Research Guides: Marketing: Find Data about Consumers

Market research reports

Can you buy this market research report I found via Google?

Market research reports are incredibly expensive, and the libraries don't have the budget resources to purchase individual reports for each student business plan. You can find some full-text reports via Business Source Complete and Factiva.

Otherwise, utilize the secondary data about consumer behavior available through Mintel Academic.

Consumer Research Reports

Consumer research databases: JMU subscriptions

Statista This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Data aggregation and research platform covering North American, European, and Asian markets, industries and societal topics.
Dates covered: Varies
Mintel Academic This link opens in a new window
Content types: Market data and forecasting for consumer industries in the U.S. and U.K.
Dates covered: Current
Insider Intelligence This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Market data, statistics, and analyst reports on the Internet, e-business, digital marketing, media, and emerging technologies.
Dates covered: Current
Claritas 360 This link opens in a new window
Content type(s): Demographic and market segmentation reports
Dates covered: Current year

Useful for more specialized products

Sports Market Analytics This link opens in a new window
Market research and industry news covering all facets of the sporting goods and sport marketing industry.
Consumer Brand Analytics This link opens in a new window
Market size, demographics, social media and sports fan involvement for 200+ consumer brands in 19 product categories.
Data Axle: US Standard White Pages This link opens in a new window
Database of over 153 million US residents.

Social Surveys & Polls

Consumer attitudes: Public opinion polls & social surveys

Data on U.S. consumer attitudes & preferences. All sites can be searched free but full reports are not always freely available.

The Harris Poll
Site contains press releases of major polls. Search to get results; browsing doesn't get you much.
Pew Research Center
A nonpartisan fact tank that is especially useful for its Internet & Tech reports. Try searching by keyword.
Gallup
Provides limited free information about polls. Try looking under Topics under Retail or Marketplace.
General Social Survey
NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research institution. Not all reports are available free. Try "Browse all research topics".

Demographics & Lifestyles

Consumer data: Free resources

These resources give you insight into demographics, market areas and consumers' tastes and preferences.

Census Reporter
Provides useful facts about every place in America. Compare places using tables and maps, download data, and embed charts on your site.
DataUSA
The most comprehensive website and visualization engine of public U.S. Government data.
Consumer Expenditure Survey (BLS.GOV)
High-level data on current buying habits of Americans, by demographics & type of purchase/service.
American Time Use Survey (BLS.GOV)
Recent data on how American spend their time, tracking activities such as paid work, childcare, and socializing.
Think with Google: Consumer Behavior and Trends
By mining Google search trends and YouTube watch behavior, you can uncover a wealth of insights on consumer behavior.
Google Search Trends
Gauge customer interest: track Google search trends over time by search term and geography.
Narrow by query location and time range.