Consumer research is an important part of market research, which can help enterprises understand consumers' needs, preferences, behaviors and attitudes, so as to formulate effective market strategies and product innovation. The method of consumer research can be divided into qualitative and quantitative two categories, qualitative methods mainly through in-depth interviews, observation and experiments to explore the psychological motivation, feelings and views of consumers, quantitative methods mainly through a large sample of questionnaires, tests and statistics, to measure consumer behavior characteristics, preferences and satisfaction.

With the development of science and technology, the tools and technologies of consumer research are constantly updated and optimized, providing more possibilities and convenience for consumer research. From the perspective of qualitative and quantitative, this paper introduces the common software and hardware tools of consumer research, including online questionnaire, mobile research, social media analysis, eye tracker, EEG, biofeedback, etc., analyzes their advantages and disadvantages and applicable scenarios, and shows their application effect and value in consumer research with the actual case of Shangpu consulting.

Tools and Techniques for Qualitative Research

The tools and techniques of qualitative research mainly include the following:

Online interviews: Online interviews are real-time or non-real-time communication with consumers through Internet platforms, such as video conferencing, instant messaging, social networks, etc., to obtain direct feedback and in-depth insights from consumers. The advantages of online interviews are that they can save time and cost, expand the scope of interviews, improve the efficiency and quality of interviews, and at the same time protect the privacy and safety of consumers. The disadvantage of online interviews is that consumers need to have certain network equipment and skills, which may be affected by the network environment and signals, and it is difficult to capture consumers' non-verbal information and emotional expression.

Mobile research: Mobile research uses mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to collect consumer behavior data and feedback information at different times and places through SMS, phone calls, applications, and QR codes. The advantage of mobile research is that it can realize real-time, dynamic, active and passive data collection, improve the authenticity and effectiveness of data, and at the same time increase the participation and interactivity of consumers. The disadvantage of mobile research is that consumers need to have certain mobile devices and networks, which may be limited by device performance and compatibility, and it is difficult to ensure data integrity and security.

Social media analysis: Social media analysis is to collect, organize, analyze and mine the content and comments posted by consumers on social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Little Red Riding Book, etc., to understand consumers' opinions, attitudes, Preferences and influence. The advantage of social media analysis is that it can obtain massive, diverse, natural and real-time data to reflect the real voice and behavior of consumers. At the same time, it can also use the communication effect of social media to enhance brand awareness and reputation. The disadvantage of social media analysis is that it requires consumers to actively participate in social media, which may be affected by the quality, authenticity and representativeness of information, and it is difficult to control the source and scope of data.

The Case of Champ Consulting

Shangpu Consulting is a well-known independent third-party research and investment and financing consulting agency in China, dedicated to providing professional solutions for corporate strategic decision-making. Champu Consulting uses a variety of tools and techniques in qualitative research to provide customers with in-depth consumer insights and suggestions. The following are some of the cases of Champ Consulting:

Online interview: Shangpu Consulting is an international fast fashion brand. It conducted consumer interviews for the Chinese market to understand consumers' cognition, evaluation and expectations of the brand, as well as their views and needs on the fast fashion industry. Champ Consulting used video conferencing and invited consumers from different cities, ages, genders and incomes to conduct online interviews for about an hour. Through online interviews, Shangpu Consulting found consumers' main impressions, advantages and disadvantages of the brand, as well as their attitudes and preferences towards fast fashion, and provided the brand with targeted market strategies and product innovation suggestions.

Mobile research: Champ Consulting, a leading domestic automobile manufacturer, conducted a mobile research on automobile consumers to explore consumers' behaviors and decisions in the process of purchasing automobiles, as well as their use and maintenance and satisfaction. Shangpu Consulting used mobile questionnaires and mobile diaries to track the behavior and feedback of a group of consumers before, during and after buying a car, and collected consumer data and information through mobile devices.

Social media analysis: Champ Consulting, an internationally renowned cosmetics brand, conducted a social media analysis of Chinese cosmetics consumers to explore consumers' comments and feelings about the brand and its competitors, as well as the trends and needs of the cosmetics industry. Shangpu Consulting uses professional social media analysis software to collect the content and comments of consumers on Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Little Red Riding Book and other platforms, and extracts the key information and opinions of consumers through text analysis, sentiment analysis, topic analysis, influence analysis and other methods. Through social media analysis, Champ Consulting reveals consumers' perceptions, attitudes and preferences towards the brand, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, and provides targeted brand strategy and marketing recommendations for the brand.

Tools and Techniques for Quantitative Research

The tools and techniques of quantitative research include the following:

Online questionnaire: Online questionnaire is to send a series of questions to consumers through Internet platforms, such as web pages, emails, applications, etc., to collect consumers' answers and data. The advantage of online questionnaire is that it can obtain a large amount of data quickly, conveniently and at low cost, improve the reliability and comparability of data, and at the same time, it can also use data analysis software to clean, process and analyze data. The disadvantage of online questionnaires is that consumers need to have certain network equipment and skills, which may be affected by the network environment and signals, and it is difficult to ensure the quality and validity of the data.

Eye tracker: Eye tracker is an instrument that can measure consumers' eye movements and gaze points, reflecting consumers' attention, interests and emotions by recording consumers' eye movements, gaze duration, gaze times, pupil size and other indicators. The advantage of the eye tracker is that it can intuitively, objectively and accurately obtain the visual information of consumers, reveal the potential needs and preferences of consumers, and can also be combined with other instruments, such as EEG, biofeedback, etc., for multi-modal data analysis. The disadvantage of the eye tracker is that it requires the consumer to cooperate with the use of the eye tracker, which may be affected by the performance and settings of the eye tracker, and it is difficult to simulate the consumer's natural environment.

EEG: EEG is an instrument that can measure the brain wave activity of consumers. It reflects the cognition, emotion and will of consumers by recording the frequency, amplitude, phase and other indicators of consumers' brain waves. The advantage of EEG is that it can deeply, carefully and sensitively obtain the neural information of consumers, reveal the psychological motivation and feelings of consumers, and can also be combined with other instruments, such as eye tracker, biofeedback, etc., for multi-modal data analysis. The disadvantage of EEG is that it requires consumers to cooperate with the use of EEG, which may be affected by the performance and settings of EEG, and it is difficult to simulate the natural environment of consumers.

Biofeedback: Biofeedback is an instrument that can measure the physiological response of consumers. It reflects consumers' emotions and stress by recording consumers' heart rate, blood pressure, skin resistance, electromyography, respiration and other indicators. The advantage of biofeedback is that it can intuitively, objectively and accurately obtain the physiological information of consumers, reveal the emotional changes and stress levels of consumers, and can also be combined with other instruments, such as eye tracker, EEG, etc., for multi-modal data analysis. The disadvantage of biofeedback is that it requires consumers to cooperate with the use of biofeedback, which may be affected by the performance and settings of biofeedback, and it is difficult to simulate the natural environment of consumers.

The Case of Champ Consulting

Champu Consulting uses a variety of tools and technologies in quantitative research to provide customers with accurate consumer data and analysis. The following are some of the cases of Champ Consulting:

Online questionnaire: Shangpu Consulting, a well-known e-commerce platform in China, conducted an online questionnaire survey on consumer satisfaction, aiming to understand consumers' overall satisfaction with the platform, as well as various aspects of the platform, such as Evaluation and suggestions on goods, prices, services, logistics, payment, etc. Shangpu Consulting used professional online questionnaire software to send a questionnaire containing a variety of questions to consumers, and collected consumers' answers and data through the Internet. Through the online questionnaire, Shangpu Consulting calculated the overall level of consumer satisfaction and the scores of each dimension, analyzed the influencing factors of consumer satisfaction and the direction of improvement, and provided valuable consumer feedback and optimization suggestions for the e-commerce platform.

Eye tracker: Champ Consulting, an internationally renowned beverage brand, conducted an eye tracker test on consumers' visual attention, aiming to understand consumers' visual attention to the brand's advertising, packaging and logo, as well as their cognition and preference for the brand. Champ Consulting uses high-end eye tracker equipment to show consumers different forms of visual stimulation of the brand, and records consumers' eye movement data through eye tracker. Through the eye tracker, Champ Consulting drew the consumer's eye movement heat map and scanning path, analyzed the distribution and change of consumer's visual attention, and provided targeted visual design and communication suggestions for the beverage brand.

EEG: Champu Consulting, a leading game developer in China, conducted an EEG test on the consumer game experience, aiming to understand the cognition, emotion and will of consumers when playing the developer's games, as well as the evaluation and suggestions of the game. Champ Consulting uses advanced EEG equipment to allow consumers to wear EEG headbands under different game scenarios and tasks, and record consumers' brain wave data through EEG.

Biofeedback: Champ Consulting, an internationally renowned chocolate brand, conducted a biofeedback test on the consumer chocolate experience to understand the emotions and pressures of consumers when tasting the brand's different flavors and shapes of chocolate, as well as their comments and suggestions on chocolate. Shangpu Consulting uses professional biofeedback equipment to allow consumers to wear sensors such as heart rate, blood pressure, and skin resistance in different environments and situations, and record consumers' physiological data through biofeedback. Through biofeedback, Champ Consulting calculated the consumer's mood index and stress index, analyzed the influencing factors and optimization direction of the consumer's chocolate experience, and provided valuable consumer feedback and product innovation suggestions for the chocolate brand.

Conclusion

Consumer research is an important part of market research, which can help enterprises understand consumers' needs, preferences, behaviors and attitudes, so as to formulate effective market strategies and product innovation. With the development of science and technology, the tools and technologies of consumer research are constantly updated and optimized, providing more possibilities and convenience for consumer research. From the perspective of qualitative and quantitative, this paper introduces the common software and hardware tools of consumer research, including online questionnaire, mobile research, social media analysis, eye tracker, EEG, biofeedback, etc., analyzes their advantages and disadvantages and applicable scenarios, and shows their application effect and value in consumer research with the actual case of Shangpu consulting. The purpose of this paper is to provide some reference and enlightenment for the practitioners and learners of consumer research, hoping to contribute to the development and innovation of consumer research.