--- id: "16.5" title: "Market and category research" dept: research-and-insights status: draft owner: Param branded: false last_verified: 2026-10-26 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" --- # Market and category research ## 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 | Ring | Definition | Where to count it | Size | Source | |---|---|---|---|---| | Online stores | Any store selling online | Platform published merchant figures | To find out | [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500] | | 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] | | 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] | | Design partners | Real brands working with us now | Our own list | 5 | [src: memory brew-live-stores] | - No market number has been gathered; a number without a named source is not used [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:500] - No claim about how many shoppers use AI to find products has a source yet [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:543] ### Categories we have read, from the five partners All five sell in India [src: memory brew-live-stores]. | Partner | Category | Store shape | What it taught the reader | Source | |---|---|---|---|---| | 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] | | Nutrova | Supplements | Own brand | A similar rival name is never counted as the brand | [src: handbook sales-and-partnerships/nutrova.md] | | Mana Projects | Real estate | Sells homes by enquiry, no cart | A store with no checkout | [src: memory feed-for-all-brands] | | 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] | | 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] | - 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] ### Buyers and what they use now - No partner has been asked what they use or pay for marketing help [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:348] - 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] ### Secondary research we hold Read on 25 Oct for product design, not for market size [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:1]. | Source | Finding | Source | |---|---|---| | 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] | | 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] | | 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] | | Same | Leagues raised learning time 17 percent; notifications were protected from extra volume | [src: brand-directions/_research/sources.md:33-35] | ### Tools we have for counting | Tool | Cost | Note | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Local Meta Ad Library scraper | Free | No spend or impressions data | [src: memory fb-ad-library-mcp] | | 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 | |---|---|---|---| | Count own brand stores in India | v1 | New | Store technology lookup, filtered to India and own brand | | How many of those run Meta ads | v1 | New | Meta Ad Library, active advertisers by category | | How many show reviews on site | v1 | New | Review app installs and a sample of store pages | | How many have one to ten people | v1 | New | Team size from company pages, sampled | | What partners spend on marketing help now | v1 | New | First call with each partner | | How many agencies serve them | v1 | New | Company search and agency directories | | What one read costs us | v1 | New | Our own logs, per brand | | The same counts for the next country | v2 | New | After India | What each finding would change, from the old book [src: brand-directions/book/content/b.js:523]: | Finding | What it would change | |---|---| | Few stores show reviews | The read leans less on reviews; the ideal store changes | | Most run no ads | Ad picks drop in rank for the first ring | | Agencies serve most small stores | The brand switcher moves earlier | | 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. 2. Use free sources first: the local Ad Library scraper, public store pages and platform figures. 3. Ask Param before any paid lookup or treg call. 4. Put a checked size in [Market](/company-and-strategy/market) only when it has a named source and a checker. 5. Compare jobs, never run down a named product; competitor detail lives in [Competitive intelligence](/product-marketing/competitive-intelligence). ## Numbers | Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status | |---|---|---|---| | Rings sized | Rings with a sourced size | This page | 1 of 4: design partners | | Sizing questions answered | Of the eight in Tomorrow | This page | 0 of 8 | | 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. 2. **Do we pay for a store technology lookup?** Proposal: not yet; try free platform figures and a hand sample of 100 stores first. 3. **Who checks each number?** Proposal: whoever did not gather it, Param, Sai or Arvind. 4. **Do large brands like Puma India count in our ring?** Proposal: keep them as partners to learn from, size only founder led stores.