MRSI seminar 2026: Research on Indian consumers, beauty and AI takes top honours across three categories

Quantum Consumer Solutions and Flipkart Internet, Knowledge Excel, and Plum Insights and Strategy have won top honours at the Market Research Society of India’s 34th Annual Market Research Seminar.

The three companies won for research covering changing beauty and consumer behaviour, research confidence, and how researchers are working with AI. The two-day seminar, held under the theme ‘The Next Human’, featured 22 shortlisted papers from more than 100 submissions.

Quantum Consumer Solutions and Flipkart Internet won in the Terrain category for their paper, ‘Mapping the Human in High Definition: What Beauty Reveals About India’s Next Human’.

Knowledge Excel won in the Compass category for ‘Confidence Before Conclusions: Developing the Analytical Insight Confidence Framework’.

Plum Insights and Strategy won in the Instruments category for ‘The Last Mile of Judgement: A Field Study of How Researchers Negotiate Authorship with AI’.

Hindustan Unilever Limited, Smytten PulseAI Research and NielsenIQ & Mankind Consumer Products Pvt. Ltd. were recognised as runners-up at the seminar.

How AI is changing consumer research

AI and changing consumer behaviour were among the key themes discussed at the seminar.

Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Founder and CEO, Sensori.ai, delivered the inaugural keynote, ‘Extracting Insights and Commercial Wins from the Nonconscious Mind of the Consumer’.

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The session explored how the nonconscious mind can uncover deeper insights and translate them into commercial opportunities. He highlighted that while Generative AI can produce endless ideas and solutions, understanding what truly resonates with consumers remains important.

He emphasised that while AI can accelerate innovation and decision-making, understanding human behaviour and emotions remains essential.

A panel titled ‘More Than Meets the Eye: Understanding the Consumer in Full’ also looked at how rapid technological advances, particularly AI, are affecting the pace of human adaptation.

The session highlighted the uncertainty around this transition and the need to balance technological progress with human understanding.

Understanding the changing consumer

Another session, ‘The Human has Left the Segmentation. Decoding THE NEXT HUMAN,’ focused on how changing consumer contexts are influencing decision-making.

The discussion highlighted the need to move beyond traditional research and develop a more detailed understanding of consumer behaviour.

Nitin Kamat, Chief Growth & Partnerships Officer, TAM Media Research and President, MRSI, said, “MRSI’s Seminar has built a legacy of igniting conversations and innovations for the research and insights sector.”

“Each year, we witness original papers that push brands to rethink how they approach business and their consumer and this year was no different,” Kamat said.

“‘The Next Human’ spotlighted the need for deeper, more nuanced insights to navigate an increasingly complex marketplace,” he added.

“As we conclude the 2026 Seminar, we are confident that the collective curiosity, knowledge and innovation of our industry will continue to push the boundaries of what research can achieve, while further strengthening India’s position as a global hub for research and insights,” Kamat noted

The seminar also featured a session on AI, robotics and creativity by Niraj Ruparel, Creative Technology Lead, WPP & WPP Media, and Vijay Raj, Insight Growth.

Reshma Tonse, Co-Founder, Context Architecture, 1001 Stories, also spoke about India’s collective consciousness through symbols, narratives and visual themes in her session, ‘India in Her Sleep: Deciphering a Nation’s Collective Consciousness Through the Symbols, Narratives and Visual Vocabulary Occurring in Today’s Dreams and Nightmares’.

As part of MRSI’s The Community Program initiative, Borderless Access’s Garvita Chauhan and Aditya Kumar ‘Life After Burns’ presented their winning paper from ESOMAR’s Research Got Talent.

Puneet Avasthi, Senior Director at Kantar, presented the Indian Research & Insights Industry 2026 Update, while Anju Joseph, Partner, India Business Head of Quantum Consumer Solutions, delivered the closing remarks.