Research Guides: Business Research Guide: Market Research

Market Segment and Psychographic Resources

Market Segments
From the Library of Congress
Understanding Market Segmentation: A Comprehensive Guide
From Investopedia
Market segmentation: Definition, types, benefits, & best practices
From Qualtrics

Claritas PRIZM Premier is a consumer segmentation system that classifies every U.S. household into one of 68 consumer segments. The segments are defined according to socioeconomic rank including characteristics such as income, education, occupation, home value, and technology use. The 68 segments are also grouped into 11 Lifestage Groups and 14 Social Groups. Lifestage Groups are based on affluence, householder age, and presence of children at home. Social Groups are based based on affluence and whether they live in a city, second-tier city, the suburbs, or small towns and rural areas.

Note that you can get some free information from this site but the St. Kate's Library does not subscribe to Claritas. However, Claritas PRIZM Premier data is available in the PolicyMap database (see the video for instructions).

Claritas PRIZM Segments
Claritas is a data-driven marketing company. It provides some free info such as their set of U.S. geo-demographic segments with demographics, consumer behavior and geographic data for marketers. You can view segments by lifestage group or social group.
Claritas Zip Code Lookup
Look up a zip code to find demographics and lifestyles of consumer segments in a neighborhood.

PolicyMap

An online tool for mapping and analyzing data from the US, including demographics, housing, income, crime, health, jobs and more. Data can be used to create interactive maps and customized reports.

Starting on the PolicyMap landing page, click on Curated Collections, then select Market Segmentation Data from Claritas.

Market Reports & Information in Library Databases

IBISWorld
Not all industries will have a report.
1. Search by industry.
2. Once in the industry report, click the Major Markets link.
Business Source Premier
1. Go to the advanced search page.
2. Enter the keywords related to the market or industry you are researching.
3. Click the Search button.
4. Once you have results, go to Source Types box underneath the search box.
5. Use the drop-down arrow to see your options, and click the box next to Market Research Reports.
Then click the Apply button.
6. Go to the All Time box, and use the drop-down arrow to select a specific time frame.

Demographic and Consumer Resources

Due to the government shutdown, government resources are not being maintained.

Consumer Expenditure Surveys
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Expenditure Survey shows what people spend their money on by age, occupation, race, etc.
Census Business Builder
Use the Small Business Edition to help you find data for your (or a client's) business plan, or to better understand a potential market. It presents data for a single type of business or a single industry cluster at a time.
data.census.gov
This platform is the primary way to access data from the 2018 American Community Survey, 2017 Economic Census, 2020 Census, and more!

Public Opinion Polls

Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Covers a wide variety of topics and issues.
Gallup
Opinion polls and data from the 1930's to present. We do not subscribe to Gallup so we may not have full reports, but summaries are full of great information.
The Harris Poll
The Harris Poll, is an American market research and analytics company that has been tracking the sentiment, behaviors and motivations of American adults since 1963. You can read the top stories without a subscription.

Consumer Behavior & Marketing Journals

Journal of Consumer Behavior
Provides the latest original analysis of key developments in understanding consumer attitudes and behaviors, and the strategies of leading players in the global marketplace, trends, and techniques. Most recent 12 months are not available due to publisher restrictions.
Journal of Marketing Research
Published by the American Marketing Association. Articles cover concepts, methods, & applications of marketing research, as well as reviews and comments relating to the research industry and its practices.
Journal of Consumer Research
An interdisciplinary journal focusing on all aspects of consumer education.
Journal of International Consumer Studies
Contains articles about goods and services, family and social studies, consumer issues and home economics. Most recent year is not available.