DOI: 10.1094/CFW-51-0122 |
VIEW ARTICLE Market Research: Concept Testing in a World Gone “Faster” H. Ashman (1) and J. Beckley (2). (1) The U&I Group, Powell, OH. (2) The U&I Group, Denville, NJ. Cereal Foods World 51(3):122-123. James Gleick in his 1999 book Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything describes a world in which time is measured in nanoseconds—a world in which fast food can be found within 4 min of virtually any location, and time and motion studies are interconnected with culinary development. In 2006 we live in a world in which consumers make choices about the products they will buy in a grocery store within 4 sec. This is a world in which time is more important than money, and consumers are not willing to give a product their attention unless it immediately provides an experience. Although money can be acquired, saved, and spent, time can only be shifted to different activities. The fundamental issue we face in today’s sped-up experience-driven world of abundant choices is that the measures we have used in the past no longer apply. The world has changed and so must concept testing to keep up with it. The metrics for success are still evolving, and the processes we use to measure them must evolve as well.
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