Library Guides: EGR 402: Industry & Market Research

Introduction to Industry & Market Research

Industry and Market Research are distinct but connected components of product development and idea validation. In this phase of research, companies identify macro-level factors that impact their ability to enter a market through industry analysis and assess the needs and expectations of consumers through market research.

Industry Research looks at the broad environment in which a company operates, including the identification of major players and competitors, external trends that impact businesses within an industry and represent threats and opportunities for a business and its products or services.

Market Research focuses on the environment in which specific products and services are sold and purchased. This includes identifying the size of the market for a product or services, trends impacting that market, consumer behavior in the market, and the demographics, geographic location, and preferences and attitudes of consumers.

Industry Analysis: Overview & Methods
A short article from the Corporate Finance Institute defining industry analysis methods.
SCORE: How to do Market Research

Industry Research Tools

Identify Your Industry

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal agencies in Canada, Mexico and the United States to classify businesses based on their type of economic activity. NAICS codes are self-assigned by businesses.

Image Source: IBISWorld

FIND YOUR NAICS CODE: Search by keywords using the U.S. Census Bureau's NAICS Search

IBISWorld
Industry research database providing comprehensive industry reports for NAICS and specialized industries, including performance metrics, product and market trends, statistics, and detailed information for competitive and external environment analysis.
This industry research database contains reports on industries in the China, Global, and U.S. markets. The U.S. content is further subdivided into: Industry Reports classified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), Specialized Industry Reports for industries not adequately covered by NAICS, US Industry State Reports, US State Economic Profiles, US Industry iExpert Summaries, US Specialized Industry iExpert Summaries, US Business Environment Profiles, and US Business Environment State Profiles. Global industry reports are strong in the manufacturing sector. Each report contains an “at a glance” overview (including SWOT analysis), performance data, outlook data, products & markets analysis, competitive landscape analysis, lists of major companies, operating conditions, and key statistics. Statistics include financial ratios and industry averages from the Risk Management Association.

Trade Associations & Publications
Trade associations and trade publications are sources of industry-specific insights and data that may be unavailable in other sources.

Market Research Tools

Mintel Academic Access
Market reports providing insights & analysis on consumer behavior, market trends, product innovations, & industry opportunities, offering data to support academic research & business strategies.
Search reports, industry trends, expert insights, and national & international news to analyze market drivers, sizes & trends, market segmentation, and consumer attitudes & purchasing habits for the United States and European marketplaces. Filter searches by global regions, trend drivers (experiences, identity, rights, etc.), demographics (ex. age range / generation, marital status), or category (health & nutrition, retail & apparel, travel, leisure & entertainment, and more). Each report combines data and analysis of the competitive landscape, supply chain, market-share size and trends, and consumer profiles.
Statista
An extensive statistics platform providing data, reports, and charts, using data from market reports, government data services, and trade & research organizations, offering data-driven insights across industries, markets, and consumer trends.
At statista.com, access statistical data for more than 170 industries from over 80,000 topics in areas such as business, education, finance, media, politics, society, and technology. Statista gathers data from over 20,000 sources, including market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases, and the reports, charts, infographics, and statistics can be viewed online or downloaded.
Bizminer
Identify key financial indicators and major players and competitors within an industry and market area.
Quickly search startup and small business statistics, such as annual sales and market share, failure rates, and entrepreneurial activity rates. Reports are available for states and local areas as well as the national level. Data includes access to 9000+ markets and more than 10 million companies.

Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends