One tool I do recommend if you are doing market research on products is Google Trend. This is a potent tool by which you to enter search terms that are relevant to your business, to see what is Australia looking for with this product. It is free.
What is particularly useful in retail is that it can also be used to show seasonality of demand which can help you to bring stock into the shop when required.
Say, for example, we are looking at chocolate bars.
So I put into google trends the most popular chocolate bars in Australia, that I know and I select five (5) years as I want a long view.
Now I can see how Australia is looking at these chocolate bars. There has been a slight drop but not much. Mars bars are the most popular with Kit kat looking good.
I also can go deeper into it. I would suggest checking out the breakout items listed in the Google Trend report too as it shows where Australia is headed.
This can assist you in making decisions by giving you objective facts.
For a detailed study on how to use Google Trend, please click here.
It is well worth a read.
