends to watch.

What is the market research industry?

The market research industry is a sector that focuses on gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data about markets, consumers, competitors, and various business-related trends.

Its primary goal is to provide valuable insights and information to businesses, organizations, and governments to make informed decisions about their products, services, marketing strategies, and overall business operations.

The global market research industry plays a crucial role in helping businesses understand their target audience, identify market opportunities, evaluate the potential demand for products or market analysis services, and assess the competitive landscape. It involves collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to understand consumer behavior, preferences, attitudes, market trends, and dynamics.

The key drivers of market research demand

Companies that provide market research services help their clients gather and interpret information about individuals or organizations, with the insights (market size, competition, market need, consumer behavior, etc) leveraged to shape strategies and marketing/sales activities.

Also, studies like the 2018 Global Brand Health Report , where tech workers reveal the companies they want to work for and what they value in a job offer, are studies that are important to industries.

To arrive at their findings and infer insights, market researchers use a range of qualitative techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and ethnography, as well as quantitative techniques such as customer surveys, analysis of secondary data, and statistical/ analytical research methods. Here are the key drivers of market research demand:

Speed: Researchers need results fast, and with faster results, one sees more evidence-based decision-making.
Cost: Costs have always been an issue. Making decisions based on accurate research studies helps eliminate unnecessary costs.
Quality: Quality is particularly important in market research when the current offering is not good enough.

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North America Dominates

The market research stats and trends favor the U.S.
According to a recent report by First Research Inc. , the market research industry globally produces $45 billion in revenue each year.
Europe and the United States lead the industry overall. Other countries such as China, Brazil, Russia, and India are experiencing increasing demand for market research-related statistical services.

How is the industry performing in the U.S.?

The Market Research industry in the U.S. has undergone strong growth over the five years. They conduct qualitative and quantitative research on behalf of customers to determine the needs and choices of specific demographics or consumer groups.

This has been supported by the increase in research and development (R&D) and internet advertising expenditure, which have driven demand for industry services.

There are 44,000 establishments offering market research services in the United States. They generate approximately $23 billion in combined annual revenue. In this case, “establishments” refer to market research companies with a single location as well as units of multi-location companies.

2018 market research stats and trends

Many of you know that 2016 gave way to wearable technology, big data, mobile research, and many more innovative market research trends.
2018 saw these trends grow, gaining traction, and we anticipate their growth further into 2019.

The future of market research is already here

According to the market research stats and trends, many of these industry trends have bubbled underneath the surface for the last few years. And are now ready to take center stage.

Getting a handle on the key trends for market research will position you well to assist your brand with sensible consumer insight. This keeps your organization competitive while building strong customer relationships that will endure for years to come.

LEARN ABOUT: market research trends

Also, expect to see more automation, standardization, and many claims about artificial intelligence. The key drivers of success for these systems are ease of use, speed, and cost. However, a key element in their success is the ability to leverage existing brands and reputations.

The market research industry is growing fast, and businesses now understand the importance of using data to make smart decisions. Market research tools play a crucial role in providing valuable insights to companies, helping them understand customers and the market better.

QuestionPro emerges as a key player in this changing landscape, offering a user-friendly platform that makes data collection and analysis easier. With automation and AI-powered features, QuestionPro simplifies the research process, saving time and effort for researchers.

It provides quick and accurate insights, enabling businesses to make informed choices. QuestionPro’s commitment to data security and compliance ensures that researchers can conduct ethical data collection, protecting the privacy of participants’ information. As the market research industry looks to the future, QuestionPro’s advanced analytics and A.I. capabilities will continue to shape its trajectory. Researchers can rely on QuestionPro to predict market trends and gain a competitive advantage.

With its user-friendly interface and dedication to providing meaningful results, QuestionPro remains a valuable asset for market researchers, empowering businesses to succeed in an ever-changing market.

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Key trends include AI-driven insights, mobile research, ethical data collection, and virtual reality integration.

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How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

Access best-in-class company data

Get trusted first-party funding data, revenue data and firmographics

What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry. The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Business intelligence insight graphic with hand showing a lightbulb with $ sign in it

Why is market research important?

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete.

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research

Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Exploratory research
Descriptive research
Causal research
Cross-sectional research
Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research.

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant.
Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment.

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment.

Market research methods

Surveys and questionnaires
Focus groups
Observational research
Online research tools
Experiments
Content analysis
Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data:

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback.

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

Set clear objectives
Identify your target audience
Choose your research methods
Use the right market research tools
Collect data
Analyze data
Interpret your findings
Identify opportunities and challenges
Make informed business decisions
Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign?

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process.

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective.

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study.

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors.

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research.

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

Product Image Advanced Search CRMConnected

Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends.

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values.

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups.

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started.

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

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Market Research: A How-To Guide and Template

Discover the different types of market research, how to conduct your own market research, and use a free template to help you along the way.

MARKET RESEARCH KIT

5 Research and Planning Templates + a Free Guide on How to Use Them in Your Market Research

Updated: 02/21/24

Published: 02/21/24

Today's consumers have a lot of power. As a business, you must have a deep understanding of who your buyers are and what influences their purchase decisions.

Enter: Market Research.

Whether you're new to market research or not, I created this guide to help you conduct a thorough study of your market, target audience, competition, and more. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

What is market research?

Primary vs. secondary research, types of market research, how to do market research, market research report template, market research examples.

Market research is the process of gathering information about your target market and customers to verify the success of a new product, help your team iterate on an existing product, or understand brand perception to ensure your team is effectively communicating your company's value effectively.

Market research can answer various questions about the state of an industry. But if you ask me, it's hardly a crystal ball that marketers can rely on for insights on their customers.

Market researchers investigate several areas of the market, and it can take weeks or even months to paint an accurate picture of the business landscape.

However, researching just one of those areas can make you more intuitive to who your buyers are and how to deliver value that no other business is offering them right now.

How? Consider these two things:

Your competitors also have experienced individuals in the industry and a customer base. It‘s very possible that your immediate resources are, in many ways, equal to those of your competition’s immediate resources. Seeking a larger sample size for answers can provide a better edge.
Your customers don't represent the attitudes of an entire market. They represent the attitudes of the part of the market that is already drawn to your brand.

The market research services market is growing rapidly, which signifies a strong interest in market research as we enter 2024. The market is expected to grow from roughly $75 billion in 2021 to $90.79 billion in 2025 .

Free Market Research Kit

SWOT Analysis Template
Survey Template
Focus Group Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Why do market research?

Market research allows you to meet your buyer where they are.

As our world becomes louder and demands more of our attention, this proves invaluable.

By understanding your buyer's problems, pain points, and desired solutions, you can aptly craft your product or service to naturally appeal to them.

Market research also provides insight into the following:

Where your target audience and current customers conduct their product or service research
Which of your competitors your target audience looks to for information, options, or purchases
What's trending in your industry and in the eyes of your buyer
Who makes up your market and what their challenges are
What influences purchases and conversions among your target audience
Consumer attitudes about a particular topic, pain, product, or brand
Whether there‘s demand for the business initiatives you’re investing in
Unaddressed or underserved customer needs that can be flipped into selling opportunity
Attitudes about pricing for a particular product or service

Ultimately, market research allows you to get information from a larger sample size of your target audience, eliminating bias and assumptions so that you can get to the heart of consumer attitudes.

As a result, you can make better business decisions.

To give you an idea of how extensive market research can get , consider that it can either be qualitative or quantitative in nature — depending on the studies you conduct and what you're trying to learn about your industry.

Qualitative research is concerned with public opinion, and explores how the market feels about the products currently available in that market.

Quantitative research is concerned with data, and looks for relevant trends in the information that's gathered from public records.

That said, there are two main types of market research that your business can conduct to collect actionable information on your products: primary research and secondary research.

Primary Research

Primary research is the pursuit of first-hand information about your market and the customers within your market.

It's useful when segmenting your market and establishing your buyer personas.

Primary market research tends to fall into one of two buckets:

Exploratory Primary Research: This kind of primary market research normally takes place as a first step — before any specific research has been performed — and may involve open-ended interviews or surveys with small numbers of people.
Specific Primary Research: This type of research often follows exploratory research. In specific research, you take a smaller or more precise segment of your audience and ask questions aimed at solving a suspected problem.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is all the data and public records you have at your disposal to draw conclusions from (e.g. trend reports, market statistics, industry content, and sales data you already have on your business).

Secondary research is particularly useful for analyzing your competitors . The main buckets your secondary market research will fall into include:

Public Sources: These sources are your first and most-accessible layer of material when conducting secondary market research. They're often free to find and review — like government statistics (e.g., from the U.S. Census Bureau ).
Commercial Sources: These sources often come in the form of pay-to-access market reports, consisting of industry insight compiled by a research agency like Pew , Gartner , or Forrester .
Internal Sources: This is the market data your organization already has like average revenue per sale, customer retention rates, and other historical data that can help you draw conclusions on buyer needs.
Focus Groups
Product/ Service Use Research
Observation-Based Research
Buyer Persona Research
Market Segmentation Research
Pricing Research
Competitive Analysis Research
Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research
Brand Awareness Research
Campaign Research

1. Interviews

Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions so you can allow for a natural flow of conversation. Your interviewees can answer questions about themselves to help you design your buyer personas and shape your entire marketing strategy.

2. Focus Groups

Focus groups provide you with a handful of carefully-selected people that can test out your product and provide feedback. This type of market research can give you ideas for product differentiation.

3. Product/Service Use Research

Product or service use research offers insight into how and why your audience uses your product or service. This type of market research also gives you an idea of the product or service's usability for your target audience.

4. Observation-Based Research

Observation-based research allows you to sit back and watch the ways in which your target audience members go about using your product or service, what works well in terms of UX , and which aspects of it could be improved.

5. Buyer Persona Research

Buyer persona research gives you a realistic look at who makes up your target audience, what their challenges are, why they want your product or service, and what they need from your business or brand.

6. Market Segmentation Research

Market segmentation research allows you to categorize your target audience into different groups (or segments) based on specific and defining characteristics. This way, you can determine effective ways to meet their needs.

7. Pricing Research

Pricing research helps you define your pricing strategy . It gives you an idea of what similar products or services in your market sell for and what your target audience is willing to pay.

8. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analyses give you a deep understanding of the competition in your market and industry. You can learn about what's doing well in your industry and how you can separate yourself from the competition .

9. Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research

Customer satisfaction and loyalty research gives you a look into how you can get current customers to return for more business and what will motivate them to do so (e.g., loyalty programs , rewards, remarkable customer service).

10. Brand Awareness Research

Brand awareness research tells you what your target audience knows about and recognizes from your brand. It tells you about the associations people make when they think about your business.

11. Campaign Research

Campaign research entails looking into your past campaigns and analyzing their success among your target audience and current customers. The goal is to use these learnings to inform future campaigns.

Define your buyer persona.
Identify a persona group to engage.
Prepare research questions for your market research participants.
List your primary competitors.
Summarize your findings.

1. Define your buyer persona.

You have to understand who your customers are and how customers in your industry make buying decisions.

This is where your buyer personas come in handy. Buyer personas — sometimes referred to as marketing personas — are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers.

Use a free tool to create a buyer persona that your entire company can use to market, sell, and serve better.

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Is a chatbot the right application for GenAI? And is there enough power in the grid to get us there?

For some reason, it was a relatively slow week in retail news. I added a lot of big research reports to the pile to read, but otherwise, there wasn’t a lot of economic news, research trends, or even big retail winners or losers.

However, even for the few pieces of information that came out last week, you have to read it with some nuance – it’s very easy to take the same piece of news and spin it in two completely different directions, as you’ll see in the retail economic indicators.

And, just because retail didn’t have a lot of news, doesn’t mean no one had anything to say. I am firmly in the camp that ChatGPT is not Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), nor is it a significant step in that direction. So yes, you’ll have to account for my biases when I highlight research or commentary that I find interesting, and that’s especially true this week. Let’s dive in.

Retail Economic Indicators

The US Bureau of Economic Activity released its third revision of real GDP for Q4 and full year 2023. They’re now saying that real GDP for Q4 increased 3.4%, an upwards revision and reflects, in part, increases in consumer spending. Current dollars personal income increased $230.2B in Q4, which may in part explain continued resilience in consumer spending. Disposable income increased 3.8% in Q4, and the personal savings rate ticked upwards to 4%. All relatively good news. And initial jobless claims continue their very slow downward trend , which is definitely good news.

Two surveys of consumer confidence released updates for March. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index showed that overall, it remained essentially flat from February to March. The Present Situation index increased to 151.0 in March, from 147.6 in February. But the Expectations Index – the forward-looking component – fell to 73.8 in March, down from 76.3 in February. The Conference Board (TCB) points out that the forward-looking component falling below 80 has pointed to the potential for a recession in the past. However, in the comments on the survey, recession fears have trended downward, while elevated pricing levels stayed the top response about concerns. The title of the release of these results was “Economic conditions eclipsed by rising anxiety about the future,” which seems a bit pessimistic. However, keep in mind that TCB has been predicting a recession in 2024 for several months now.

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On the flip side, the University of Michigan also released its update on consumer sentiment. They found consumer sentiment up across the board – overall, up 3.3% from 76.9 in February to 79.4 in March, and both current economic conditions up from 79.4 in February to 82.5 in March, and future expectations up from 75.2 in February to 77.4 in March. No rising anxiety in their results.

Retail Tech & Research Data

If you’re looking or a sign that consumers are trading down, ThredUp’s annual report on secondhand apparel found that resale grew faster than traditional retail in 2023. That’s not that surprising – there is a bit of law of large numbers going on there. The US secondhand market grew 11% in 2023, which ThredUp says is 7x faster than the broader retail market. In dollars, it grew to $43B last year, and is projected to reach $73B by 2028. The overall apparel market, according to data gathered by Statista, was $358.7B in 2023. So, getting to be a good chunk, but still a much smaller basis to grow from.

ThredUp’s report, prepared in partnership with GlobalData, is based on a survey of 3,654 US consumer adults and 50 “top fashion retailers and brands”. 60% of consumers surveyed said that shopping secondhand gives them more bang for the buck, and 55% plan to spend more on secondhand apparel if the economy doesn’t improve. More than half of apparel shoppers surveyed at least “shopped” for secondhand last year. Nearly 2/3 of consumer who made a secondhand apparel purchase in 2023 made at least on purchase online, which is up 17 points vs. 2022. I’ve had quite a few conversations with Gen X parents of Gen Z, marveling at how acceptable it is these days to shop secondhand. When I was teen, you would’ve been bullied relentlessly for shopping secondhand, and these days it’s a badge of honor and a sign of shopping savvy. My own (19 year old) daughter almost treats it like rental – she’s not buying to keep, she cycles through secondhand clothing endlessly (which would be interesting to understand the number of times an item is recycled through used purchases and if that is increasing).

On the retailer side, 163 brands now offer resale through the ThredUp platform, and 2/3 of companies who offer resale say they expect it will generate at least 10% of revenue within 5 years. 87% say it has advanced their sustainability goals. One thing to watch for in the future: with online purchases of resale climbing, at 10% of total sales, consumers are going to have an expectation for a lot more omnichannel capabilities from retailers. Right now, a lot of these programs are run more by marketing than, say, merchandising departments. And the logistics are totally separate from the retailer’s main supply chain. That means the potential for some omnichannel reckoning in the not-so-distant future.

In the run up to the Retail Technology Show 2024, Retail Technology Innovation Hub released research digging into UK consumers and their own resilience or lack thereof. They ran a survey of 1,000 UK adults, and found that 45% of survey respondents have been using savings accumulated during lockdowns to offset cost of living increases. They found that on average, British consumers racked up GBP 4,805 during lockdowns, and 1/3 say their lockdown savings have now or will soon be spent. 26% expect the cost-of-living crisis to last beyond 2026, while 20% expect it to end in 2025. 48% of respondents say they are increasingly price sensitive. The biggest difference between UK and US consumers seems to be this idea of tapping out – UK consumers report being tapped out, while US consumers aren’t necessarily tapped out, and don’t behave like they are, even as they claim they feel that way.

AI & Retail

This week’s news about AI didn’t apply specifically to retail, but it has lots of retail implications. We all need to keep in mind that we are living in the midst of a giant social experiment when it comes to GenAI. We have unleashed it on the world and a growing number of people are using it for everything from thank you notes to work tasks, without really knowing if its efficacy is sustainable over time, or if it’s ever going to be better at more than thank you notes and some code snippets.

First up, it’s not just its efficacy that is questionably sustainable. Creating large language models is ridiculously expensive, and one big component of that is power . To the point where tech companies made the effort to show up at an energy conference in Houston, where AI was the top topic. Oregon's Portland General Electric has doubled its forecast for new electricity demand in the next 5 years. Georgia now predicts 17x more demand for industrial power than recent estimates. It wasn’t that long ago that Sam Altman of OpenAI fame went on the record saying that in order for AI to become ubiquitous, it would require a breakthrough in energy production. I guess we’re already starting to feel the pain. This is coming at a bad time for environmental sustainability goals – if we can’t meet this surge in demand with sustainable energy sources, the fallback is more carbon.

I’m a fan of David Karpf and his newsletter The Future, Then and Now . Last week he asked , “are large language models on the trajectory of word processing or digital advertising?” It’s basically a question version of my statement in the opening above – are we at an inflection point in AI that is the inevitable end of AGI? Or have we just made something that does something cool, but is a very specific application that may not end up delivering a lot of value? And, in his analogy, digital advertising plays the role of “very specific that may not end up delivering a lot of value.” Because it has applicability specifically for retail, I have to share the quote:

“Roughly once a month, Amazon.com sends me an email suggesting that I might want to buy either The MoveOn Effect or Analytic Activism . I am an especially bad target for these advertisements, because I am the author of both books.

Amazon has been in business for over twenty-five years. It has the largest, most sophisticated consumer database in the world. It is a $1.87 trillion company. And its online ad system still tries to sell authors their own books."

In his article, David links to this essay by Colin Fraser, a data scientist at Meta, and it is amazing (if very long). If you don't want to dive into the text, then scroll down past the BCG magic ladder of customer service chatbot maturity to see the screenshots of just how far away we are from GenAI being a chatbot. It all comes down to Colin's theory of what is a nail and what is not (he starts out by stating that GenAI is a hammer and we have no idea what makes a nail):

"I believe that this property, where there are many ways to appear to have [calculated a million decimal places of pi] (by outputting a million random digits, for example), but only a very small number of ways to actually do it (by outputting the correct million digits), is characteristic of things that Generative AI systems will generally be bad at.”

He further argues that ChatGPT (and other LLMs) do one thing very well, and it’s a thing where the output has a lot of leeway in terms of accuracy. His (successful) attempts to derail a local auto dealer’s pretty low-end chatbot drive home the point – and have significant implications for retailers rushing to adopt chatbots exactly like these, pretty much proves the point. Where accuracy matters, LLMs are awful. The answer has been to limit the responses, because it’s very very difficult to improve the accuracy, and easy to push it out of its zone even if you do manage to train on a specific data set that is supposed to improve its accuracy.

And, finally, PSFK, a trends company, produced a 13-page summary report on trends discussed at SXSW, generated by AI after listening to all of the available recorded sessions. The result is plausible. Seems pretty good. The thing is, and this is the point both David Karpf and Colin Fraser make, it’s really impossible to tell unless you also listened to all of the sessions. So does it really help us get anywhere? I guess you have to have faith – seems like there’s a lot of hope and faith going on out there, in the absence of measurable, sustained benefits proven out over time.

Retail Winners and Losers

Wendy’s will work with DoorDash and Wing Drones to pilot deliveries in the US. They’ve checked off a successful pilot in Australia, and are looking to expand. Christianburg, VA will be the first US pilot site. Expect delivery to take about 30 minutes, and if this test is successful there are plans to expand to other US cities. Wing Drones, by the way, is a provider “powered by Alphabet”, so there are all kinds of tech implications on this one.

And, since last week I took marketplaces in general (and Amazon specifically) to task for monetizing their share of fraud, it’s only fair that I cover that Amazon has spent more than $1.2B in fraud detection , covering suppliers, sellers, and customers. They put out a big blog post detailing everything they do, from a Brand Registry system and Machine Learning to detect brand IP infringement. It has invested in seller verification, stopping more than 700,000 bad actor attempts to create new seller accounts. They also have a Counterfeit Crimes Unit that partners with law enforcement, and they’ve helped seize or dispose of over 7 million counterfeit product worldwide.

The Bottom Line

It’s way too easy to take a set of economic numbers and say that consumers’ willingness to spend is either high or low – the same set of numbers, mind you. On the other hand, it’s way too easy to take some initial trend like adoption of ChatGPT and project it forward into a magical future, when in reality there isn’t enough data yet to really say anything one way or the other. And while ChatGPT can do some incredible things, it’s not even clear that we can power the future that power-hungry GPU’s require to make that future possible. Two sides of the same coin: putting spin on a data set, or making a data set out of what is not yet clearly a trend line. The fact that we’re navigating both at the same time – from multiple different directions – is exactly why it’s so difficult to understand what the future holds. For retail, or or anything else.

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Japan approves $3.9 billion in subsidies for chipmaker Rapidus

Japan's industry ministry said on Tuesday it has approved subsidies worth up to 590 billion yen ($3.9 billion) for chip foundry venture Rapidus as Tokyo pushes forward with plans to rebuild the country's chip manufacturing base.

Procurement 2024: The next ten CPO actions to meet today’s toughest challenges

Brings extensive experience in the energy sector, including operations-performance transformations, accelerated cost-repositioning programs, procurement and supply-management excellence, and digital and agile procurement enablement

March 29, 2024 Procurement leaders continue to face major challenges in 2024 , forcing them to adapt to a constantly changing environment. They recognize that procurement organizations must adopt more sophisticated practices to meet both short-term challenges and the long-term vision for Procurement 2030.

We have refreshed our 2023 resilience toolbox in light of 2024’s challenges and lessons, introducing five new priority actions and retaining five from the strong efforts already made in procurement. These ten actions and tools will continue to help CPOs drive sustainable impact within their organizations and prepare for the future.

The dynamic and challenging landscape

Six market forces and trends are reshaping the business landscape in 2024:

Economic volatility persists. To maintain stability and margins amid the turbulence , successful CPOs are managing costs without compromising supply chain reliability.

Supply chain disruptions, often arising from geopolitical and climate issues , have prompted companies to rethink their globalized sourcing strategies . Successful organizations are reassessing their risk and resiliency practices, including supplier relationships.

Customers’ new expectations for shipping times, product availability, and sustainability practices are motivating organizations to find new ways to future-proof their supply chains . Collaboration across business functions is essential.

Advanced technology is becoming a strategic enabler of efficiency and effectiveness. Leading organizations are learning to utilize generative AI to accelerate and improve performance .

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are now integral to supply chain strategies. In addition to ramping up efforts to meet 2030 decarbonization targets and more stringent EU regulations, leading companies are partnering with suppliers to promote socially responsible supply chains while improving cost competitiveness.

Labor market challenges stem from talent shortages and rising wages. Successful organizations are deploying innovative approaches to attract and retain talent and boost productivity .

Ten core actions

Our 2024 toolbox includes ten core actions to address four broader topics ( exhibit ):

End-to-end value capture

1. Utilize new-frontier analytics and AI. Employ advanced analytics to extract valuable insights from procurement data. Make strategic decisions using predictive analytics and AI for commodity forecasting, risk assessment, performance optimization, talent sourcing, and supplier negotiations. For example, a generative AI bot can help procurement teams develop strategic decisions based on available data. “For key commodities, I see AI better managing the physical hedge programs, as well as facilitating better and faster material substitution and equivalent assessments,” observed a participant in our recent Procurement Executive Forum.

2. Create an RFP engine. Develop an RFP engine—an approach for prioritizing categories and suppliers based on market development, spend analysis, and supplier leverage. This analysis prioritizes spending with the highest potential to drive value for the organization, while deprioritizing categories or suppliers where value will be more challenging to obtain.

3. Redesign value creation with key suppliers. Intensify design-to-cost collaborations with suppliers. Partner with suppliers or directly invest to secure the scale-up of critical supply chains. The CPO of an industrial company highlighted the importance of “partnering externally with suppliers and internally with other functions and business units—with procurement being a knowledge broker, creating value from the collaboration inside and outside the company.”

New sources of value

4. Manage volatility. Understand exposures and coordinate responses to macroeconomic drivers, such as interest rates, commodity prices, and consumer confidence. Maintain a practiced and updated playbook to recover and then control costs as inflationary pressures subside (or shift) and supply chains are redesigned. Ensure the playbook includes scenario planning that captures a broad range of potential outcomes. This represents an evolution of the “Refresh category strategies” tactical action included in last year’s priorities. A Fortune 100 global CPO emphasized the need to be proactive: “Over the past three years, we have faced a series of crises, grappling with supply chain shortages, price increases, and labor constraints. Now is the time for procurement to play offense instead of defense.”

5. Optimize operations from end to end. Establish a cross-functional nerve center or control tower to create transparency across internal processes, monitor markets, and identify risks. This was among the enabling actions in last year’s priorities and continues to be essential today. In addition, evolve from a traditional focus on savings to a much broader agenda emphasizing value creation, resilience, and sustainability. Report daily to top executives to enable rapid decision making, oversight, and integrated communications.

6. Integrate ESG and optimize upstream Scope 3. Incorporate ESG factors in procurement decisions to reduce Scope 3 emissions while continuing to manage costs and other trade-offs. Creating transparency on CO 2 emissions is now necessary given the need to comply with new regulations, such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. In the past, energy consumption was the main focus, but now procurement’s efforts are expanding to encompass the entire ESG spectrum. This means working with suppliers to establish clear guidelines, support, and incentives for sustainable sourcing, ethical practices, and environmental impact assessments throughout the supply chain. While ESG may not be the highest priority for many CPOs at this moment, maintaining momentum is crucial for long-term success.

Integrated margin management

7. Coordinate response for integrated margin management. Enable effective pricing and contracting strategies to tightly integrate cost of goods sold (COGS) and pricing. Beyond providing real-time information on costs, procurement can feed insights about the market and competitors to sales teams to bolster their efficacy in customer price negotiations. Reflecting the need for action, end-to-end margin management was identified as a top three priority by 87 percent of participants in our recent Procurement Executive Forum.

8. Redefine portfolio and product design. Reevaluate offerings to identify those that rely heavily on scarce materials and few suppliers. Look for ways to reduce these dependencies, expedite qualification, and hence increase resilience. Apply market research to capture emerging opportunities by actively managing costs and risks, such as those relating to labor and logistics.

Operating model of the future

9. Digitize end-to-end procurement processes. Deploy a modern enterprise data management system that connects with the rest of the organization and external data. Leverage advanced analytics, generative AI, and leading digital tools (such as should-cost models, eRFX, and contract AI) to maximize value creation and prepare the organization for future technology advancements. Participants in our recent Procurement Executive Forum plan to pursue these opportunities: 90 percent regard digital processes to manage contracts and flag noncompliance and value leakages as business-critical going forward.

10. Build new capabilities for the buyer of the future. Prepare the organization for procurement’s future by investing in new abilities for advanced market research, integrated technology, and talent development. Equip procurement professionals with deep insights and tools to understand and address supply market dynamics, risks, economics, and ESG. CPOs can spearhead the development of institutional capabilities, centers of excellence, and talent programs to drive this transformation.

In recent years, CPOs have gained valuable experience navigating unprecedented shifts in the business landscape. They must now apply those lessons by taking a more sophisticated set of actions to strengthen organizational agility and resilience. CPOs who master the challenges will promote success for their organizations, today and in the future.

The authors wish to thank Simon Braun, Christian Doppler, Ezra Greenberg, Alli Lesovoy, and Carolina Mazuera for their contributions to this article.

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2024 Housing Market Forecast and Predictions: Housing Affordability Finally Begins to Turnaround

As we look ahead to 2024 , we see a mix of continuity and change in both the housing market and economy. Against a backdrop of modest economic growth, slightly higher unemployment, and easing inflation longer term interest rates including mortgage rates begin a slow retreat. The shift from climbing to falling mortgage rates improves housing affordability, but saps some of the urgency home shoppers had previously sensed. Less frenzied housing demand and plenty of rental home options keep home sales relatively stable at low levels in 2024, helping home prices to adjust slightly lower even as the number of for-sale homes continues to dwindle.

Realtor.com ® 2024 Forecast for Key Housing Indicators

Home Prices Dip, Improving Affordability

Home prices grew at a double-digit annual clip for the better part of two years spanning the second half of 2020 through 2022, a notable burst following a growing streak that spanned back to 2012. As mortgage rates climbed, home price growth flatlined, actually declining on an annual basis in early 2023 before an early-year dip in mortgage rates spurred enough buyer demand to reignite competition for still-limited inventory. Home prices began to climb again, and while they did not reach a new monthly peak, on average for the year we expect that the 2023 median home price will slightly exceed the 2022 annual median.

Nevertheless, even during the brief period when prices eased, using a mortgage to buy a home remained expensive. Since May 2022, purchasing the typical for-sale home listing at the prevailing rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20% down payment meant forking over a quarter or more of the typical household paycheck. In fact, in October 2023, it required 39% of the typical household income and this share is expected to average 36.7% for the full calendar year in 2023. This figure has typically ranged around 21%, so it is well above historical average. We expect that the return to pricing in line with financing costs will begin in 2024, and home prices, mortgage rates, and income growth will each contribute to the improvement. Home prices are expected to ease slightly, dropping less than 2% for the year on average. Combined with lower mortgage rates and income growth this will improve the home purchase mortgage payment share relative to median income to an average 34.9% in 2024, with the share slipping under 30% by the end of the year.

Home Sales Barely Budge Above 2023’s Likely Record Low

After soaring during the pandemic, existing home sales were weighed down in the latter half of 2022 as mortgage rates took off, climbing from just over 3% at the start of the year to a peak of more than 7% in the fourth quarter. The reprieve in mortgage rates in early 2023, when they dipped to around 6%, brought some life to home sales, but the renewed climb of mortgage rates has again exerted significant pressure on home sales that is exacerbated by the fact that a greater than usual number of households bought homes over the past few years, and despite stories of pandemic purchase regret , for the most part, these homeowners continue to be happy in their homes.

This is consistent with what visitors to Realtor.com report when asked why they are not planning to sell their homes. The number one reason homeowners aren’t trying to sell is that they just don’t need to; concern about losing an existing low-rate mortgage is the top financial concern cited. Our current projection is for 2023 home sales to tally just over 4 million, a dip of 19% over the 2022 5 million total.

With many of the same forces at play heading into 2024, the housing chill will continue, with sales expected to remain essentially unchanged at just over 4 million. Although mortgage rates are expected to ease throughout the course of the year, the continuation of high costs will mean that existing homeowners will have a very high threshold for deciding to move, with many likely choosing to stay in place. Moves of necessity–for job changes, family situation changes, and downsizing to a more affordable market–are likely to drive home sales in 2024.

Shoppers Find Even Fewer Existing Homes For Sale

Even before the pandemic, housing inventory was on a long, slow downward trajectory. Insufficient building meant that the supply of houses did not keep up with household formation and left little slack in the housing market. Both homeowner and rental vacancy remain below historic averages . In contrast with the existing home market, which remains sluggish, builders have been catching up, with construction remaining near pre-pandemic highs for single-family and hitting record levels for multi-family .

Despite this, the lack of excess capacity in housing has been painfully obvious in the for-sale home market. The number of existing homes on the market has dwindled. With home sales activity to continue at a relatively low pace, the number of unsold homes on the market is also expected to remain low. Although mortgage rates are expected to begin to ease, they are expected to exceed 6.5% for the calendar year. This means that the lock-in effect, in which the gap between market mortgage rates and the mortgage rates existing homeowners enjoy on their outstanding mortgage, will remain a factor. Roughly two-thirds of outstanding mortgages have a rate under 4% and more than 90% have a rate less than 6%.

Rental Supply Outpaces Demand to Drive Mild Further Decline in Rents

After almost a full year of double-digit rent growth between mid-2021 and mid-2022, the rental market has finally cooled down, as evidenced by the year-over-year decline that started in May 2023 . In 2024, we expect the rental market will closely resemble the dynamics witnessed in 2023, as the tug of war between supply and demand results in a mild annual decline of -0.2% in the median asking rent.

New multi-family supply will continue to be a key element shaping the 2024 rental market. In the third quarter of 2023, the annual pace of newly completed multi-family homes stood at 385,000 units. Although absorption rates remained elevated in the second quarter, especially at lower price points, the rental vacancy rate ticked up to 6.6% in the third quarter. This uptick in rental vacancy suggests the recent supply has outpaced demand, but context is important. After recent gains, the rental vacancy rate is on par with its level right before the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, still below its 7.2% average from the 2013 to 2019 period. Looking ahead, the strong construction pipeline– which hit a record high for units under construction this summer –is expected to continue fueling rental supply growth in 2024 pushing rental vacancy back toward its long-run average.

While the surge in new multi-family supply gives renters options, the sheer number of renters will minimize the potential price impact. The median asking rent in 2024 is expected to drop only slightly below its 2023 level. Renting is expected to continue to be a more budget friendly option than buying in the vast majority of markets, even though home prices and mortgage rates are both expected to dip, helping pull the purchase market down slightly from record unaffordability.

Young adult renters who lack the benefit of historically high home equity to tap into for a home purchase will continue to find the housing market challenging. Specifically, as many Millennials age past first-time home buying age and more Gen Z approach these years, the current housing landscape is likely to keep these households in the rental market for a longer period as they work to save up more money for the growing down payment needed to buy a first home. This trend is expected to sustain robust demand for rental properties. Consequently, we anticipate that rental markets favored by young adults , a list which includes a mix of affordable areas and tech-heavy job markets in the South, Midwest, and West, will be rental markets to watch in 2024.

Key Wildcards:

Wildcard 1: Mortgage Rates With both mortgage rates and home prices expected to turn the corner in 2024, record high unaffordability will become a thing of the past, though as noted above, the return to normal won’t be accomplished within the year. This prediction hinges on the expectation that inflation will continue to subside, enabling the recent declines in longer-term interest rates to continue. If inflation were to instead see a surprise resurgence, this aspect of the forecast would change, and home sales could slip lower instead of steadying.
Wildcard 2: Geopolitics In our forecast for 2023 , we cited the risk of geopolitical instability on trade and energy costs as something to watch. In addition to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East has not only had a catastrophic human toll, both conflicts have the potential to impact the economic outlook in ways that cannot be fully anticipated.
Wildcard 3: Domestic Politics: 2024 Elections In 2020, amid the upheaval of pandemic-era adaptations, many Americans were on the move. We noted that Realtor.com traffic patterns indicated that home shoppers in very traditionally ‘blue’ or Democratic areas were tending to look for homes in markets where voters have more typically voted ‘red’ or Republican. While consumers also reported preferring to live in locations where their political views align with the majority , few actually reported wanting to move for this reason alone.

Housing Perspectives:

What will the market be like for homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers.

First-time homebuyers will continue to face a challenging housing market in 2024, but there are some green shoots. The record-high share of income required to purchase the median priced home is expected to begin to decline as mortgage rates ease, home prices soften, and incomes grow. In 2023 we expect that for the year as a whole, the monthly cost of financing the typical for-sale home will average more than $2,240, a nearly 20% increase over the mortgage payment in 2022, and roughly double the typical payment for buyers in 2020. This amounted to a whopping nearly 37% of the typical household income. In 2024 as modest price declines take hold and mortgage rates dip, the typical purchase cost is expected to slip just under $2,200 which would amount to nearly 35% of income. While far higher than historically average, this is a significant first step in a buyer-friendly direction.

How can homebuyers prepare?

Homebuyers can prepare for this year’s housing market by getting financially ready. Buyers can use a home affordability calculator , like this one at Realtor.com to translate their income and savings into a home price range. And shoppers can pressure test the results by using a mortgage calculator to consider different down payment, price, and loan scenarios to see how their monthly costs would be impacted. Working with a lender can help potential buyers explore different loan products such as FHA or VA loans that may offer lower mortgage interest rates or more flexible credit criteria.

Although prices are anticipated to fall in 2024, housing costs remain high, and a down payment can be a big obstacle for buyers. Recent research shows that the typical down payment on a home reached a record high of $30,000 . To make it easier to cobble together a down payment, shoppers can access information about down payment assistance options at Realtor.com/fairhousing and in the monthly payment section of home listing pages. Furthermore, home shoppers can explore loan products geared toward helping families access homeownership by enabling down payments as low as 3.5% in the case of FHA loans and 0% in the case of VA loans .

What will the market be like for home sellers?

Home sellers are likely to face more competition from builders than from other sellers in 2024. Because builders are continuing to maintain supply and increasingly adapting to market conditions, they are increasingly focused on lower-priced homes and willing to make price adjustments when needed. As a result, potential sellers will want to consider the landscape for new construction housing in their markets and any implications for pricing and marketing before listing their home for sale.

What will the market be like for renters?

In 2024, renting is expected to continue to be a more cost-effective option than buying in the short term even though we anticipate the advantage for renting to diminish as home prices and mortgage rates decline.

However, for those considering the pursuit of long-term equity through homeownership, it’s essential to not only stay alert about market trends but also to carefully consider the intended duration of residence in their next home. When home prices rise rapidly, like they did during the pandemic, the higher cost of purchasing a home may break even with the cost of renting in as little as 3 years. Generally, it takes longer to reach the breakeven point, typically within a 5 to 7-year timeframe. Importantly, when home prices are falling and rents are also declining, as is expected to be the case in 2024, it can take longer to recoup some of the higher costs of buying a home. Individuals using Realtor.com’s Rent vs. Buy Calculator can thoroughly evaluate the costs and benefits associated with renting versus buying over time and how many years current market trends suggest it will take before buying is the better financial decision. This comprehensive tool can provide insights tailored to a household’s specific rent versus buying decision and empowers consumers to consider not only the optimal choice for the current month but also how the trade-offs evolve over several years.

Local Market Predictions:

All real estate is local and while the national trends are instructive, what matters most is what’s expected in your local market.

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Digital Technologies of the Project “Moscow ‘Smart City—2030’”: The Transport Sector

First Online: 17 May 2023

Cite this chapter

Aleksandr A. Matenkov ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3831-1245 3 ,
Ruslan I. Grin ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4343-9219 3 ,
Markha K. Muzaeva ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0843-5685 3 &
Dali A. Tsuraeva ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2445-6729 3

Part of the book series: Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes ((EFEPP))

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The research deals with the priority areas of digitalization in the transport sector in interpreting the strategy “Moscow ‘Smart City—2030’.” The research aims to study the priority areas of digitalization of transport flows of the metropolis and the potential impact of digitalization on the functioning of the territory. By applying the methods of content analysis and the regulatory-legal method in the research, the authors assessed the position of the city authorities on the most sought-after areas of innovation in the transport sector and determined the composition of socio-economic benefits of digitalization of the transport sector. The analysis of statistical indicators of the development of the transport sector of the Moscow urban agglomeration has confirmed the growing need to improve the efficiency of transport infrastructure in the broad sense, including an increase in the level of connectivity of the city districts and the level of sustainability of the transport system. The results show certain disproportions between the priority areas of transport development and the actual needs of the urban infrastructure, as well as the presence of significant legal constraints in implementing uncrewed transport concepts. It is demonstrated that there is a certain consensus between the municipal authorities and the population on the issue of assigning the transport sector among the priorities for implementing digital technology. The specifics of the metropolitan area (high concentration of capital and innovation activity) allow for considering Moscow as a model example of the introduction of innovative technologies. In this regard, it is necessary to optimize the legal restrictions on the introduction of innovations in the field of transport (on the model of a legal sandbox, Regulatory Sandbox).

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Department of Information Technology of Moscow (2018) Concept of Moscow 2030. Retrieved from https://2030.mos.ru/netcat_files/userfiles/documents_2030/opros.pdf . Accessed 10 Dec 2022

KPMG (2020) Autonomous vehicles readiness index. Retrieved from https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/06/autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.html . Accessed 12 Dec 2022

Safronchuk MV, Sergeeva MV (2021) The concept of economic growth through digital economy perspective. In: Popkova EG, Sergi BS (eds) Modern global economic system: evolutionary development vs. revolutionary leap. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 1264–1271. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69415-9_138

Ivanov OV, Shamanina EA (2021) PPP as a tool to achieve sustainable development goals and implement the concept of “Quality infrastructure investments”. In: Zavyalova EB, Popkova EG (eds) Industry 4.0: exploring the consequences of climate change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75405-1_28

Safronchuk MV, Ivanitskaya NV, Baibulov AK (2022) Global labor market and challenges of digitalization. In: Popkova EG (eds) Imitation market modeling in digital economy: game theoretic approaches. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp 142–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93244-2_17

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Matenkov, A.A., Grin, R.I., Muzaeva, M.K., Tsuraeva, D.A. (2023). Digital Technologies of the Project “Moscow ‘Smart City—2030’”: The Transport Sector. In: Popkova, E.G. (eds) Smart Green Innovations in Industry 4.0 for Climate Change Risk Management. Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28457-1_45

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Industries Overview

Latest articles, industry kpis: youtube and x emerge as leaders for social media advertising attention, uk finfluencers face prison time for false or misleading financial product promotions there, generative ai’s actual use isn’t meeting its perceived marketing potential—yet, retailers criticize mastercard and visa’s swipe fee settlement—here’s our take, 2024 us ad market to hit $369 billion, buoyed by politics, says magna, linear, streaming, avod, and beyond: what do common tv terms mean, social media is a core part of young people’s lives, us adults are spending more time with digital video and less time with traditional tv, google wallet updates verification settings to speed up payments, how marketers can do more with less after a rocky earnings season, about emarketer, the digital healthcare consumer 2023, what providers and marketers need to know about the digital patient journey.

Executive Summary

Digital healthcare usage was fast-tracked by the pandemic. But now, with so many tools in the market, providers and marketers must deliver differentiated experiences to stay competitive. They’ll need to know how and why patients use these tools—and how to resolve the pain points.

Key Question: Which digital health products and services are US consumers using, and how does usage differ across populations?

How Do US Consumers Engage in Healthcare-Related Activities? (% of respondents, July 2022)

KEY STAT: About 46% of US consumers—an estimated 119 million patients—engage with their healthcare providers using a combination of patient portals, telehealth appointments, apps, and traditional in-person visits, per PYMNTS.

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Consumer adoption of digital health tools is still growing.
Who is the healthcare tech user?
Patients demand an omnichannel experience.
The patient healthcare journey often starts online.
Patients are using social media to find health information.
Patients believe digital health tools lead to better health.
Consumers want doctors to embrace digital health tools.
Healthcare is falling short on delivering a quality digital experience.
Providers are at risk of losing patients if they don’t go digital.
How can providers and marketers keep pace with the digital healthcare consumer?
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3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Technology Services Market

The technology services space has witnessed healthy growth since the pandemic, fueled by the rapid adoption of remote work, accelerating the global digital transition. Technological advancements like 5G, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have driven industry expansion. Also, increased concerns about data security have acted as a catalyst for industry growth. AppLovin Corporation ( APP Quick Quote APP - Free Report ) , Spotify Technology S.A. ( SPOT Quick Quote SPOT - Free Report ) and Duolingo, Inc. ( DUOL Quick Quote DUOL - Free Report ) are poised to benefit from the prevailing trends.

About the Industry

The Zacks Technology Services industry encompasses companies involved in producing, developing and designing various software support, data processing, computing hardware and communications equipment. These offerings range from integrated powertrain technologies, advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to semiconductor packaging and interconnect technologies, collaboration software, specialty printers and data acquisition and analysis systems. This industry caters to consumer and business markets and serves diverse end markets and customer segments. Additionally, some industry players offer advanced analytics, clinical research services, data storage technology and solutions and technology-enabled financial services.

Factors Structuring the Future of Technology Services

Rising Demand Environment: The industry is mature, with demand for services remaining healthy over time. Revenues, income and cash flows are anticipated to gradually reach the pre-pandemic levels, aiding most industry players to pay out stable dividends.

Economic Recovery: The sector is a major beneficiary of the broader economy and service activities. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in 2023 compared with 1.9% growth in 2022. Economic activities in the non-manufacturing sector are in good shape. The Services PMI measured by the Institute for Supply Management has stayed above the 50% mark for the past 14 months, indicating continued expansion.

Technological Advancement Takes Centre Stage: The global shift toward digitization creates opportunities in various markets, including 5G, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). The United States, a significant player in the IT sector, is positioned for growth owing to the widespread adoption of smart technologies and increased investments in security. Companies increasingly adopt AI, ML, blockchain and data science to gain a competitive advantage. According to market.us, the worldwide artificial intelligence market was worth $177 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach a staggering $2.75 trillion by 2032.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Encouraging Prospects

The Zacks Technology Services industry, which is housed within the broader Zacks Business Services sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #82. This rank places it in the top 33% of more than 250 Zacks industries.

The group’s Zacks Industry Rank , which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates continued outperformance in the near term. Our research shows that the top 50% of Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.

Before we present a few stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and current valuation.

Industry Beats Sector and S&P 500

The Zacks Technology Services industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Business Services sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite over the past year.

The industry has gained 57.1% over this period compared with the 25.8% rise of the broader sector and the 27.6% increase of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

One-Year Price Performance

Industry's Current Valuation

On the basis of EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), which is commonly used for valuing Technology Services stocks, the industry is currently trading at 67.1X compared with the S&P 500’s 13.86X and the sector’s 27.61X.

Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 72.18X, as low as 19.82X and at the median of 50.24X, as the charts below show.

EV-to-EBITDA

Technology Stock Picks

Here, we have presented three technology stocks expected to reap the benefits of a growing market. Each stock sports Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AppLovin is a mobile advertising company that provides an advertisement platform for application developers. The company is currently benefiting from growth in the mobile app advertising market, technology upgradation and the launch of the AXON 2.0 engine. Its revenues increased 17% year over year in 2023. Net Income came in at $357 million with a net margin of 11% compared to a net loss of $193 million and a net margin of -7% in 2022.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised 59% upward to $2.48 per share in the last 60 days. Earnings are expected to increase more than 100% year over year in 2024. The stock has gained a whopping 337% in the past year.

Spotify provides audio streaming subscription services worldwide. The company is currently benefiting from the growth of subscribers and monthly active users (MAU). Spotify achieved MAU growth of 23% and premium subscriber growth of 15% in 2023, leading to year-over-year revenue growth of 13%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised up 45.9% to $3.53 per share in the last 60 days. Earnings are expected to increase more than 100% year over year in 2024. The stock has appreciated 93% in the past year.

Duolingo is a popular language-learning platform offering interactive lessons in numerous languages. Utilizing gamified techniques, it engages users with exercises, quizzes and challenges. Its user-friendly interface makes language acquisition enjoyable and accessible for learners worldwide. The company’s revenues increased 44% year over year in 2023. Net Income came in at $16.1 compared to a net loss of $59.6 million in 2022.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised favorably by more than 48.4% in the last 60 days to $1.38 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised 45.9% upward in the last 60 days. Earnings are expected to increase more than 100% year over year in 2024. The stock has gained 54% in the past year.

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Urban Issues
Small Cities
Demographics

Moscow, like other international urban areas , is decentralizing, despite considerable barriers. The expansion will lead to even more decentralization, which is likely to lead to less time "stuck in traffic" and more comfortable lifestyles. Let's hope that Russia's urban development policies, along with its plans to restore population growth, will lead to higher household incomes and much improved economic performance.

Wendell Cox is a Visiting Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris and the author of “ War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life ”

Note 1: The 23 ward (ku) area of Tokyo is the geography of the former city of Tokyo, which was abolished in the 1940s. There is considerable confusion about the geography of Tokyo. For example, the 23 ward area is a part of the prefecture of Tokyo, which is also called the Tokyo Metropolis, which has led some analysts to think of it as the Tokyo metropolitan area (labor market area). In fact, the Tokyo metropolitan area, variously defined, includes, at a minimum the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama with some municipalities in Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The metropolitan area contains nearly three times the population of the "Tokyo Metropolis."

Note 2: The expansion area (556 square miles or 1,440 square kilometers) has a current population of 250,000.

Note 3: Includes all residents in suburban districts with at least part of their population in the urban area.

Note 4: Urban area data not yet available.

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Evolving Urban Form: Development Profiles of World Urban Areas
Transportation

Comment viewing options

Road in city area.

The roads and ways of the city areas are very clumsy and many accidents are happening due to the short road. But you need to maintain the driving properly otherwise you may face accident. So now the government decided to expand the road which may put the positive effect on automobile sector. I think it is a helpful service for the society people. If you have a BMW car and you have faced any problem then better to repair it at BMW Repair Spring, TX for the best service.

Transit & transportation

Transit and transportation services are quite impressive in most of the urban cities; therefore people were getting better benefits from suitable transportation service. Urban cities like Moscow, Washington, New York and Tokyo; we have found high margin of transportation system that helps to build a better communication network in these cities. I hope through the help of modern transportation system we are able to bring revolutionary change in automobile industries; in this above article we have also found the same concepts to develop transportation system. Mercedes repair in Torrance

Moscow is bursting Noblesse

Moscow is bursting Noblesse at the seams. The core city covers more than 420 square miles (1,090 kilometers), and has a population of approximately 11.5 million people. With 27,300 residents per square mile (10,500 per square kilometer), Moscow is one percent more dense than the bleach anime watch city of New York, though Moscow covers 30 percent more land. The 23 ward area of Tokyo (see Note) is at least a third more dense, though Moscow's land area is at least half again as large as Tokyo. All three core areas rely

Belgravia Villas is a new

Belgravia Villas is a new and upcoming cluster housing located in the Ang Mo Kio area, nested right in the Ang Mo Kio landed area. It is within a short drive to Little India, Orchard and city area. With expected completion in mid 2016, it comprises of 118 units in total with 100 units of terrace and 18 units of Semi-D. belgravia villas

Russians seeing the light while Western elites are bickering?

What an extremely interesting analysis - well done, Wendell.

It is also extremely interesting that the Russian leadership is reasonably pragmatic about urban form, in contrast to the "planners" of the post-rational West.

An acquaintance recently sent me an article from "The New Yorker", re Moscow's traffic problems.

The article "abstract" is HERE (but access to the full article requires subscription)

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gessen

One classic quote worth taking from it, is: "People will endure all manner of humiliation to keep driving".

I do find it odd that the "New Yorker" article author says nothing at all about the rail transit system Moscow had, on which everyone was obliged to travel, under Communism. It can't surely have vaporised into thin air?

Moscow is a classic illustration of just how outmoded rails are, and how important "automobility" is, when the auto supplants rails so rapidly than even when everybody did travel on rails up to a certain date, and the road network dates to that era, when nobody was allowed to own a car; an article written just 2 decades later does not even mention the rail transit system, other than to criticise the mayor for "failing to invest in a transit system".......!!!!!!!!

This is also a give-away of "The New Yorker's" inability to shake off the modern PC ideology on rails vs cars.

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