Ipsos I&O once again ranks number one in the market research sector: ‘strong across the board’
Industry revenue up by almost 5% in 2025
Data & Insights Network (D&IN), the Dutch industry association for market research and insights, is reporting a positive outlook for the sector: “The Dutch market research industry continues to grow.”
AI has become firmly embedded in consumers’ daily lives, the workplace and the insights industry. Nevertheless, demand for reliable data, research and actionable insights continues to increase, according to D&IN. This is reflected in total industry revenue of €559 million in 2025, almost 5% higher than the previous year. This represents stronger growth than in 2024, when revenue increased by just over 3%, from €517 million to €533 million.
The outlook for 2026 remains positive. Three-quarters of research agencies expect their revenue to increase, while one-quarter anticipate a decline. D&IN describes this as a notable level of optimism, particularly “against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological developments.” The organisation concludes that AI and data are not only driving current growth, but are also increasingly shaping the future of the market research industry.
The Netherlands ranks 12th globally
The Netherlands is also performing well internationally. According to the latest ESOMAR figures, the global market research industry generated approximately $56 billion in revenue in 2024, with Europe growing by 4.2%. The Netherlands ranks 12th worldwide and sixth in Europe, behind the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. With growth of almost 5%, the Dutch market is outperforming the European average.
Ipsos I&O remains the largest research agency
There has been relatively little change at the top of the rankings. D&IN bases its ranking on revenue and number of employees (FTEs). Ipsos I&O retains the number-one position, followed by NielsenIQ and Kantar Netherlands.
According to D&IN, “The limited changes at the top show that the market is characterised by a stable group of established players, while there continues to be considerable movement further down the rankings.”
Ipsos I&O ‘strong across the board’
D&IN also breaks down the overall ranking into ten specialist categories. Ipsos I&O tops three of these rankings: public sector, communications and active data collection.
The agency also ranks among the top five in data analytics and pharmaceutical & healthcare (both #2), concept testing (#3), analytics for marketing and customer insights (#4), data science (#4) and fast-moving consumer goods (#4).
D&IN concludes: “Ipsos I&O has the broadest presence and ranks among the top agencies in virtually every research discipline. From active data collection to pharmaceutical research, and from concept testing to data engineering, the agency has a strong presence across the full spectrum of the market.”
