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Marketing Research Resources: Home

Marketing Research Resources at HPULibraries

Welcome!

This research guide was created to introduce you to some of the University's market research resources. We are surrounded by market data. Our personal data is collected when we shop at the store or shop online. How do I know that I can trust marketing related data that I find online?  

Question 1. What four characteristics might you look for to decide if marketing content can be trusted?

Thinking about market research data.

There is a lot of wonderful data that I can use to research markets. Market data can also challenge our view of what we think about a market or an industry. For instance, when I pulled the chart on new vehicle sales I was stunned to see Ford Motor company at the top (check their stock price!) I was expecting to see Toyota or even Chevrolet at the top but not Ford. Many of my family members and some of my friends have domestic vehicles. Check the graph. How many vehicles did Ford produce in 2nd quarter of 2020? How about Honda? Did the companies appear in the order that you expected?   

 
So I wanted an explanation. What put Ford motor at the top of the chart? So I searched for a chart which showed the types of vehicles that were sold by companies and I had my explanation. Ford sold more trucks than others and this narrative accompanied the chart.
 
In 2019, some 4.7 million automobiles, about 12.2 million light trucks, and some 529,500 heavy duty trucks were sold to customers in the United States. Overall, the U.S. auto industry sold about 17 million motor vehicles in 2019.
Want to read a little more about this market?      Pickup Truck Market

 

If you want, here is the link to a chart showing light truck sales in the US by brand name - Truck Sales in the US. 

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