ABSTRACT
Like many fields, the profession of market research is being transformed by technology. The Internet has been a great enabler of market research by making distant multifaceted communications more efficient. Virtualization technologies of synthetic worlds are further changing market research methods by making online communications more personal and vivid. We begin this chapter with a vision of the market research profession in 2025, dramatized as a day in the life of a marketing research professional. We then trace how five market research methods were first influenced by the Internet and are likely to be further influenced by virtualization technologies. Finally, we describe prospective future developments assumed in our dramatization, as well as likely research directions. 1
