The U.S. luxury market is the largest in the world. According to the Federal Reserve Bulletin, the total number of millionaire households in the U.S. is 11.53 million. Because affluent shoppers have the highest potential to spend, they are key players in the consumer economy. It’s no surprise that a variety of companies target affluent consumers — from credit card companies like MasterCard to luxury brands like Chanel.

I started my career as a management consultant at Bain & Company, followed by almost a decade in private equity. In both of those roles, acquiring the right market research was key to the due diligence process for developing any strategy or making any investment. I'm currently the Founder & President of Excelerate Global and the Chief Operating Officer of a high-growth business analytics software as a service (Saas) company, The Kini Group, which leverages market research in the start-up space to help prioritize growth paths, determine investment priorities, segment target markets, and develop business plans. Below, I share a checklist of best and worst practices to keep in mind when buying market research reports.

Every day on Profound.com, we add thousands of new reports, chapters, sections, and tables to keep the collection of industry analysis up to date. While this is a constant feed of valuable information, it is important to note that the power of Profound isn't just in its content collection. Profound is also powered by unique features that allow you to search for reports, view the table of contents, and look for keywords within the reports. These features make Profound the one-of-a-kind product that it is. Today, we have an exciting improvement to our search capability that we believe will make Profound the best business intelligence platform in the industry.

Chocolate candy is the most popular item given to trick-or-treaters. Last year, seasonal chocolate Halloween candy generated nearly $217 million in sales, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to consumer research firm Packaged Facts.

Chocolate candy sales have continued to rise, not just on Halloween, but throughout the entire year. In 2013, the U.S. market for chocolate candy was an estimated $21 billion, and it is expected to exceed $26 billion by 2018. A variety of factors are helping to drive sales of chocolate candy. Read on to learn more

Market research is a critical step not only for global corporations, but also for a variety of small businesses and start-ups. Although it may be tempting to rush into the product development phase as soon as possible, it's important to gather objective data and market analysis in order to build a viable business strategy.

The U.S. pet products and services market is on an upward trajectory, and a variety of pet startups are driving new innovation and growth. With sales reaching $74 billion in 2014, the pet industry is expected to hit $91 billion in 2019, according to a Packaged Facts report. Approximately 56 percent of U.S. households own pets — providing a large, expanding customer base for a range of businesses.

Technology is also opening the door for dynamic new enterprises. Many pet startups are taking business models that have been popular in other industries — such as Airbnb, Skype, and Fitbit — and applying them to the pet industry. Other startups are incorporating health food trends into pet foods, creating new pet-related apps, or providing dog training courses online.

Through Profound, users can access the world’s leading business intelligence providers in one convenient platform. With more than 200 publishers across 700 industry sectors, Profound offers a vast array of market research reports to choose from.

In this new blog series, we’ll give you an inside look at specific publishers on Profound. You'll have the opportunity to learn more about the reports they publish and what differentiates them from other publishers on the market. Today, we’re interviewing Plunkett Research, Ltd., a provider of industry sector analysis, trends, and statistics. Find out more in the Q&A below.

In today’s competitive, fast-paced business environment, you need to move fast and tackle challenges quickly. Partnering with a high-quality market research provider can help you find the answers you need to grow your business while saving time and money. But how can you accurately assess a market research provider’s services and offerings? There are a variety of different factors to consider. In this blog post, we highlight six key qualities to look for in a market research provider. Read on to learn more.

Macy's just announced it will be closing 35-40 stores in 2016. This will likely mark the slow, steady progression toward death for the malls to which those stores are attached. But maybe the closure of these Macy's stores is a symptom of a deeper problem in the mall shopping experience, not the cause of the malls' failure.

Today, shopping malls are becoming twenty-first century ghost towns. Since 2010, more than two dozen enclosed shopping malls have closed, and an additional 60 are on the brink. By 2025, an estimated 15 percent or more malls will be closed or repurposed, according to projections by Green Street Advisors. 

Market and competitive pricing in the B2B sector is often a challenging area for many market researchers to tackle. Actual pricing information is difficult, if not impossible, to discuss using traditional interview techniques, as this information is considered highly proprietary. Often, pricing is not a straightforward matter as it may incorporate early payment discounts, freight, volume discounts, change orders, interest, or other finance charges and many other variants.