2015 was a big year for market research. As more market research companies entered the field and more clients requested their services than ever before, a rapid metamorphosis is taking place. Many developments that had been effecting change deep behind the scenes have now emerged as mainstream. A renewed interest in market research investment by outside firms has also made the technologies and methods market researchers use a more important topic of discussion than ever.
In light of these major shifts, here are the three trends that have come to define the evolving nature of market research in 2015.
Remote Digital Data Collection
Digital data collection is nothing new, and neither is collection of this data using internet connections or sensors like RFID. However, companies are taking these capabilities to new heights and adoption across the world is intensifying.
Now, countless manufacturing facilities are using sensors to gather data on assembly line performance. Mobile device browsing has allowed researching brands to track behaviors and data usage throughout the day. Always-connected apps and products like the Xbox One video game console provide constant data streams, as well. Newer methods like in-store Bluetooth low energy beacons are likewise tracking store traffic patterns and connecting prior digital browsing to physical shopping behaviors via the customer’s mobile phone.
With options like these, data collection can be passive, ongoing and generate more information than ever before.
Big Data Synthesis
More data than ever before means that the firms collecting it must have the technology in place to handle storing and parsing through it all. Adoption of frameworks like Hadoop and Cluster MapReduce coupled with large scale investment in data-hosting capabilities has led to a technological arms race, where those who can gather and sift through the data most readily will be able to provide clients with key insights like predicting trends and identifying momentum shifts in real-time.
End-to-End Analysis
A decade or so ago, market research firms would typically deliver heaps and heaps of raw data to their clients with perhaps a brief summary of the most evident trends. The client was then expected to apply their own analysis in order to answer the questions they found most salient.
Now, market research firms are increasingly supplying the last step of this process — analyzing data in light of client questions so that they can return with the most meaningful or actionable insights rather than just a giant data dump. This level of service is becoming a key differentiator in the industry, allowing for new niches of companies who just supply the top-level analysis or who offer consulting capacities in addition to the research results themselves.
2016 Set to Be a Bigger Year for Market Research Than Ever
Now that investors and private equity firms have taken a keen interest in market research, disruptive startups and growing mid-market players will sculpt a whole new playing field as 2016 gets underway.
You can learn more about the changing nature of client/market research partnerships by reading our comprehensive guide to field data collection.
