Speed to market. Yes, that is their strategy to roll out products faster than their competitors. Their speed to quickly churn out many products at a rate that is unmatched by other European or American brands. Their strategy involves gaining market share by rapidly flooding products with new models every 6 to 8 months.
How is this speed-to-market affecting market research? Definitely. The traditional design research which involves understanding user needs, creating new concepts and rolling them out has been shortened significantly to meet market needs and capture market share (top priority now). Being the number one market leader by sales figure speaks the loudest.
Many designers are rolling out concepts quickly and hoping that one of the many models will wow the consumers. Not your typical European brand product life cycle. Are consumer needs measured? Probably but I suspect not really in-depth. You would probably agree some smart phones look really alike to each other. Speed to market is killing innovation. Do we really need a crystal keypad from LG? My take is that Asian brands are not aiming for a big leap in innovation but a series of refinement till they get it right. I hope not at the expense of consumer needs and wants.
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