The Narcissism of Small Differences: Why It’s Time to End the UX / Market Research Divide

Modern market research was born in the 1930s, when Arthur Nielsen began to measure radio audiences. The 1950s added motivational research and focus groups; ad pre-testing, brand tracking and customer satisfaction surveys emerged in the decades that followed.

UX research became a formal discipline in the 1990s at Apple (Don Norman) and Sun Microsystems (Jakob Nielsen, no relation). Fresh thinking was needed to help improve Human-Computer Interfaces, and new research methods emerged that emphasised prototyping, observation and contextual feedback.

Throughout the 2000s, UX research became entrenched as a philosophy, toolbox, and corporate structure that was entirely distinct from market research. For some practitioners, the distinction itself was a core raison d’être.

But market research didn’t stand still. Its methods and software tools added features born in UX research, behavioural science and elsewhere. Senior executives began to ask why they were paying for two research departments.

Then came the tech jobspocalypse of 2022. Thousands of UX researchers were shown the door. Designers, product managers, and even developers were expected to do their own research using democratised software tools.

And today, it’s market research and consumer insights teams who are staring down the same barrel: headcount reductions, hiring freezes, and the magical thinking of AI-based efficiency.

In this world, it makes little sense to insist on separate silos for UX and MR. It’s high time to align.

Easy to say, hard to deliver.

This webinar panel with senior industry leaders will explore what this convergence might look like: for organisations, for teams, and for the tools they use.

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