Quantum computing for market research

The digital ecosystem continues to expand around the world and is revolutionising the way markets are researched. Indeed, consumer experiences are advertised and disseminated through so many channels and media that it has become a major challenge for researchers and marketing practitioners to collect, process and generate valuable information to support strategic and operational decisions. In this article, the authors explore how advances in quantum computing, which can be used to process huge amounts of data quickly and accurately, could offer an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to address the challenges of the digital ecosystem. Three studies are presented to define the state of the art and future expectations of quantum computing in market research and business. By means of a bibliometric analysis of 209 publications and a content analysis of the 30 highest-impact articles, we describe the present landscape, and also forecast the future with the help of in-depth interviews with eight experts. The findings reveal that the US and China are at the forefront of scientific development, but the contributions from four other countries (India, the UK, Canada and Spain) are also in double figures. However, graphical analysis identifies four poles of development: the US orbit, which includes Canada and Spain; the Chinese orbit, which includes India; the UK orbit; and the Australian orbit. In terms of expectations, the experts agree on the opportunities offered by quantum computing, but there is less consensus as to how long it will take to develop.