DIGITAL PLATFORMS AS A FACTOR IN TRANSFORMING MARKETING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Abstract

The article examines the influence of digital platforms on the transformation of marketing research methodology under the conditions of economic digitalisation and the growing complexity of the business information environment. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that digital platforms have become the leading environment of interaction between companies and consumers, where large arrays of behavioural, transactional, and communication data are continuously generated and can be used for analytical purposes. The purpose of the study is to clarify the essence of digital platforms as a source of marketing data, to define their place in the system of contemporary marketing research, and to generalise changes in approaches to the collection, processing, and interpretation of information. Methodologically, the study is based on a combination of abstract-logical generalisation, comparative analysis, systematisation, a structural-functional approach, and scientific synthesis. This made it possible to compare traditional and digital sources of marketing data and to identify their differences in the way information is formed, in analytical capabilities, in the level of timeliness, representativeness, personalisation, and in methodological limitations. As a result, it is proved that digital platforms should be considered not only as communication channels, but also as interactive multi-sided systems within which structured and unstructured data on actual consumer behaviour are generated. It is established that under the influence of platforms marketing research is shifting from episodic collection of predominantly declarative information to continuous analysis of digital traces, big data, customer journeys, and interaction contexts in a mode close to real time. It is substantiated that digital data do not fully replace classical methods, but require integration with surveys, interviews, observation, and sampling procedures in order to ensure the validity, interpretability, and ethical reliability of results. The practical value of the article lies in the possibility of using its provisions to improve enterprise marketing analytics, to select relevant research tools, to build hybrid research models, and to increase the validity of managerial decisions in the digital environment.