Abstract:

Marketing research is developing rapidly. This paper attempts to give the up-to-date situation on recent developments both as regards new technologies and methods. The field of retailing, neglected by marketing research for a long time, is now becoming increasingly important. This is due to both the development of the main retailers and to that of new technologies, particularly equipping store cash registers with optical reading systems. Observational data gathered in stores can replace some consumer survey data formerly obtained by interviewing. Manufacturers‘ preoccupations are directed more and more towards "below the line" items, therefore leading to greater capital investment in studies on the point of sale. This, of course, takes place to the detriment of traditional Ad-Hoc surveys. The accent is on this development, but also on the need to master such systems so that technology serves research, and not vice versa. The main future developments as we see them are already on the way. The "single source" concept is considered an interesting approach, amongst other complementary ones. Lastly, because of the capital investment they induce, technological developments are considered one of the contributory factors to making marketing research an autonomous industry responsible for its own future.