Definition and significance of 1. consumer research

Consumer research refers to the process of collecting and analyzing consumer information through various methods and means in order to understand consumer needs, preferences, behavior and satisfaction, so as to provide a basis for the marketing decisions of enterprises. The purpose of consumer research is to better meet the needs of consumers, improve consumer loyalty, and enhance the competitiveness and profitability of enterprises.

The significance of consumer research is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Consumer research can help companies understand the needs and potential of the market, identify target markets and market segments, and develop reasonable product positioning and differentiation strategies.

Consumer research can help companies understand consumers' purchase motivation, decision-making process and influencing factors, formulate effective promotion and communication strategies, and improve consumers' cognition, attitude and behavior.

Consumer research can help companies understand consumer satisfaction and loyalty, assess the quality and value of products and services, improve the design and provision of products and services, and increase consumer repeat purchases and recommend.

Consumer research can help companies understand consumer opinions and suggestions, collect consumer feedback and complaints, solve consumer problems and difficulties in a timely manner, and improve consumer trust and satisfaction.

Consumer research can help companies understand consumer changes and trends, predict consumer needs and behaviors, grasp market opportunities and risks, and innovate the functions and forms of products and services.

Challenges and Opportunities in 2. Consumer Research

Consumer research is a dynamic process, which needs to constantly adapt to changes in the market and consumers to maintain its effectiveness and practicality. However, the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has brought unprecedented challenges and opportunities to consumer research, resulting in significant changes in the method, content and format of consumer research. The following are the key challenges and opportunities for consumer research in the era of the epidemic:

Changes in the consumer

The impact of the epidemic has led to significant changes in consumers' spending habits, psychological states and values, which has put forward new requirements and difficulties for consumer research.

Consumer habits have changed. During the epidemic, consumer behavior was subject to a number of restrictions and impacts, such as travel difficulty, reduced income, and insufficient supply, which led to changes in consumer demand and preferences. For example, consumers are more inclined to online shopping, telecommuting, home entertainment, etc., while reducing offline consumption, travel, social gatherings, etc. These changes require consumer research to capture and reflect changes in consumer spending habits in a timely manner in order to provide a basis for the adjustment and optimization of corporate products and services.

The psychological state of the consumer has changed. During the epidemic, the psychological state of consumers was subjected to many pressures and influences, such as panic, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, etc., resulting in changes in consumer motivation and decision-making. For example, consumers are more inclined to seek a sense of security, comfort, self-realization, etc., while reducing impulsiveness, luxury, vanity, etc. These changes require consumer research to understand and analyze the changes in the psychological state of consumers in order to provide guidance for corporate marketing and communication strategies and tools.

Consumer values have changed. During the epidemic, consumer values were inspired and influenced by many factors, such as health, environmental protection, and social responsibility, leading to changes in consumer choices and evaluations. For example, consumers are more likely to choose products and services that are beneficial to health, the environment and society, while there is less tolerance and acceptance of harmful, wasteful and unfair products and services. These changes require consumer research to extensively explore and evaluate changes in consumer values in order to support the construction and promotion of corporate brands and images.

2. Research tools and channels

The impact of the epidemic has changed the tools and channels of consumer research, which has provided new possibilities and innovative space for consumer research.

The advantages and popularity of online research. During the outbreak, the difficulty and risk of offline research increased, leading to the advantages and popularity of online research. Online research refers to consumer research activities conducted through the Internet and mobile devices, using various platforms and software, such as online questionnaires, online interviews, and online observations. The advantages of online research are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Online research can save time and cost, improve efficiency and effectiveness. Online research is not limited by region and time, can quickly collect and process a large amount of data, reduce the input of manpower and material resources, reduce the error and deviation of research, and improve the quality and accuracy of research.

Online research can expand the sample and coverage, improve representativeness and universality. Online research can make use of the universality and convenience of the Internet to reach and attract more consumers, increase the participation and response rate of research, improve the sample size and sample quality of research, and enhance the representativeness and universality of research.

Online research can enrich content and form, improve interactivity and interest. Online research can use multimedia and interactive technology to design and present more content and forms, such as video, audio, pictures, animation, games, etc., to increase the richness and diversity of research and improve consumers' sense of participation and satisfaction.

The importance and development of social media analytics. The increased use and influence of social media during the pandemic has led to the emergence of the importance and development of social media analytics. Social media analysis refers to the process of collecting and analyzing consumers' opinions, behaviors, and relationships on social media in order to understand consumers' opinions, emotions, and attitudes, such as Weibo, WeChat, and Douyin. The importance of social media analytics is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Social media analytics can capture real and timely feedback from consumers, increasing sensitivity and flexibility. Social media analysis can directly obtain the real speech and behavior of consumers, without the interference and influence of research, reflect the real views and emotions of consumers, timely capture the changes and trends of consumers, and improve the sensitivity and flexibility of research.

Social media analytics can tap into the deep and hidden needs of consumers, improving insight and creativity. Social media analysis can deeply analyze the motivations and influencing factors behind consumers' speech and behavior, reveal consumers' deep and hidden needs and preferences, discover consumers' new and potential needs and markets, and improve the insight and creativity of research.

Social media analytics can leverage consumer influence and communication to improve influence and word of mouth. Social media analysis can use consumer relationships and networks to identify and cultivate consumer opinion leaders and key figures, use consumer influence and dissemination, expand the company's visibility and reputation, and improve the influence and reputation of research.

The potential and application of big data mining. During the epidemic, the generation and utilization of big data increased, leading to the potential and application of big data mining. Big data mining refers to the process of collecting, sorting, analyzing and mining a large number of, diverse, fast and valuable data in order to discover the laws, patterns and associations in the data, such as search engines, e-commerce platforms, intelligent devices, etc. The potential of big data mining is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Big data mining can provide comprehensive and detailed portraits of consumers, improving accuracy and personalization. Big data mining can use various sources and types of data to build and update a comprehensive and detailed portrait of consumers, including basic information, consumer behavior, consumer preferences, consumer psychology, etc., to improve the accuracy and personalization of research.

Big data mining can predict the future and potential needs of consumers and improve predictability and foresight. Big data mining can use the laws and patterns of data to predict the future and potential needs and behaviors of consumers, such as purchase intention, purchase frequency, purchase amount, etc., and improve the predictability and foresight of research.

Big data mining can optimize consumer experience and satisfaction, improve optimization and sustainability. Big data mining can use data correlation and analysis to optimize consumer experience and satisfaction, such as recommend systems, pricing strategies, service quality, etc., to improve the optimization and continuity of research.

Suggestion and Prospect of 3. Consumer Research

Consumer research is facing new challenges and opportunities in the era of the epidemic, which requires consumer researchers to constantly innovate and improve to adapt to changes in the market and consumers, and to improve the effectiveness and value of consumer research. Here are some suggestions and prospects for consumer research:

Combine online and offline research methods to improve the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of research. Online research and offline research have their own advantages and limitations. It is necessary to reasonably select and combine online and offline research methods according to the purpose and object of the research to improve the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the research. For example, online research can be used to collect and analyze large amounts of data, offline research can be used to deepen and refine some of the data, and online and offline research results can verify and complement each other to form a complete and effective research report.

Use social media and big data research tools to improve the depth and breadth of research. Social media and big data are important data sources and analysis tools for consumer research. It is necessary to make full use of social media and big data research tools to improve the depth and breadth of research. For example, social media analysis can be used to understand consumers' opinions and emotions, big data mining can be used to predict consumers' needs and behaviors, and social media and big data research results can complement and verify each other to form a complete and in-depth research report.

Focus on consumer experience and satisfaction of research and evaluation, improve the continuity and optimization of research. Consumer experience and satisfaction are important indicators and goals of consumer research. It is necessary to pay attention to the research and evaluation of consumer experience and satisfaction to improve the continuity and optimization of research. For example, consumer feedback and complaints can be collected and analyzed in different ways and at different times to address consumer problems and difficulties in a timely manner, improve the design and delivery of products and services, and increase consumer loyalty and recommend.

Integrate innovative and practical research concepts and methods to improve the innovation and practicality of research. Consumer research is an innovative and practical process, which needs to integrate innovative and practical research concepts and methods to improve the innovation and practicality of research. For example, we can learn from and introduce theories and technologies in other fields, such as psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, etc., to create and apply new research concepts and methods, such as emotional analysis, eye tracking, virtual reality, etc., to improve the novelty and effectiveness of research.

Conclusion

Consumer research is facing new challenges and opportunities in the era of the epidemic, which requires consumer researchers to constantly innovate and improve to adapt to changes in the market and consumers, and to improve the effectiveness and value of consumer research. This paper discusses the new changes in consumer research in the epidemic era, analyzes the main challenges and opportunities facing consumer research, and puts forward some suggestions and prospects for consumer research. It is hoped that this paper can inspire and contribute to the theory and practice of consumer research.