What activity involves gathering information about consumers' needs and preferences?

The activity that involves gathering information about consumers' needs and preferences is market research. This process is essential for businesses as it helps them understand what the target audience desires and how their preferences can inform product development, marketing strategies, and overall business decisions.

Market research employs various methods, such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews, to collect quantitative and qualitative data. By analyzing this data, businesses can identify trends, measure consumer satisfaction, and adapt their offerings accordingly. This ensures that products and services are better aligned with what consumers want, which can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty.

While market segmentation focuses on dividing a broader market into smaller, more defined categories based on specific characteristics, and competitive analysis evaluates other businesses in the same sector, those activities do not directly involve gathering consumer preferences. Consumer profiling, on the other hand, involves creating detailed descriptions of different consumer types, which is often a result of conducting market research, but does not itself encompass the entire process of gathering and analyzing data.