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Due to consumer behavioral changes and global developments, market research trends in 2021 are constantly changing and adapting. In these times of uncertainty, the need for reliable, time-saving, and smarter technology is increasing. In 2020 when the global economy was taking a hit, research functions grew to order to get better insights.

Market research has advanced because everybody now sees the value of informative data. From transactional data to client data, position metrics to market analysis, and opinion research to academic research, differentiating between the correct data and noise has become increasingly significant. Hence, the need for the hour is now to perform smarter research. 

What are the Market Research Trends For 2021?

It is difficult to find consensus in a largely open-ended ecosystem. Still, most researchers, brands, and research facilitators agree to keep an eye out for Market research trends 2021. Data can be perceived differently by different people but a technical breakthrough in data processing and analysis is unchallengeable. Social media plays a critical role in the collection of thoughts; there is an advancement in the psychological, economic, and scientific understanding of data collection. The trends of market research 2021 will contribute to the transformation of market analysis, and 2021 will see a marked change in the processing of transactional data.

Mobile ethnography

This is a qualitative research methodology that studies respondents in their natural environment rather than in a laboratory. The main purpose of this market research strategy is to illustrate the various patterns of actions, attitudes, and values that are common to a group of people.

Bearing in mind that almost half of the world’s population owns a smartphone, it’s no wonder that this technique has evolved over the last few decades, making it easier to work.

Due to the current pandemic and social distance constraints, many businesses have turned to remote work. The transformation has opened up more possibilities for digital solutions like this. According to a survey, ethnography has shown a substantial increase in interest among information professionals compared to previous years.

Since the interaction is on a real-time basis, it is easy to adjust research goals and receive immediate insight. It’s an easy, money, and time-saving market research trend that will definitely stay for the next few years.

Automation through panels

Automation is another market research trend 2021 that can help you do more with a small budget in a shorter timeframe. Studies have shown that automation has made market research more efficient by enabling teams to do 25 percent more work with 25 percent fewer workers and infrastructure. Considering the amount of data market analysts have to work with, transitioning to automation is inevitable. Especially if they want to keep up with the quick changes in the market.

For market research, the opportunity to gather quantitative data and qualitative data with the advantage of having a strong base of respondents in one position is the way forward. Gone are the days when each element needed to go to various platforms. This would make it simpler for all stakeholders to manage market research. The way forward is DIY research, along with do-it-together (DIT) research in which the research tool provider chips with advanced research services to allow you to concentrate on gathering insights. 

The ongoing search for quicker, cheaper, and easier solutions has led to the growth of the Panel trend. It is now simpler than ever to pick samples, method of reporting, and review all findings from one source. It is becoming more popular, not only because of the automation but also because of the global recession, which has reduced many marketing budgets. A study found that 70% of market research professionals suggested that they are likely to turn to more panel tools in the following year.

Longitudinal tracking

Longitudinal analysis and monitoring will be one of the key market research trends in 2021. For far too long, studies have focused on broken-down sets of respondents that do not help to collect a macro-level view of data and perspective. With the aid of community management platforms, longitudinal research helps monitor behavioral shifts and create patterns in research and perspective between external and internal influences.

Not only that, but longitudinal monitoring also helps with quicker and faster turnaround analysis by participants that matter most to you and insights that you can trust and co-create with. Having a ready-to-use collection of research-ready respondents will help with ongoing tracking studies and accelerate the experience transformation initiatives.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Because AI is a growing subject in market research, some professionals have shifted their attention to doing new and faster research due to the new global situation. However, two AI divisions, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Text Analytics continued to spark interest among industry experts.

Natural Language Processing is a technology that facilitates the comprehension and interpretation of human language by machines. With speech recognition (e.g. Siri), machine translation (e.g. Google Translate), spell checking (e.g. Grammar), and many more, NLP is already making our lives simpler.

Without a question, it is expected to see smarter virtual assistants in the following years who can render proper human conversations. If the comprehension of human language progresses, chatbots can also be quicker. Machine learning would be able to perform a data science role with the help of pattern recognition and advanced interpretation.

In the future, AI would mainly assist with data cleaning and statistical analysis, but also with seeking more insights from open-ended answers, much as the researcher will do.

Agility

In a way that no one might predict, the pandemic epidemic has affected the economy. Some businesses find the situation catastrophic, just as in any global crisis, while others turn it into an opportunity. To find themselves in the latter position, enterprises are more inclined towards an agile strategy.

Agile market research is not a new concept, but it remains one of the market analysts’ top topics. It is a methodology focused on the use of established data at the time of decision making. In comparison to traditional research, that makes it more flexible.

As the projects are regarded as continually improving jobs, the focus is not on the perfect performance from the first round. They are divided into smaller steps, where the next stage of the process is indicated by each decision. Therefore, before the result, goods and services are continually assessed. This helps to have quicker outcomes.

Just a few of the advantages the agile approach can bring to the table are a quicker time to market, error reduction, and cost reduction. However, at the expense of consistency, it is necessary not to concentrate too much on pace. The essence of this strategy should be its versatility, as emphasized by market research. There is no question, above all that this pattern will continue to innovate along the path to being more successful.

Each strategy as and when inculcated allows market research dynamos to reposition themselves to make their services enriched to a higher scale and increasingly relevant. Standing in the current times the future seems a road full of blockades and uncertainties, however, market research can sure keep culminating with constant renovations, learning, and revision from experiences- the root lies in how much the analysts are ready to adapt and grow with the ever-changing circumstances, probably find the thrill in the change.