Researching a market or industry?
07/11/2024

We’ve been running some lunchtime sessions recently on researching markets and industries. Here’s a quick a recap for those who took part or a brief introduction for anyone who missed the session.
If you need industry data or analysis, sector trends, values and forecasts etc., you might want to look at some of our key market and industry databases.
IBISWorld has reports on industries within a wide variety of countries worldwide plus some global reports. Industries covered range from airport operations and advertising to water supply and waste management. Reports include industry performance with SWOT analysis, market share, competitive landscape, market players, and key success factors. Archived reports are also available if you are researching a sector over time.
BMI Research from Fitch Solutions provides overviews, SWOT analyses, forecasts and regulatory information on a global scale for more than 20 sectors. Most coverage is country-specific, some areas also include regional reports. Data downloads are also available.
For market research, we would recommend Mintel for B2C markets in the UK. Reports contain information on the market, major companies, consumers and brands. A ‘databook’ is also available for each report, providing access to relevant survey data.
Passport covers most consumer markets worldwide, providing market analysis, company and brand information. Time series data is also available for markets worldwide.
Statista is also worth a look. It provides access to statistics and facts on c600 industries across 50+ countries and can sometimes be invaluable for industries where coverage is patchy elsewhere.
To find out what press coverage there has been about a company or industry, take a look at Factiva which provides access to over 10,000 global press sources. Also, bear in mind that there may be articles with an industry or company focus in both academic and trade journals. Again, for those researching a niche industry, these can be really helpful.
To find out more about any of the resources above, please get in touch or pop into the Library and ask a member of the team.
Feature image from Pixabay. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/shopping-business-retail-1165437/
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Finding full-text Economist articles…
If you’re looking for The Economist, the place to go is ProQuest One Business. Follow these step-by-step instructions to get full-text access. Login here and click on the Publications option at the top, above the ...
Changes to Library Services over Easter, 18-21 April
Libraries on the Cranfield site Both Kings Norton Library and the School of Management Library (Building 111, first floor) will be open 24/7 over the Easter weekend. You will be able to use the study ...
Searching Statista: Effective strategies and Research AI tips
Statista is a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on over 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries. It offers data on the global digital ...
Introducing…. BankFocus (Orbis)
For anyone researching the financial sector, BankFocus is a great place to start, providing financial and company data for finance institutions and companies from across the world. The service allows you to search for a ...
The Implications of US Tariffs on global supply chains
US President Donald Trump's new tariff policies announced on April 2, 2025 are expected to cause significant disruptions to the global supply chains, affecting multiple sectors and countries. A simple mathematical equation uses a country’s ...
Mastering the art of revising your writing
You’ve done the research and written your first draft. Now it’s time for one of the most crucial jobs as a writer - revising your writing to ensure your reader does not have to work ...