U.S. Market Research: Size, Growth & Participant Recruitment

# The U.S. Market Research Industry: Size, Growth, and High-Value Participant Recruitment

The U.S. market research industry reached $36.4 billion in 2025, representing a dynamic and mature sector driving strategic decisions across enterprises. This article explores the industry's trajectory, consolidation patterns, and the sophisticated methods brands use to recruit premium research participants.

Industry Size and Growth Trajectory

U.S. market research revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% to an estimated $37.7 billion over the past five years, including an estimated 2.4% boost in 2026. Globally, the picture is even more expansive: the global market research industry is forecasted to bring in $140 billion in revenue in 2024, with the US market leading the ranking with $48 billion.

Demand for market research services is driven by the strength of the economy and corporate profits. When profit margins rise, corporations seek out the help of market research companies to identify avenues for growth and improve their product and service offerings.

Market Concentration and Industry Leaders

The U.S. market research industry is highly concentrated. The top 50 companies generate about 60% of industry revenue. The biggest companies operating in the Market Research industry in the United States are Iqvia Holdings Inc., Nielsen Holdings Plc and Ipsos, with IQVIA Holdings Inc. holding the most market share.

Methodology Trends: Digital Dominance

Online surveys emerged as the most widely used globally in 2022, employed by over 90% of market research professionals. Online surveys rank as the most used quantitative method among market research professionals with 85% of respondents who say they use this method regularly. Mobile has become critical: over 6-in-10 (61.1%) survey responses worldwide were submitted from mobile devices in Q3 2024, a slight increase from 57.2% in Q3 2023.

How Brands Recruit High-Value Participants

Recruiting quality participants is foundational to reliable research. Well-executed participant recruitment is essential to reliable market research. Any study – whether involving recruitment for qualitative research or recruitment for quantitative research – of buyers in a new market needs to have high-quality respondents who give honest and thorough responses to questions.

Screening and Qualification

Brands work with their research partners to set parameters for market research recruitment – things like annual income of household/firm, buyer motivations, challenges, pain points, etc. Defining this at the outset paves the way for proper research participant selection and for making sure that the pool of participants only includes high-quality respondents.

A well-designed screener should filter out unsuitable participants, ensuring only those who truly meet the criteria are selected, achieve a diverse mix of respondents, ensuring varied and balanced insights, and identify engaged, articulate individuals who are comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions.

Recruitment Platforms and Speed

Modern recruitment platforms have transformed timelines. Fast matching with pools of 4m+ participants and screening gets studies into field quickly so researchers hit deadlines without sacrificing sample quality. In 2021, market research recruitment needs to be thought of in terms of hours or days, not weeks or months. Clients want to work with a market research recruitment firm that is quick.

Building Trust and Engagement

People have a harder time being dishonest once a relationship has been established. By picking up the phone and calling potential participants, qualitative market research companies can share what participants can expect for the group discussion and answer any questions. This helps with establishing an initial relationship with the focus group participants, which ultimately builds trust, accountability, and a higher show rate on the day of the qualitative research.

Future Growth and Innovation

83% of market research professionals claim their organizations plan to invest in AI for their research activities in 2025. Synthetic data will have a significant impact on data collection, while customized research designs will be essential to understanding the growing complexity of modern products and pricing strategies.

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