Walker Library: TXMD 4200: Patternmaking I: Target Market Research

Target Market Research Tools

Demographics provide a way in which the target market can be divided. Think: age, gender, income, occupation, education, etc.

US Census (data.census.gov)
Source for population, housing, economic, and geographic information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Census Business Builder
Provides selected demographic and economic data from the Census Bureau tailored to small business owners who need key data for their business plan or to better understand their potential market.
NACo County Explorer
From the National Association of Counties, this interactive tool allows you to compare different counties based on a wide variety of demographic and economic statistics.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Provides data on employment, unemployment, and other labor-related economic statistics for US states and local areas..
Pew Research Center: Research Topics
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.

Psychographics are psychological and behavioral profiles of individuals. Think: attitudes, personal values, spending habits, hobbies.

American Time Use Survey
he American Time Use Survey measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing.
Consumer Behavior: Vogue Business
The latest in fashion consumer behavior, from buying habits to cultural retail trends to the effects of TikTok on the Gen Z market.
Consumer Expenditure Survey
The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program provides information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics.
Consumer Spending: US Bureau of Economic Analysis
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is the source of accurate and objective data about the nation's economy.

Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)
Detailed information on more than 70 million private & public U.S. businesses as well as lifestyle interests of 245 million U.S. consumers.

Separate databases for
U.S. Business
U.S. Jobs/Internships
U.S. Historical Businesses
U.S. Consumers/Lifestyles
RKMA Market Research Handbooks
Twelve biennial market research handbooks on a variety of topics along with special editions on COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic indicators.

Titles:
• Business-to-Business Marketing
• Consumer Behavior
• Consumer Marketing
• Consumer Use of the Internet & Mobile
• Entertainment, Media & Advertising Market Research Handbook
• Healthcare Business Market Research Handbook
• International Consumer Markets
• Leisure Business Market Research Handbook
• Restaurant, Food & Beverage Market Research Handbook
• Retail Business Market Research Handbook
• Sports Marketing
• Travel & Tourism Market Research Handbook
Statista
Statistics portal with quantitative data from over 18,000 sources for media, business, finance, politics, and other topics. Export data in a variety of formats for direct use in presentations or reports.

Data is categorized into 21 market sectors. Data sources include market research reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.
Statista help and FAQ's
More about Statista data sources

Industry resources can help you further understand the retail aspect of your design or the business aspects of the apparel industry in general.

Business Insights: Essentials
Combines detailed company and industry information with scholarly journals, business news, and more. Funded by Tennessee Electronic Library.

Business resource that includes easy to use company fundamentals and investment research reports, industry rankings, profiles, and more.
IBISWorld
U.S. industry market research reports and risk ratings.

Target Market Research Articles

The databases linked here can help you locate company information, customer spending behaviors, demographics, and psychographics. See the box below for search tips!

Business Source Complete

Scholarly business database with indexing and abstracts back to 1886 are included. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals.

Publication List
ProQuest One Business (ABI/INFORM)

Comprehensive business and economics database with global coverage with full text journals, industry and country reports, case studies, trade journals, market research reports, and newspapers.
ProQuest One Psychology
An extensive collection of psychology resources for academic research and learning clinical practice techniques

Tips for Searching Databases

Searching the term "psychographic research" or "demographics" in any library database will likely not give you exactly what you need.
Instead, try searching for your target audience (ex., teenagers, Generation Z, parents) along with one or more of the terms below:
- Beliefs
- Values
- Attitudes
- Needs
- Motivations
To focus a search: try adding AND between your search terms to search for more than one term together (ex., Generation Z and values)
To expand a search: try using OR to connect extra terms and search for many words at once (ex., Generation Z and values or beliefs or attitudes)

TXMD 4200: Patternmaking I: Target Market Research

What's here?

Target Market Research Tools

Target Market Research Articles

Tips for Searching Databases