Research Guides: Marketing: Consumer Research

What is consumer research?

Consumer research documents consumer attitudes, reactions and preferences. Consumer research can be described as the why of customers and markets.

Websites

TrendWatching
Global consumer trends, insights and related innovations.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Consumer Expenditure Survey
Provides data on expenditures, income and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States.

Customer Surveys and Polls

Pew Research Center
A nonpartisan fact tank that conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. Follow key trends or download data sets.
PollingReport.com
Offers nonpartisan, current polling reports on politics and government, the economy and finance, current affairs, sports, entertainment and health from a wide variety of sources.
Public Agenda Reports and Surveys
In-depth analyses and opinion studies on a wide variety of topics, including the economy, education, health care and community engagement.

Create Your Own

Google Forms
Collect and organize with Google Forms for free.
Jotform
Create online forms and surveys. Free accounts available with up to 5 forms.
SurveyMonkey
Conduct and analyze surveys. Free accounts available with up to 10 questions per survey.

Databases

These databases can be used remotely with an active Austin Public Library Card and password or by using a public computer or connecting a personal device to Library WiFi at any APL location.

AtoZdatabases
Use Advanced Search to construct customer lists based on geography, household information and interests/hobbies/lifestyles.
Gale Business: DemographicsNow
Leverages Census data, consumer expenditures, retail spending and Mosaic Lifestyle market segmentation groupings to help you analyze data in easy-to-use report formats.
Factiva
Search for subjects like consumer sentiment, consumer spending and consumer trends.

SizeUpAustin
Data to help your small business make better decisions around competitive benchmarking, customers, suppliers, even marketing and advertising.

Books

Obsessed by Emily Heyward
Heyward covers speaking to a customer's sense of self, creating a connection between product and customers, building customer loyalty and taking a personal approach.
Small Data by Martin Lindström
Hired by the world's leading brands to find out what makes their customers tick, Martin Lindstrom spends 300 nights a year overseas, closely observing people in their homes. His goal: to uncover their hidden desires and turn them into breakthrough products for the world's leading brands.
The Choice Factory by Richard Shotton
If you are in the business of influencing decisions, you need to understand what drives them.
Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger
Explores the subtle, secret influences that affect the decisions we make--from what we buy, to the careers we choose, to what we eat.