ShapardResearch buys competitor Oklahoma Market Research

Oklahoma Market Research, the oldest primary market research firm in the state, has been purchased by ShapardResearch LLC, forming the largest market research firm and the only firm in the state with facilities for various forms of qualitative research including focus grouping.

For more than 40 years, Clyde and Judy Nitta owned and operated Oklahoma Market Research (OMR) in Oklahoma City. The Nittas created OMR after purchasing Smith Interviewing, an early market research company that only collected data on clipboards going to door to door before the age of the computer. At its height, OMR had the largest market research data collection center and the largest focus grouping facility in the state.

Today, ShapardResearch is the only primary market research in the state with its own call center for quantitative research and now the largest focus group facilities for conducting qualitative research with three focus group rooms, each with a client viewing room, a client lounge and full test kitchen.

Between the two companies, nearly every major company in the state with a need for market research services has used either or both companies since the 1980s.

"Clyde and Judy Nitta set the bar high for quality primary market research in the state and we intend to continue that tradition for the next 40 years," said Kim Shapard, operating officer of ShapardResearch.

With the combined companies, ShapardResearch now has the largest research participant panel in the state with over 22,000 Oklahomans, covering the entire state of Oklahoma. The panel gives clients the ability to access a wealth of insights from Oklahoma consumers, or subsets, with quicker turn-around times and lower costs.