market research analyst
Role lens
Are you fascinated by understanding consumer behavior and predicting market trends? As a market research analyst, you’ll be at the forefront of helping businesses make informed decisions about their products and marketing strategies.
Market research analysts play a vital role in businesses of all sizes. Your work involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data to understand consumer needs, market dynamics, and competitor strategies. You'll translate complex data into actionable insights that guide product development, pricing, and marketing campaigns. This career requires a blend of analytical skills, business acumen, and the ability to communicate findings clearly and persuasively.
- • Define potential customers and target audiences for products or services.
- • Analyze market trends, competitor activities, and product positioning.
- • Evaluate cross-selling opportunities and product relationships.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Business and administration professionals — 134 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Greece, Italy, Romania.
Longest-running shortage: Italy, 3 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person's chances. It describes a market.
Explore More
Find your career path and explore the science behind our recommendations.
Could market research analyst fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
Do you enjoy tasks that require Analytical Thinking?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Attention to Detail?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Dependability?
Future Outlook for market research analyst
The outlook for market research analyst reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could market research analyst change as AI adoption grows?
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could market research analyst change as AI adoption grows?
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- advise on market strategies
- identify market niches
- identify potential markets for companies
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- analyse economic trends
- analyse consumer buying trends
- analyse internal factors of companies
Tasks most exposed to automation
- prepare market research reports
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Marketing & Sales
A typical day as a market research analyst
09 09:00 · Morning identify customer's needs
10 10:30 · Mid-morning advise on market strategies
12 12:00 · Midday analyse consumer buying trends
14 14:00 · Afternoon analyse economic trends
15 15:30 · Late afternoon analyse external factors of companies
17 17:00 · Wrap-up analyse internal factors of companies
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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marketing department processes
The different processes, duties, jargon, role in an organisation, and other specificities of the marketing department within an organisation such as market research, marketing strategies, and advertising processes.
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visual presentation techniques
The visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-numerical data, in order to reinforce the human understanding of this information.
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customer insight
The marketing concept referring to the deep understanding of the customer's motivations, behaviours, beliefs, preferences, and values that help understand the reasons why the way they do. This information is then useful for commercial purposes.
- consumer goods industry
- demography
- market research
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analyse economic trends
Analyse developments in national or international trade, business relations, banking, and developments in public finance and how these factors interact with one another in a given economic context.
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analyse consumer buying trends
Analyse buying habits or currently prevalent customer behaviour.
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analyse external factors of companies
Perform research and analysis of the external factor pertaining to companies such as consumers, position in the market, competitors, and political situation.
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draw conclusions from market research results
Analyse, draw conclusions and present major observations from the results of market research. Suggest on potential markets, prices, target groups, or investments.
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perform market research
Gather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.
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identify market niches
Analyse the composition of the markets, segment these into groups, and highlight the opportunities that each one of these niches represent in terms of new products.
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identify potential markets for companies
Observe and analyse market research findings in order to determine promising and profitable markets. Consider the firm's specific advantage and match it with markets where such value proposition is missing.
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prepare presentation material
Prepare the documents, slide shows, posters and any other media needed for specific audiences.
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analyse market financial trends
Monitor and forecast the tendencies of a financial market to move in a particular direction over time.
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advise on market strategies
Analyse information and recommend possible improvements, market strategies, and customer preferences in order to adapt the company's market approach.
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identify customer's needs
Use appropriate questions and active listening in order to identify customer expectations, desires and requirements according to product and services.
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analyse internal factors of companies
Research and understand various internal factors that influence the operation of companies such as its culture, strategic foundation, products, prices, and available resources.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
Take the free Career DNA assessment to see how market research analyst aligns with your interests, work style, and future path. In less than 10 minutes, you will get a personalized fit signal and a roadmap for what to do next.
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Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does market research analyst fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of data do market research analysts typically work with?
- You'll work with a variety of data, including survey responses, sales figures, website analytics, social media data, and competitor information. The data can be quantitative (numerical) or qualitative (descriptive).
- Is a background in statistics necessary to become a market research analyst?
- While a strong understanding of statistics is beneficial, it's not always a strict requirement. Analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the ability to interpret data are equally important. Many analysts develop their statistical skills on the job.
- What are the typical career progression paths for a market research analyst?
- With experience, market research analysts can advance to roles such as senior analyst, market research manager, or even director of market research. Some may specialize in specific industries or research methodologies.
- Market Research Analyst — what does it pay in the United States?
- $76,950 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $39,330 to $101,810. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.