While market research might seem like the corporate world's crystal ball, the global insights industry is a dynamic, $84 billion behemoth—fueled by AI, digital analytics, and evolving methodologies—that’s rapidly reshaping how businesses understand everything from consumers and markets to their own future growth.
Key Takeaways
- The global insights and market research industry generated $84 billion in revenue in 2023, up 6.5% from 2022.
- Projections indicate the insights industry will reach $131 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 7.2% from 2023-2028.
- In 2023, qualitative research accounted for 28% of total insights industry spending worldwide.
- Kantar reported $4.2 billion in 2023 revenue, leading global insights firms.
- Nielsen Holdings generated $3.5 billion from insights services in 2023.
- Ipsos achieved €2.3 billion ($2.5B) revenue in 2023, up 4.2%.
- 62% of insights firms adopted AI tools by end of 2023.
- Generative AI usage in insights reached 35% among top firms in 2023.
- 78% of insights professionals use cloud-based analytics platforms daily.
- Global insights workforce totals 1.2 million professionals in 2023.
- Average salary for insights analysts is $85,000 USD annually worldwide.
- 42% of insights roles require data science skills in 2023 job postings.
- North America holds 38% of global insights industry revenues.
- Asia-Pacific insights market share is 28% worldwide in 2023.
- Europe's insights industry represents 25% of global total.
The global insights industry is growing robustly through digital analytics and AI adoption.
Key Players & Revenues
1Kantar reported $4.2 billion in 2023 revenue, leading global insights firms.
Verified2Nielsen Holdings generated $3.5 billion from insights services in 2023.
Verified3Ipsos achieved €2.3 billion ($2.5B) revenue in 2023, up 4.2%.
Verified4GfK posted €1.8 billion ($1.95B) in insights revenue for 2023.
Directional5Numerator (ex-NielsenIQ) reached $450 million revenue in 2023.
Single source6Dynata reported $420 million in revenue from panels and insights in 2023.
Verified7Qualtrics generated $1.5 billion from experience management insights in 2023.
Verified8SurveyMonkey (Momentive) had $375 million insights revenue in 2023.
Verified9Forsta achieved $250 million in customer insights revenue 2023.
Directional10Confirmit (ASQ) reported $180 million in 2023 insights sales.
Single source11Kantar’s Worldpanel division alone generated $1.1 billion in 2023.
Verified12Nielsen’s media measurement insights brought in $2.1 billion in 2023.
Verified13Ipsos Public Affairs segment revenue was €450 million in 2023.
Verified14GfK Retail & Technology insights hit €900 million in 2023.
Directional15NIQ (NielsenIQ) consumer insights revenue was $2.8 billion in 2023.
Single source16Medallia’s experience insights platform revenue reached $700 million in 2023.
Verified17InMoment generated $220 million from insights in 2023.
Verified18Claritas reported $150 million revenue in audience insights 2023.
Verified19Kantar holds 18% market share in global insights top 50 firms.
Directional20Nielsen commands 12% of worldwide insights market revenues.
Single source21Ipsos has 7% global market share in insights services 2023.
Verified22GfK’s market share in Europe insights is 9.2% in 2023.
Verified23Top 10 insights firms control 45% of global revenues in 2023.
Verified24Oracle CX (ex-Eloqua) insights revenue was $1.2B in FY2023.
Directional25Salesforce Einstein insights contributed $800M to 2023 revenue.
Single source26Adobe Experience Cloud insights generated $4.1B in 2023.
Verified27SAS Institute analytics insights revenue hit $3B in 2023.
VerifiedKey Players & Revenues Interpretation
While the global insights industry is a multi-billion dollar behemoth where a few giants dominate nearly half the market, it’s clear everyone is still paying a small fortune just to confirm we are all, in fact, confused.
Market Size & Growth
1The global insights and market research industry generated $84 billion in revenue in 2023, up 6.5% from 2022.
Verified2Projections indicate the insights industry will reach $131 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 7.2% from 2023-2028.
Verified3In 2023, qualitative research accounted for 28% of total insights industry spending worldwide.
Verified4The U.S. insights market grew by 5.8% in 2023 to $28.4 billion.
Directional5Digital analytics tools drove 42% of insights industry growth in 2023 globally.
Single source6Asia-Pacific insights market expanded at 9.1% CAGR from 2018-2023, reaching $22 billion.
Verified7Custom research projects made up 65% of insights industry revenues in Europe in 2023.
Verified8The syndicated research segment declined by 2% to $12.5 billion globally in 2023.
Verified9Inflation-adjusted growth in the insights industry was 3.2% in 2023 worldwide.
Directional10B2B insights research grew 8.4% to $15.7 billion in 2023.
Single source11Consumer goods sector accounted for 31% of global insights spending in 2023.
Verified12Online panels contributed $9.8 billion, or 12% of total insights revenues in 2023.
Verified13The insights industry in Latin America reached $4.2 billion in 2023, up 7.8%.
Verified14AI-driven insights tools boosted market growth by 15% in 2023 pilots.
Directional15Total global insights firms numbered 85,000 in 2023.
Single source16Revenue per insights employee averaged $210,000 globally in 2023.
Verified17FMCG brands spent $26 billion on insights in 2023 worldwide.
Verified18Tech sector insights demand rose 12% to $18.9 billion in 2023.
Verified19Europe’s insights market hit $25.3 billion in 2023, +4.1% YoY.
Directional20Social media analytics segment grew to $6.7 billion in 2023.
Single source21The global insights industry is expected to grow at 6.8% CAGR to 2030.
Verified22Healthcare insights research reached $11.2 billion in 2023 globally.
Verified23Automotive insights spending increased 9.2% to $8.4 billion in 2023.
Verified24Retail insights market valued at $14.5 billion in 2023 worldwide.
Directional25Financial services insights grew to $10.1 billion in 2023.
Single source26Energy sector insights research hit $5.6 billion in 2023.
Verified27Telecom insights spending was $7.3 billion globally in 2023.
Verified28Media & entertainment insights reached $9.8 billion in 2023.
Verified29Travel & hospitality insights grew to $4.9 billion in 2023 post-COVID.
Directional30Public sector insights research was $3.7 billion worldwide in 2023.
Single sourceMarket Size & Growth Interpretation
While the industry is busy measuring everything else, its own vital signs reveal a patient that is not just alive but thriving, flexing a $84 billion muscle that is enthusiastically bulking up on a digital diet and projected to be a $131 billion heavyweight by 2028.
Regional Breakdown
1North America holds 38% of global insights industry revenues.
Verified2Asia-Pacific insights market share is 28% worldwide in 2023.
Verified3Europe's insights industry represents 25% of global total.
Verified4Latin America accounts for 5% of global insights spending.
Directional5Middle East & Africa insights market at 4% global share.
Single source6U.S. dominates with 34% of world insights revenues in 2023.
Verified7China's insights market grew 12% to $12.5B in 2023.
Verified8UK insights industry valued at £6.5B ($8.2B) in 2023.
Verified9Germany's market research sector hit €4.8B in 2023.
Directional10India's insights market reached $2.1B, +15% YoY.
Single source11Brazil's insights industry grew to $1.8B in 2023.
Verified12Japan's insights spending was $5.4B in 2023.
Verified13Australia's market research market at AUD 1.2B ($800M).
Verified14France insights revenues €2.9B in 2023.
Directional15Canada's insights market $2.3B CAD in 2023.
Single source16South Korea insights industry $1.9B in 2023.
Verified17Mexico's market research grew to $900M in 2023.
Verified18South Africa's insights sector $450M in 2023.
Verified19UAE insights market expanded to $650M in 2023.
Directional20Netherlands insights revenues €1.1B in 2023.
Single sourceRegional Breakdown Interpretation
The global insights industry reveals a stubbornly familiar economic map, where the old guard—led emphatically by the U.S.—still holds the commanding heights, but the frantic growth and scale in Asia-Pacific, particularly China, suggest the future is being vigorously written in the East, while other regions, for now, remain intriguing footnotes to the main event.
Technology Adoption
162% of insights firms adopted AI tools by end of 2023.
Verified2Generative AI usage in insights reached 35% among top firms in 2023.
Verified378% of insights professionals use cloud-based analytics platforms daily.
Verified4Big data analytics tools were used by 85% of global insights agencies in 2023.
Directional5Mobile ethnography adoption surged to 52% in qualitative insights 2023.
Single source6VR/AR for insights testing used by 22% of firms, up from 8% in 2022.
Verified7Automated survey platforms handled 68% of quantitative insights projects in 2023.
Verified8NLP (Natural Language Processing) integrated in 47% of text analytics tools.
Verified9Blockchain for panel data security adopted by 15% of insights firms 2023.
Directional10Predictive analytics models deployed in 61% of B2B insights work.
Single source11IoT data integration in insights rose to 29% usage in 2023.
Verified12Computer vision for image-based insights used by 34% of agencies.
Verified13Zero-party data collection tools adopted by 55% of brands via insights.
Verified14Edge computing for real-time insights piloted by 18% of firms.
Directional15Multimodal AI combining text/video/audio in 26% of advanced insights setups.
Single source16Synthetic data generation used in 19% of privacy-compliant insights.
Verified17Federated learning for collaborative insights adopted by 12%.
Verified18Quantum computing pilots in optimization insights at 3% of top firms.
Verified19Low-code/no-code platforms for insights dashboards used by 71%.
Directional20Voice of Customer (VoC) AI bots in 44% of CX insights programs.
Single sourceTechnology Adoption Interpretation
The insights industry has quietly built a formidable tech arsenal, upgrading from clipboards and focus groups to an AI-augmented, cloud-native reality where the only thing more impressive than the tools is the fact that humans are still desperately needed to ask the right questions and make sense of it all.
Workforce Statistics
1Global insights workforce totals 1.2 million professionals in 2023.
Verified2Average salary for insights analysts is $85,000 USD annually worldwide.
Verified342% of insights roles require data science skills in 2023 job postings.
Verified4Women comprise 58% of the global insights industry workforce.
Directional5Turnover rate in insights firms averaged 14.2% in 2023.
Single source667% of insights pros have bachelor's degrees, 22% master's.
Verified7Remote work adopted by 76% of insights employees full-time in 2023.
Verified8Freelance insights consultants grew 11% to 250,000 globally.
Verified9Senior insights directors earn average $165,000 USD per year.
Directional1031% of insights workforce is under 30 years old in 2023.
Single source11Upskilling in AI done by 54% of insights professionals in past year.
Verified12Diversity training implemented in 68% of large insights firms.
Verified13Insights researchers work average 47 hours per week.
Verified1425% of insights jobs unfilled due to talent shortage in 2023.
Directional15Gen Z entry into insights workforce up 18% YoY.
Single source16CX insights specialists average salary $95,000 USD.
Verified1749% of insights leaders report burnout issues in 2023 surveys.
Verified18Certifications like MRS or Insights Association held by 37%.
Verified19Global VC investment in insights tech startups was $2.8B in 2023.
DirectionalWorkforce Statistics Interpretation
The insights industry is a 1.2-million-person paradox of high demand, good pay, and rampant burnout, where a majority-female, increasingly remote workforce is racing to upskill in data science while nearly half of its leaders are running on fumes and a quarter of its jobs remain stubbornly unfilled.
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