Tag Archive for 'Consumer Trends'

Women are the Next Global Emerging Market

Published on April 11, 2011 in Emerging Markets. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Here’s what works (and what doesn’t) when selling to this large, but surprisingly often ignored group of consumers.

Women’s economic power is truly revolutionary, representing the largest market opportunity in the world. Just look at the numbers: Women control 65 percent of global spending and more than 80 percent of U.S. spending. By 2014, the World Bank predicts that the global income of women will grow by more than $5 trillion.

Globally, women consumers control $20 trillion in consumer spending. They make the final decision for buying 91 percent of home purchases, 65 percent of the new cars, 80 percent of health care choices, and 66 percent of computers.

Women around the globe have more control over their life choices and path than ever before. In emerging markets, women are entering the workforce at lightning speed [Source].

The Rise of Generation C

Published on February 23, 2011 in Global Strategy and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: .

By 2020, the demographic we call Generation C — connected, communicating, computerised, and, as a rule, born after 1990 — will make up 40 percent of the population in the U.S., Europe, and the BRIC countries, and 10 percent of the rest of the world. By then, they will constitute the largest single cohort of consumers worldwide [Source].

This is the first generation that has never known any reality other than that defined and enabled by the Internet, mobile devices, and social networking. They have owned various handheld devices all their lives, so they are intimately familiar with them and use them for as much as six hours a day. They all have mobile phones, yet they prefer sending text messages to talking with people. More than 95 percent of them have computers, and more than half use instant messaging to communicate, have Facebook pages, and watch videos on YouTube [Source].

Their familiarity with technology; reliance on mobile communications; and desire to remain in contact with large networks of family members, friends, business contacts, and people with common interests will transform how we work and how we consume. How businesses prepare for the Connected Generation’s transformation of the consumer and business landscape will determine their success [Source].

Facebook’s Platform will Rule them All

Published on November 17, 2010 in Real-Time Web and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

“Email–I can’t imagine life without it–is probably going away,” said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in June, citing how only 11% of teens use email daily.

That’s the same story parroted Monday by Sandberg’s boss, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who introduced the company’s new messaging service by suggesting a generational shift away from email.

Based on Sandberg’s and Zuckerberg’s comments, it’s no surprise the blogosphere proclaimed the social network’s new service a “Gmail killer.” But that’s entirely the wrong term to be using. For starters, Gmail isn’t that big a deal. It has only a 15% market share. Hotmail has double and Yahoo triple that userbase. Facebook isn’t interested in killing off any of them as a messaging platform–its goal is to rise above them all, contain them all, and thereby rule them all [Source].

Related stories:

  • Why Facebook Wants Your E-Mail [Click]
  • How Facebook plans to reinvent email and online messaging [Click]
  • How Facebook’s Messages System Helps It Win [Click]
  • Schimdt on Facebook Messages: Competition Is Good [Click]

eBooks Now $1 Billion Industry

Published on November 8, 2010 in International Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In 2002, sales of e-books were at a paltry $7 million. Consumers had few convenient ways to read them. The Kindle was a distant vision for Amazon, and the iPad was a dream in Steve Jobs’s mind. Fast forward to 2010: e-books are set to pass sales of $1 billion

According to a report released today by Forrester Research, U.S. sales of digital books have rocketed 220% from last year’s total of $301 million, bolstered by huge increases of e-readers to 10.3 million, up from 3.7 million in 2009. What’s more, Forrester estimates e-book sales will triple by 2015, and that more than 29 million e-readers will have been sold.

E-books still have tremendous room for growth. According to Forrester, just 7% of online adults in the U.S. who read books read e-books. That figure is expected to double in 2011 [Source].

7 Trends to Watch

Published on October 5, 2010 in High Tech & Media and Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: .

7 Trends to Watch, In An Age of Info Overload. Information is now the most abundant commodity on earth. These are strange times — not just for us citizens, but for all the corporate citizens that employ us, feed us, and work the engine that makes the world go round. So here are seven home truths to help keep things in perspective [Source].

1. People Crave Certainty
2. “Branded Content” Is a Dangerous Road — Drive Responsibly
3. Bet on Humans over Technology
4. If You Have Nothing to Say, Don’t. No, Really
5. Privacy Is Becoming Pivotal — Take a Stand
6. Information Works for You, Not the Other Way Round
7. Empower Your Intrapreneurs

Untangling the Social Web

Published on September 5, 2010 in Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Software: From retailing to counterterrorism, the ability to analyse social connections is proving increasingly useful.

The market for such software is booming. By one estimate there are more than 100 programs for network analysis, also known as link analysis or predictive analysis. The raw data used may extend far beyond phone records to encompass information available from private and governmental entities, and internet sources such as Facebook. Adoption is being driven by the availability of more sources of information, and by the fact that network-analysis software is becoming easier to use.

Where is network analysis headed? The next step beyond mapping influence between individuals is to map the influences between larger segments of society. A forecasting model developed by Venkatramana Subrahmanian of the University of Maryland does just that. Called SOMA Terror Organization Portal, it analyses a wide range of information about politics, business and society in Lebanon to predict, with surprising accuracy, rocket attacks by the country’s Hizbullah militia on Israel [Source].

Office politics

Published on May 13, 2010 in International Business. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

Microsoft bids to keep its grip on corporate computing against Google’s challenge.

In a significant move, Microsoft announced new, web-based versions of popular applications such as Word and Excel as part of the “Office 2010” release, and unveiled changes designed to make it easier for workers to collaborate using its software. These initiatives come at a critical time in the evolution of corporate computing. After dominating the office desktop for so long, Microsoft now faces a growing challenge from a variety of companies that are betting they can leverage the cloud to erode its share of the market.

Among other things, the new, web-based version of Office will make it much easier for workers to use documents and spreadsheets on a host of different devices, including smart phones. Microsoft has also tweaked its software to make it easier for people to, say, embed videos in PowerPoint presentations and to integrate data from their social networks into online calendars and e-mail services. And the company plans to offer a free, stripped down version of its web apps that will compete directly with Google’s mass-market offering [Source].

Megatrends in Global Health Care

Published on April 27, 2010 in Global Strategy. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Powerful trends are at work — all around the world — forcing changes in how health care will be conceived and delivered in the decades ahead. The editors of Harvard Business Review have compiled a list of 12 megatrends that will dramatically change how we must think about the issue and some of the largely unrecognised consequences.

Megatrend 1: Innovation and demand soar in emerging economies
Megatrend 2: Personalised medicine and technological advances
Megatrend 3: Aging populations overwhelm the system
Megatrend 4: Rising costs
Megatrend 5: Global pandemics
Megatrend 6: Environmental challenges
Megatrend 7: Evidence-based medicine
Megatrend 8: Non-MDs providing care
Megatrend 9: Payers’ influence over treatment decisions
Megatrend 10: The growing role of philanthropy
Megatrend 11: Prevention is the next big business opportunity
Megatrend 12: Medical tourism

iPad is here!

Published on January 28, 2010 in High Tech & Media. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Even though the Apple iPad won’t be available for another 60 or 90 days (depending on the model), Apple already has its official iPad website up and running.

In addition to showing off some of the applications, features and design and technical specifications, the website also features an eight-minute video with Apple’s design and development team discussing the device and showing it off. If you love Johnny Ive and well-produced promo videos, you’ll want to check it out!

You can watch the video over at Apple.com here. Please also find a NYTimes article on how “The iPad: A Media Machine That Opens Up a New Front” here.

10 Web Trends For 2010

Published on December 7, 2009 in Social Media. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

web-trends-2010As the year draws to a close, what does 2010 hold for social media and the web? While web innovation is unpredictable, some clear trends are emerging.

Among the good bets for 2010 online: Real-time, Content Curation, Cloud Computing, Convergence Continues (eBooks are the exception), Social Gaming and more.

This week’s CNN column looks at 10 of the big themes that will shape the next year on the web.