Real‐time Market Research Available to Purchase

Use by some firms of a revolutionary new form of market research,here termed “real‐time market research”, has been observed in certain dynamic product markets where technologies and consumer preferences change rapidly. In real‐time product research, firms produce small lots of new product models and research consumer reaction by offering product model variations to consumers. This product research has been made economically feasible by the development of methods for shortening the time required for product development, by the adoption of flexible manufacturing systems, and by the rise of important new regimes for designing products. Documents the apparent use of real‐time market research by some firms and discusses the new product design regimes which make real‐time research feasible and economic.