{
 "id": "16.5",
 "title": "Market and category research",
 "department": "Research and insights",
 "department_slug": "research-and-insights",
 "direction": null,
 "branded": false,
 "status": "draft",
 "owner": "Param",
 "last_verified": "Mon Oct 26",
 "holds": "Sources and findings on the market, categories and buyers",
 "urls": {
  "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/market-and-category-research",
  "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/market-and-category-research.md",
  "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/research-and-insights/market-and-category-research.json"
 },
 "other_directions": [],
 "tldr": {
  "headline": "Fifteen insights so far, none from a partner, all from our tests",
  "points": [
   {
    "icon": "chart",
    "text": "Of four rings of market, only design partners has a sourced size."
   },
   {
    "icon": "map",
    "text": "Five partner categories read so far, from hair care to medical apparel."
   },
   {
    "icon": "warn",
    "text": "No claim about shoppers using AI to find products has a source yet."
   },
   {
    "icon": "check",
    "text": "A store's ad page name often differs from its store name, so trackers read page ids."
   },
   {
    "icon": "money",
    "text": "Free sources first; ask Param before any paid lookup."
   }
  ],
  "stat": {
   "value": "0 of 8",
   "label": "sizing questions answered"
  },
  "decide": "Is India first for counting the market?",
  "mood": "waiting"
 },
 "sources": [
  "brand-directions/book/content/b.js:329-349 b-5 alternatives; b.js:479-545 b-8 rings, find-out, why-now",
  "brand-directions/_research/sources.md:1-43",
  "brew origin/main a559de6: docs/audit-2026-10-24-design-partners.md:3, 13, 28",
  "memory: brew-live-stores, brew-audit-2026-10-15, feed-for-all-brands, fb-ad-library-mcp, treg-usage-rules, no-spend-while-building",
  "handbook: sales-and-partnerships/arata.md, nutrova.md, mana.md, puma-india.md, scrubroom.md"
 ],
 "open_questions": [
  "**Is India first?** Proposal: yes for counting; size India first and keep global open.",
  "**Do we pay for a store technology lookup?** Proposal: not yet; try free platform figures and a hand sample of 100 stores first.",
  "**Who checks each number?** Proposal: whoever did not gather it, Param, Sai or Arvind.",
  "**Do large brands like Puma India count in our ring?** Proposal: keep them as partners to learn from, size only founder led stores."
 ],
 "parts": {
  "Answer": "The sources and findings we hold on the market, the store categories we serve and the buyers; no market size has a source yet, so every size stays \"to find out\" and the call this settles is what we count first.",
  "Today": "### Market size\n\n| Ring | Definition | Where to count it | Size | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Online stores | Any store selling online | Platform published merchant figures | To find out | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500] |\n| Own brand, own store | Sells its own products from its own site | A store technology lookup such as BuiltWith or Store Leads | To find out | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500] |\n| Founder led, small, with reviews and ads | Our ideal store | Review app installs and the Meta Ad Library | To find out | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500] |\n| Design partners | Real brands working with us now | Our own list | 5 | [src: memory brew-live-stores] |\n\n- No market number has been gathered; a number without a named source is not used [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500]\n- No claim about how many shoppers use AI to find products has a source yet [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:543]\n\n### Categories we have read, from the five partners\n\nAll five sell in India [src: memory brew-live-stores].\n\n| Partner | Category | Store shape | What it taught the reader | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Arata | Hair care | Own brand on Shopify; the only one with accounts connected | Read only connections on a live client | [src: handbook sales-and-partnerships/arata.md] |\n| Nutrova | Supplements | Own brand | A similar rival name is never counted as the brand | [src: handbook sales-and-partnerships/nutrova.md] |\n| Mana Projects | Real estate | Sells homes by enquiry, no cart | A store with no checkout | [src: memory feed-for-all-brands] |\n| Puma India | Sportswear | One market's store of a global brand, on Salesforce Commerce, reviews off | The ad page name differs from the store name | [src: memory feed-for-all-brands] [src: brew/docs/audit-2026-10-24-design-partners.md:13] |\n| Scrubroom | Medical apparel and equipment | Curated retailer: 74% other brands, 68 of 140 products are Littmann stethoscopes | A retailer is read as a store, not a label | [src: brew/docs/audit-2026-10-24-design-partners.md:28] |\n\n- Our test brand Cozy sells in the US in USD but was set to India once, so all 65 of its Plays were written for India [src: memory brew-audit-2026-10-15]\n\n### Buyers and what they use now\n\n- No partner has been asked what they use or pay for marketing help [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:348]\n- The old book lists six ways stores get marketing done today, written as reasoning, not research: doing it yourself, an agency, a freelancer, a marketing hire, a chat assistant, design and ad apps [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:340-348]\n\n### Secondary research we hold\n\nRead on 25 Oct for product design, not for market size [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:1].\n\n| Source | Finding | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Octalysis, Yu-kai Chou | Eight drives; people most often leave between phases, not in the middle of one | [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:5-25] |\n| Duolingo, on Lenny's Newsletter, 28 Feb 2023 | A borrowed game mechanic with no tie to the core loop was neutral | [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:29-31] |\n| Same | Retention of current users had five times the impact of the next metric and became the north star | [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:32] |\n| Same | Leagues raised learning time 17 percent; notifications were protected from extra volume | [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:33-35] |\n\n### Tools we have for counting\n\n| Tool | Cost | Note | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Local Meta Ad Library scraper | Free | No spend or impressions data | [src: memory fb-ad-library-mcp] |\n| treg | Paid per call | Data only; check the balance live; never repeat a call for data we have | [src: memory treg-usage-rules] |",
  "Tomorrow": "| Item | Version | Tag | Notes |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Count own brand stores in India | v1 | New | Store technology lookup, filtered to India and own brand |\n| How many of those run Meta ads | v1 | New | Meta Ad Library, active advertisers by category |\n| How many show reviews on site | v1 | New | Review app installs and a sample of store pages |\n| How many have one to ten people | v1 | New | Team size from company pages, sampled |\n| What partners spend on marketing help now | v1 | New | First call with each partner |\n| How many agencies serve them | v1 | New | Company search and agency directories |\n| What one read costs us | v1 | New | Our own logs, per brand |\n| The same counts for the next country | v2 | New | After India |\n\nWhat each finding would change, from the old book [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:523]:\n\n| Finding | What it would change |\n|---|---|\n| Few stores show reviews | The read leans less on reviews; the ideal store changes |\n| Most run no ads | Ad picks drop in rank for the first ring |\n| Agencies serve most small stores | The brand switcher moves earlier |\n| A read costs more than a store would pay | Pricing and the capped read change |",
  "How we do it": "1. For each answer record the number and its unit, the source by name, the date read, the filter used and who checked it.\n2. Use free sources first: the local Ad Library scraper, public store pages and platform figures.\n3. Ask Param before any paid lookup or treg call.\n4. Put a checked size in [Market](/company-and-strategy/market) only when it has a named source and a checker.\n5. Compare jobs, never run down a named product; competitor detail lives in [Competitive intelligence](/product-marketing/competitive-intelligence).",
  "Numbers": "| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Rings sized | Rings with a sourced size | This page | 1 of 4: design partners |\n| Sizing questions answered | Of the eight in Tomorrow | This page | 0 of 8 |\n| Categories read | Distinct partner categories the reader handles | This page | 5 |",
  "Open": "1. **Is India first?** Proposal: yes for counting; size India first and keep global open.\n2. **Do we pay for a store technology lookup?** Proposal: not yet; try free platform figures and a hand sample of 100 stores first.\n3. **Who checks each number?** Proposal: whoever did not gather it, Param, Sai or Arvind.\n4. **Do large brands like Puma India count in our ring?** Proposal: keep them as partners to learn from, size only founder led stores."
 }
}