WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

market research
    n 1: research that gathers and analyzes information about the
         moving of good or services from producer to consumer [syn:
         marketing research, market research]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

24 Moby Thesaurus words for "market research":
   consumer preference study, consumer research, consumer survey,
   direct-mail selling, hard sell, hawking,
   high-pressure salesmanship, huckstering, jobbing,
   low-pressure salesmanship, mail-order selling, marketing,
   marketing research, merchandising, peddling, promotion, retailing,
   sales campaign, sales promotion, salesmanship, selling, sellout,
   soft sell, wholesaling