LibGuides: Business, Management and Marketing: Market Research

Market research resources

The Library subscribes to several sources of market research information, all available via the A-Z list of databases on 'Library online' or the Business, Management and Marketing subject guide. Hundreds of detailed full text market research reports are available.

Marketline Advantage This link opens in a new window Marketline Advantage provides quality information on industries, countries and companies and is updated daily. It has interactive reports and databases and is ideal for understanding companies and sectors.
Mintel Academic Reports This link opens in a new window Mintel is a leading name in Market Research, the Library provides access to reports published in the last two years for leading UK industries including: Technology, Media, Household Care, Health and Wellbeing, Food and Drink, Beauty and Personal Care, Automotive. The Library subscription also covers Mintel Market Sizes which provides global market data such as market size, market share, market forecasts and segmentation.
Passport (Euromonitor) This link opens in a new window Market research data that analysts at Euromonitor have collated including consumer lifestyle reports, future demographics, country profiles, updates on consumer and industry trends, company information, market sizes and economic indicators. Passport covers more than 200 countries and regions, with a global outlook
Statista This link opens in a new window Access to global statistics, data, graphs and infographics. Statista provides detailed information on over 100 industries and 120 countries, as well as global companies and market trends.
COBRA: Complete Business Reference Advisor This link opens in a new window COBRA provides useful information related to starting up and running a small business.
It includes factsheets, opportunity profiles, market reports, contacts, news, development tools and details of sources of funding. Three users are allowed at a time so if you cannot access it, try again later.COBRA provides useful information related to starting up and running a small business. It includes factsheets, opportunity profiles, market reports, contacts, news, development tools and details of sources of funding. Three users are allowed at a time so if you cannot access it, try again later.
ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window ABI/INFORM Collection features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, country-and industry-focused reports, and downloadable data. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world.
Nexis This link opens in a new window Nexis is a major full text database for global news and business information. It gives access to over 35,000 sources, with more than 12,000 international news sources including UK daily and regional newspapers, current affairs magazines, and professional journals. Alternative link - please note that, the first time you use this link, you will be asked to enter your first name and last name in order to access Nexis.
Nexis also includes 80 sources of company information, plus thousands of biographies of government officials, politicians, celebrities, investors and business contacts.
WARC (World Advertising Research Center) This link opens in a new window International market research database covering peer-reviewed journals, case studies, WARC briefings and best practice guides on marketing strategy & implementation, research papers, media & advertising data and market context analysis. Includes Market Leader, the Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising and the International Journal of Market Research.
UK Data Service (registration required) This link opens in a new window
UK and international survey and statistical data drawn from a range of respected sources including: United Nations, IMF, OECD, World Bank, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Energy Agency (IEA), Eurostat and UNIDO. Free registration required to access some parts of the database.
Proquest Central This link opens in a new window A multi-disciplinary full text database covering business, health and medical, social sciences, education , science and technology, including core titles in the performing and visual arts, history, religion, philosophy, and language and literature. It includes both scholarly journals as well as market research and industry reports, working papers and full-text dissertations.

globalEDGE International business web portal created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University. The Global Insights tab provides international business and trade information on over 200 countries, the 50 U.S. states, as well as nearly two dozen industry sectors, and many of the world’s trade blocs. The Tools and Data tab includes the Market Potential Index, which allows comparison of emerging markets.

Business Market Research Collection This link opens in a new window Conduct company, industry, economic and geopolitical market research with information from these sources: Hoover's Company Profiles - covering 40,000 global public and non-public companies including financials, competitors, officers, and more; OxResearch - succinct articles covering regional economic and political developments of significance; US and Worldwide Industry & Market Reports from Barnes Reports - covering global industries in depth; and Snapshots - market research overviews on 40+ industries and 40 countries.

Other marketing resources

WGSN This link opens in a new window
A global market research service providing images and reports for the fashion, design and retail industries.
WGSN provides information and inspiration for people working in fashion and design. It has a huge collection of images of the latest clothes and accessories from designers and stores around the world.
You can use an extensive set of criteria to search for images. You can zoom into the images to focus on details.
As well as images you can browse for news, analysis and reports on business, trends and marketing within the industry. It looks at all aspects of fashion and design, including materials, colours, brands and packaging. It also covers trends and images in related areas such as art, interior design, pop culture and celebrity.

Beginner's Guide to WGSN

Which? online This link opens in a new window
Full text of reports from the main Which? publications: Gardening Which?, Holiday Which?, and Computing Which?
Supplements such as Which? Car and The Tax-Saving Guide are also included, along with The Good Food Guide and Good Bed and Breakfast Guide. It is updated every month, and the magazine archive goes back to 2005.

European Commission Market Access Database
Information for companies exporting from the EU to international markets. Includes statistics and information on duties and tariffs, import procedures, trade barriers and other issues and regulations. Free database.
Intellectual Property Office
Trademarks and designs registered with the UK government, including some information on UK patents.
Nomis
Offical UK Government website providing local statistics. You can type in your postcode to get a summary report for your local area.

Advertising and Media

BRAD This link opens in a new window
Directory of almost 14,000 publications and other media, including TV, radio and websites. Entries provide contact information, target audience profiles, traffic statistics (in the case of electronic media), and advertising rates. Also includes news on title launches and closures. BRAD also has a Key Facts and Trends section. This includes advertising statistics, overall demographic and readership figures, and audited circulation and viewer/readership profiles.

Geodemographic segmentation

Geodemographic segmentation is the classification, for marketing purposes, of areas or neighbourhoods (often at postcode level) according to certain characteristics shared by their populations. In the UK the best known commercially available geodemographic systems are ACORN ('A Classifcation of Residential Neighbourhoods', produced by CACI), CAMEO (produced by Callcredit), and MOSAIC (produced by Experian).

ACORN classifies communities according to 6 categories (Affluent Achievers, Rising Prosperity, Comfortable Communities, Financially Stretched, Urban Adversity, Non-private households), which are further subdivided into 18 groups and 62 types. CAMEO UK uses 10 groups, comprising 68 sub-categories. MOSAIC uses a model consisting of 15 groups and 66 household types.

The databases produced by ACORN, CAMEO and MOSAIC are available only to subscribers, although ACORN do permit registered users to carry out a limited number of free postcode searches for academic purposes. Since the library does not subscribe to these commercial services, students desiring access to detailed geodemographic data may find the following alternative resources helpful.

Neighbourhood Statistics (UK Office for National Statistics)
Detailed statistics and summary reports on neighbourhoods, based on Official data.
Open Geodemographics
A free Open Geography portal from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Business, Management and Marketing

Market research resources

Other marketing resources

Advertising and Media

Geodemographic segmentation

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