Market research is the gathering and analyzing of information about consumer behavior to help a company market its products or services. Market researchers use customer analytics such as past browsing and purchasing patterns to help predict future buying behaviors, thereby making it easier to lower business risks and maximize opportunities.

Market research is important because this data analysis helps provide guidance to companies on which products to improve and which to discontinue, where and how much to spend on advertising, and what future product development goals and investments they should pursue. This field relies on both qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather customer and market data for interpretation.

Qualitative research is gathered by reaching out to potential customers through focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires. With these qualitative methods, market researchers can delve into the thoughts and feelings people have towards a product or service. This information can be valuable in informing product design as well as creative marketing and branding strategies.

In contrast, quantitative research analyzes statistical data to generate insights. With the advent of digital commerce and social media, there are vast new datasets available for researchers to parse to discern patterns of online behavior and purchasing decisions, as well as tools to conduct A/B testing of different marketing content and advertising strategies at scale.