Out with the old, in with the new: why market research needs a digital overhaul

For years, surveys have been the go-to tool for market research. But are they really giving you the clear, reliable answers you need? 

Response rates are plummeting, fraud is rampant, and responses from incentivized participants are often laced with bias. Yet, despite these glaring issues, many brands continue clinging to outdated methods because–what else is there? Turns out, a lot. 

Welcome to the future. Digital experimentation is the secret weapon brands need in order to stop making million-dollar decisions based on gut feelings and start leveraging real consumer behavior in real environments. 

Why traditional surveys are failing us 

Surveys have been the go-to for concept testing, messaging validation, and product development, but they come with a laundry list of issues that can’t be ignored: 

• Declining response rates: Consumers are fatigued, skeptical, and downright bored.

• Questionable authenticity: Bots and bad-faith respondents skew results beyond recognition.

• Bias overload: Poorly designed questions lead to misleading insights.

• Tech evolution: Consumers are moving faster than survey methods can keep up. 

Even worse? AI, which was supposed to be the hero, has made it easier than ever for fraudsters to game the system while also enabling inexperienced researchers to churn out poorly structured surveys at scale. The result? A flood of junk data that makes it nearly impossible to separate signal from noise. 

The consequences of a lack of consumer research 

Here’s the truth: Asking consumers what they think they’ll do is rarely a reliable indicator of what they’ll actually do. Just ask Tropicana, whose $35 million rebrand debacle could have been avoided with better consumer insights. Or Coca-Cola, which learned the hard way that nostalgia trumps novelty with the infamous New Coke flop. 

The reality is, human behavior is complex, and traditional research methods simply don’t capture the nuance needed to predict market success. The stakes are too high to rely on outdated, unreliable tools. 

Digital experimentation: the new frontier 

Instead of asking consumers hypothetical questions, what if you could observe how they actually behave in their natural digital environments? That’s the beauty of digital experimentation. 

Digital experimentation allows brands to: 

1. Test in real-world scenarios: No more hypothetical guessing games. Watch how consumers interact with your product, packaging, and messaging in the digital spaces they already frequent. 
2. Scale with precision: Reach thousands of consumers across different segments without the limitations of traditional survey panels. 
3. Uncover authentic insights: Consumers don’t even realize they’re being tested, leading to more natural behavior and unbiased feedback. 

Think of it as a living digital laboratory where every click, scroll, and purchase decision provides valuable, real-time insights.

Why this matters more than ever 

With 95% of new products failing and innovation success rates looking bleak, brands can’t afford to launch without concrete, behavior-driven insights. Whether you’re introducing a new SKU or optimizing your ad spend, digital experimentation ensures your strategy is rooted in reality, not wishful thinking. 

The best part? It’s cost-effective, scalable, and provides a competitive edge by delivering insights traditional methods simply can’t. 

Ready to ditch the old ways? 

At Orchard, we’re leading the charge in digital experimentation, helping brands move beyond unreliable surveys and into a new era of market research. No more guesswork, no more bad data – just actionable insights based on what consumers really do, not what they say they’ll do. 

It’s time to evolve. Are you in?