If your team is feeling the budget squeeze this year, you’re not alone. While some reports suggest that market research budgets may see a modest increase in 2025, most teams are still working with limited resources. That makes it more important than ever to be strategic about where to invest.

So, how do you ensure your research budget is focused on the right priorities? And just as crucially, how do you decide which research methods or projects to scale back?

I recently spoke with Bill Trovinger, Director of Customer Insights - Health & Wellness at Albertsons Companies, to get his insights for the Market Research Trends 2025 report.

In the conversation below, he shares his thoughts on AI, as well as the evolving role of long-standing methodologies like trackers and customer journeys.

Q&A with Bill Trovinger

Besides AI, what tools or technologies do you see becoming important in 2025 and why?

A true market research way to ask this question—besides the obvious answer—is what else?

I am continuing to see an uptick in technologies that help find and uncover insights within niche markets and hard-to-reach audiences. Partners who can unlock things like specific healthcare data or be able to match the right audience to the right client will have a leg up for extremely competitive research dollars in 2025.

AI is going to level the playing field in terms of speed and efficiency, so who can go deeper—whether with the help of AI or not—will be the winner in 2025.

What types of AI innovations or applications are you most excited about to see in 2025?

I am most excited to see AI become more conversational.

AI is still a great starting place for research, but most people know when they are speaking to a bot or reading something prepared by AI. In 2025, that line will continue to blur, and narrative research will become like talking to a trusted friend. The ability to replicate this hundreds of times over a short period of time will increase speed and help show how customers truly interact and think and feel about your product in a more natural setting.

It is both terrifying and very cool!

What methodologies or approaches do you see declining in 2025?

I see a decline in big legacy studies—trackers, customer journeys, anything that is refreshed. The data is still incredibly valuable but as budgets shrink, insights teams will continue to make tough choices and the easiest way to get back a large piece of budget to explore new methodologies or business areas is to rely on year-old data in an area where maybe the business hasn't changed much.

It’s a calculated risk, but one I see more and more leaders being willing to take to test and learn in the AI space. Saying we've always done this study isn't reason enough to invest six figures anymore.

Looking Ahead

A big thank you to Bill for sharing his insights! His perspective on legacy studies is especially thought-provoking. While these approaches remain valuable, smart CMOs and insights leaders need to critically evaluate their real impact and adapt accordingly.

His thoughts on AI becoming more conversational are also top of mind for us at Rival Technologies. When we developed our AI Probing capability, for example, we prioritized maintaining a natural participant experience. This meant ensuring that AI not only asks relevant follow-up questions in a way that sounds natural, but also knows when to follow up. That led us to create Thoughtfulness Score, which helps assess whether an open-ended response truly requires additional probing.

By combining these AI innovations, we’re able to gather richer insights while preserving a positive participant experience. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our collaboration with OURA.

For further insights into the future of market research, be sure to explore our Market Research Trends 2025 report, featuring Bill and other industry leaders.