University Library: Research Consumers: Home

What is consumer research?

Consumer research is the process of reviewing the traits and behaviors of consumers who are likely to purchase a company's product or service. Businesses use this information to ensure their products and services meet their consumers' needs.

Researchers often look at four perspectives:

Demographic: Who they are (age, income, education)
Psychographic: Why they buy (values, interests, lifestyle)
Behavioral: What they do (usage, brand loyalty)
Geographic: Where they live (region, city, country)

Who collects the data? Market research firms, trade groups, and government agencies each collect consumer information for different reasons.
What free data can you use first? Library databases and government sources often provide reliable data without cost.
Are you using the right keywords? Try broader or related terms (e.g., gender instead of women, retail spending instead of shopping habits).
Can you combine information from multiple places to create a picture? Consumer information is rarely in one report - combine data from multiple credible sources.
Who are your consumers? Who are they? Where do they live? What are their habits, values, or spending patterns?

Searching the Literature

First, you'll want to start by searching the literature in library databases. Articles can be good sources of information about consumer behavior and trends. Use the Advanced search option to limit your results by source types, date, geographic areas, and more. Combine your industry terms (chocolate or computers) with terms like consumer or consumer behavior.

Consumer Research Search Terms and Examples

Search terms you might want to consider when conducting your research include:

brand behavior
consumer behavior
consumer attitudes
consumer preferences
consumer research
consumer profiling
customer loyalty
customer relations
customer satisfaction
women consumers
target marketing
market segmentation

Here are some sample searches to help give you an idea of how to combine your search terms:

consumer AND spending AND chocolate
consumers AND behavior AND computers

Databases

ProQuest One Business

Business Source Complete

Demographic Research

Mergent Intellect
Select Residential Search, Demographics, or Consumer Data from the homepage and use the criteria options to search for valuable consumer information.
IBISWorld
Select Business Environment Profiles from the Products drop-down menu. Choose from 8 categories of key drives that affect industry performance, including demographics, consumer behavior and attitudes, and economic factors.
National Center for Education Statistics
Use National Center for Education Statistics to research statistics related to education in the United States.
National Center for Health Statistics
Use National Center for Health Statistics to research health statistics in the United States. It provides data to identify and address health issues.
Sage Data
Use the Browse Data by option to look at different data on various topics, such as Labor and Employment. You will be able to click through a list of various dataset categories.

Wages by Area and Occupation
Use the Bureau of Labor Statistics database to find wage and occupation data at national, regional, state, and metropolitan area levels.

Psychographic Research

Gallup Poll
Use the Gallup Poll to find data and insights on the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students, and other citizens, dating back over 70 years.
Nielsen Insights
Use Nielsen Insights to find surveys related to media consumption, as well as reports on retail and consumer spending and specific demographics. Many articles and videos are free to access; reports are available in exchange for contact information.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping the world. Use it to find public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis, and other data-driven social science research.
Public Agenda
Public Agenda is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and public engagement organization that aims to foster progress on issues of public concern, including education, healthcare, democracy, and criminal justice reform. Use the hamburger menu to select Resources and see all available reports or to search its data.

Behavioral Research

Consumer Expenditure Surveys
Use the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to find data on expenditures, income, and demographic characteristics of consumers in the United States.
American Time Use Survey
Use the American Time Use Survey to find the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing.
Surveys of Consumers
Maintained by the University of Michigan, the Surveys of Consumers contain links to data and surveys on consumer sentiment, attitudes, behavior, spending, and expenditure. Use the headings at the top of the page to see data, reports, and more.

Geographic Research

United States Census Bureau: data.census.gov
United States Census Bureau provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas. Use the Advanced Search to select filters by geography, topics, years, industry codes, and more.
Census Business Builder
Use the Census Business Builder to find demographic and economic data that is specifically business-oriented.
Atlas of Rural and Small Town America (USDA)
Use the Atlas of Rural and Small Town America to find demographic and socioeconomic statistics for nonmetro and metro regions.

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Additional Reading

Smith, K. (2023, October 31). Complete guide on how to conduct an effective customer and segmentation analysis. Brandwatch.