Increase in Strategic Planning Index Reveals Renewed Optimism in Business Sector

Long-range planning activities displayed a brisk jump in the fourth quarter of 2003, reaching their highest levels in over two years, according to MarketResearch.coms year-end assessment of strategic research spending, known as the Strategic Planning Index. The Index jumped nearly 5 percentage points in the fourth quarter, indicating significantly improved optimism in the business sector.

New York,NY (PRWEB) January 5, 2004 --Long-range planning activities displayed a brisk jump in the fourth quarter of 2003, reaching their highest levels in over two years, according to MarketResearch.coms year-end assessment of strategic research spending, known as the Strategic Planning Index. The Index jumped nearly 5 percentage points in the fourth quarter, indicating significantly improved optimism in the business sector.

"The Index has been relatively flat for the past year and a half, indicating that information purchases have been tending toward sales, benchmarking, and operational improvement," notes Robert Granader, CEO of MarketResearch.com, Inc. "This up-tick in the Index is yet another clear sign that the economy is improving; the business community is starting to look past day-to-day worries and toward new markets and long-term strategic opportunities."

While nearly all sectors showed some improvement in the Index, information technology and telecommunications displayed the most dramatic turnaround after two years of apparently pulling back on their long-term strategic planning spend. Healthcare companies also showed some renewed signs of optimism in the fourth quarter, as did the heavy manufacturing sector, particularly the chemical industry.

The Index evaluates market research spending trends across multiple industry sectors based on the worlds largest database of market research purchasers. MarketResearch.coms proprietary methodology involves both quantitative and qualitative analysis of research initiatives, requests, and procurement, with a particular focus on the term of strategic planning as an indication of future initiatives and capital investment.

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