ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the nature of the political market, explores traditional forms of political participation and rise of consumerist attitudes towards political elites, before reviewing the wide range of political market research tools. Traditional forms of political participation including becoming a member or formal supporter of party and even voting itself is declining, and when people do vote, their choice is less predictable. Political market research (PMR) includes quantitative forms of research such as polling, surveys, segmentation, big data; and qualitative forms such as focus groups, co-creation and deliberative research; opposition, candidate and policy research; and informal tools including global knowledge transfer and use of public records and data. The chapter explores the range of ways in which political market research is used. Market research is used to inform a range of activities in politics. Interviews with practitioners suggest that 'market analysis in politics is a multi-varied activity, the value, purposes, uses, methods and attitudes to market analysis are broad-ranging'.
