Library Guides: Business Plans: Researching Demand

Tips on researching demand for a product or service

The best database for researching the demand for a product or service is Mintel, the marketing database. Each Mintel report has a section on consumers and their preferences. You can find demographic information about consumers of the product such as age, gender, race or income levels. You can also find information about attitudes and reasons for choosing one product over another.

You can also find information in the two main business databases, Business Source Complete and ABI Inform Global.

Databases

Mintel
Mintel offers market research reports covering US and International marketplaces. Each report combines data & analysis of the competitive landscape, market-share analysis and consumer profiles. Complex demographic issues are broken into easy-to-understand sections, explaining consumer behavior and demonstrating the structure of the market. When you first log on, you will create a user profile that will show you our subscription report areas. Click on a report range to view all reports available.
Business Source Complete
(EBSCO) - a comprehensive business database that contains full-text, peer-reviewed academic journals covering all aspects of business and management, accounting and finance and economics. It includes scholarly journals and more than 1600 full text trade journals and general business magazines. Find financial data, industry reports, SWOT analyses, company profiles, market research reports, and more.
ABI/INFORM Global
Business and management database providing extensive coverage of North America and internationally. Full-text of 600+ journals, cumulative indexing/abstracting from 1970s onward of 1,500 total journals on business conditions, economics, trends, corporate strategies/tactics, management and marketing techniques, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers, as well as information on 60,000+ companies.