How does technology influence the market research being conducted today?

Technology has become the backbone of modern market research. Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and immersive digital spaces are now integral elements in all stages of the insight process, from data collection to interpretation. Traditional surveys still exist, but the richest signals now come from how people move, click, speak, and interact with the world around them.

Key technologies driving change within the field include

1. AI: Algorithms analyze text, detect sentiment, and predict trends across millions of data points. Tasks that once required weeks of manual coding like clustering attitudes or tracking purchase intent now take minutes. Predictive analytics and natural language processing let researchers forecast behavior, exposing motivations buried in unstructured data.
2. IoT: From fitness trackers to smart fridges, connected devices mean streams of continuous behavioral data. This "life stream" uncovers the habits that consumers don't self-report, enabling brands to understand real use instead of stated preference.
3. Metaverse & Immersive: Virtual and augmented reality environments simulate the act of shopping, product testing, or brand experiences. It affords researchers a real chance to observe natural behavior in controlled but life-like spaces, which expands the boundaries for qualitative insight.
4. Big data and augmented analytics: Today, platforms blend structured and unstructured sources using machine learning in a bid to surface relationships that would go unseen. Insights emerge from interaction patterns, not just answers.

What are the opportunities and challenges for real-time behavioral data?

The real time behavioral data it yields is both a gift and a test: it lets brands track consumers through digital ecosystems with unprecedented accuracy, but it also demands new levels of discipline, integration, and ethics.

Opportunities

Velocity: Continuous data reduces research cycles. It enables teams to identify trends and act upon them within days.

Depth: Behavioral, transactional, and attitudinal data combine to show not just what people do but why they do it.

Personalization: Through connected data platforms, brands have the ability to craft individual experiences while testing which messages or offers really resonate.

New methodologies: Eye tracking, biometric sensors, and mobile ethnography enrich traditional quantitative and qualitative work to a multi layered insight.

Challenges

Data overload: Large streams risk generating noise if not supported by sound analytical frameworks.

Privacy and control: Regulations like the GDPR, coupled with increased public awareness of surveillance, make transparency and consent basic principles.

Skill gaps: The researchers are supposed to acquire skills in interpreting AI outputs, cleaning and handling data, and understand ethical issues associated with technology use, rather than the ability to develop questionnaires.

Integration: Integration of IoT, CRM, and social-media data into a single narrative is still both a technical and an organizational challenge.

How does this technology change the dynamics between brands and consumers?

Digital technology has redefined how consumers relate to brands. Interaction has become constant, contextual, and data-driven. AI chatbots, voice assistants, and recommendation engines have turned marketing into conversation. Consumers expect immediate relevance, and when they don't get it, they move on. Meanwhile, immersive technologies-like AR filters and virtual showrooms let audiences experience a brand before committing to it. The result is a relationship based on participation, not persuasion. Every click or gesture becomes feedback; every product interaction feeds back into the brand's understanding of its market. But this intimacy comes with new responsibility: consumers will only share data as long as they believe it delivers value.

To the researcher, the environment offers richer evidence of motivation but greater complexity, too. Behaviors are informed by context, device, and emotion in real time. Understanding decision making now means tracking these micro moments across platforms and touchpoints and then translating them to actionable insight.

How do markets vary in the usage of technology to research consumers?

Infrastructure, regulations, and culture are the variables in the global adoption of research technology.

Infrastructure and access: For instance, markets with better connectivity, like those in Europe, North America, and East Asia, have wider IoT penetration with more mature analytics ecosystems. Most often, emerging regions rely on mobile first solutions, thus leapfrogging legacy systems.

Regulation: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe holds data protection to very high standards, thus informing how corporations have to design their consent mechanisms. Other regions move much faster but sometimes at the cost of consumer confidence.

Cultural attitudes: where digital culture is high trust, there is a willingness to trade data for convenience. Elsewhere, skepticism slows the rate of adoption.

Local ecosystems: Availability of vendors and technology partners. While some markets boast advanced virtual testing labs, others rely on agile online panels or community based methods.

For international insight leaders, adaptation is key. Methodologies must flex to local realities, balancing global comparability with cultural nuance. Teams that recognize these differences gain more accurate, respectful, and scalable insights.

How is the role of the market researcher evolving?

Technology has extended the market researcher's role. Today, the insight professional merges analytical precision with strategic storytelling.

Strategic integration: Today, the researcher leads the integration of data ecosystems from behavioral feeds through to business KPIs. They decipher AI powered results for decision makers, breaking down intricate models into meaningful courses of action.

Ethical leadership: Fairness and accountability are ensured by researchers amidst data rights and algorithmic bias scrutiny.

Global fluency: The cross regional teams require cultural and technological literacy for purposes of interpretation in various data sources.

In the future, the researcher will have to move through human emotion and machine intelligence. Their value is within bridging those points: making sense of signals that technology itself cannot decode.

How do practitioners see AI changing the way market research operates in real life?

For Jame Ferrand Gutierrez, Head of Data Intelligence at Ipsos España and IE professor, the mechanics of insight have changed, along with the pressure placed on those who deliver it. “Technology is redefining everything in market research,” says Jame. “It’s impacting everything we do internally and responding to needs that have always existed: more agility, faster answers, and helping clients make decisions in a very fast paced competitive world.” The pace is unforgiving. Expectations are higher. “Everything is faster, and more reliable.”

AI is redefining how we generate insights," Jame continues. "It changes our relationship with data because now we have systems that process information beyond our mental capabilities. We see insights in the same datasets that we couldn't see before." That power reshapes the balance of expertise and control. "In this context, to remain relevant, the market research industry has to rethink its role and the value it brings to its clients; if people don't react, clients now have tools that make them much more independent in how they collect, analyze, and use data."

What’s next for technology and market research?

The line between research and real-time strategy will blur further. Generative AI will design studies and help interpret open ended responses. Edge computing will process behavioral data closer to its source, lowering latency and privacy risk. Immersive testing environments will become standard for concept validation and user experience design. Once these tools mature, ethics and governance will be the differentiators in earning consumer trust. Brands that handle data transparently win loyalty; those that don't will face regulation and backlash.

Global Survey masters in Market Research & Consumer Behaviour preparing to lead this shift by connecting analytical skill, strategic thinking, and ethical awareness in ways that meet the challenges of a connected world.

Dec 31, 2025