Market size data serves as a crucial resource for business planning, investment decisions, and competitive analysis. Pitchbook's Market Size Estimates search aggregates information from multiple research firms, providing users with consolidated market intelligence data.

Accessing Pitchbook's Market Size Estimates

Users can find this resource within the Pitchbook platform by navigating to Market Analysis > Market Size Estimates. The tool presents data from various market research firms in a standardized format, allowing for easier comparison and analysis.

Key features include:

  • Median market size calculations drawn from multiple sources
  • Geographic filters to focus on specific regions
  • Historical data and projected growth rates where available

Effective Search Strategies

The Business Library recently received an inquiry about the size of the lead apron market. A direct search for "lead apron" in Market Size Estimates returned no results. However, broadening the search term to just "apron" with fuzzy searching successfully located data for "medical radiation protection aprons" – the relevant market category.

This illustrates an important technique when researching niche markets: starting with broader category terms often yields better results than highly specific searches.

Understanding Market Size Variation

Users of Pitchbook's tool may notice that different research firms provide varying estimates for identical markets. For instance, Allied Market Research will often value an industry differently than Grand View Research. These differences typically stem from:

  • Varying methodologies in data collection and analysis
  • Different definitions of market boundaries
  • Access to different data sources
  • Varied time periods for analysis and projection

Contextualizing Market Size Data

Market size estimates work best when viewed as one component of a comprehensive research strategy. The data provides valuable insights into market trends; however, it's important to recognize that precise market sizing is often an inherent challenge. Pitchbook's aggregation of multiple sources, including their median calculation feature, helps to provide a more balanced perspective on market opportunities while acknowledging the range of expert opinions on market valuation. 

A similar tool for time-saving analysis is marketresearch.com, where a search for “lead apron” could also provide useful leads to key companies, market insights (see description or table of contents), and comparable sizing estimates.

For further market/industry research tools and USC subscription databases, check out the Industry Research guide: https://libguides.usc.edu/industries 

For USC affiliates with a valid Marshall email, see Pitchbook on the A-Z list: https://libraries.usc.edu/locations/gaughan-tiberti-library/business-databases