Market Research in 2019: Trends and Predictions

Happy 2019!

We are just a couple of days into the new year, but we believe 2019 is going to be another big year for market research. Here are a few things we think will be trending in the industry for 2019.

Blockchain Remains #1

In 2018, Blockchain came out of left field to become one of the hottest topics of the year. In 2019, we expect new companies and organizations to emerge and join the ranks of Opinion Economy, Veriglif, and Measure Protocol, and start defining how Blockchain and its variety of applications are utilized, particularly in the sample industry. This will include the emergence of best practices and compliance procedures.

GDPR US-Style

In the spring of 2018, GDPR went into effect in Europe but impacted businesses worldwide. Due to numerous data privacy scandals and the continued growth of data breaches, there has been talk of similar legislation in the U.S. Currently, there are multiple forms of GDPR-like legislation proposed across the country, like in California, Connecticut, and Colorado. Since each state implementing individual GDPR-like legislation is less than ideal, we expect some federal form to be proposed in 2019. The question is – will this new legislation have similar impacts on certain sectors like GDPR did, such as advertising, market research, and other data collection industries?

Continued Mergers, Acquisitions, and IPOs

In the past 18 months, we’ve seen the Research Now/SSI merger, the Qualtrics acquisition by SAP, and the SurveyMonkey IPO. In addition to Kantar selling off some of its assets – as it has already publicly stated it will – look for even more mergers and acquisitions, perhaps from outside the industry as the value of insights in this innovative economy continues to grow. We don’t think there will be as many large mergers like in 2018, but they will be strategic.

Big Names Will Continue To Struggle

In 2018, many of the big names stumbled. We expect slow growth at the top as big players and traditional names will continue to have their trials and tribulations in 2019. We might be looking to small and mid-level companies to make more of an impact this year! With WPP looking to divest in their majority share, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kantar, Nielson, and Lightspeed see their revenue growth become stagnant, if not decline a little.

These are just a few of the things we think will impact the industry in 2019. Here’s to 2019 being another great year for market research!

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