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Our Thought Leadership
Strengthen your long-term strategies by incorporating macro trends and broader industry insights. In our blogs we share our perspectives on various aspects of the Consumer Experience Journey plus other topics to enhance your decision making.


How Brands Earn Retailer Partnership Status
Deloitte finds 90% of retailers want stronger brand collaboration – yet most CPG and CE brands show up to buyer meetings with the wrong briefcase. The gap isn't data. It's translation: connecting consumer motivation, shopper behavior, and retailer economics into a growth plan that earns strategic partner status. This article breaks down what retailers are actually evaluating, what it costs brands who miss it, and how winning organizations close the gap.
uzmakrauf
Apr 29 min read


2026 Macro Trends: Five Divergences Brands Must Navigate
The 'average' consumer is a deceptive baseline. In 2026, a K-shaped divergence has split consumers, retailers, and brands into two accelerating extremes – while the undifferentiated middle shrinks. This report analyzes five macro-trend divergences impacting CPG and Consumer Electronics: macroeconomic asymmetry, the new consumer calculus, unified commerce, the barbell marketplace, and technology's new rules. With 29 data sources and sector-specific strategies.
uzmakrauf
Jan 2117 min read


Bigger Decisions, Tighter Budgets: How A Learning Plan Grows Your ROI
A comprehensive framework for building learning plans that get funded. Includes 8-step process (with our Free Template), client priorities, and strategies for CPG and CE brands to turn budget constraints into competitive advantage.
uzmakrauf
Oct 1, 20258 min read


The 7+1 phases of your Consumer Journey — Essential insights brands need to succeed
Identify the insights you need for 7 phases of your consumer journey to grow loyalty, ROI and sales. Transform your strategies for success.
uzmakrauf
Feb 21, 20244 min read


🔉 Podcast: Importance of Consumer and Market Insights
Uzma Rauf's "Consumer Insights Podcast" with Stravito delved into a variety of topics critical for marketers and insights professionals
uzmakrauf
Feb 2, 20241 min read


The Marketer’s Balancing Act: Short-Term Sales or Long-Term Brand Legacy?
Challenging market environments force business leaders to make tough choices on where to invest their ever tightening budget to drive...
uzmakrauf
Jan 22, 20244 min read


Unlocking Your Full Customer Journey: Why Comprehensive Understanding is Essential
For brands to thrive they must know and activate across all critical touchpoints of their Consumers full experience journeys.
uzmakrauf
Jun 13, 20234 min read


How are insurgent brands winning disproportionately in Consumer Products?
Bain & Co define Insurgent brands as those with sales of $25 million+ and outgrowing their category 10 X. Their research (Mar 2022) found...
uzmakrauf
Aug 2, 20222 min read


To better sell to Black consumers, understand their heritage
Where people come from and grew up eating and doing, matters to them. Most ethnic groups have strong buying preferences tied to their...
uzmakrauf
Jul 7, 20222 min read


Growing marketing channel: Retail Media Networks
Marketing channels and ways to advertise to shoppers continue to evolve. These are driven by ongoing innovation but also by new macro...
uzmakrauf
Jun 14, 20222 min read


Brand and capability building are often overlooked as strong business KPIs
To achieve strong business ROI, it is critical to get the right evaluation metrics established upfront. This helps ensure investments...
uzmakrauf
May 24, 20221 min read


How can Marketers get Consumers to share their data in this heightened privacy world?
Web-based cookies that have helped marketers target and engage their customers online with relevant advertising content are now being...
uzmakrauf
Apr 20, 20222 min read


B2B customers now have greater expectations from suppliers for growth
Just as consumers want a personalized, always on, seamless Omnichannel experience, the same is increasingly true for B2B customers. The...
uzmakrauf
Apr 13, 20222 min read


The creative, hidden ways companies pass on rising costs to customers
During these inflationary times, companies are getting creative in how they pass on rising costs to their customers. Actual increases for...
uzmakrauf
Feb 17, 20222 min read


Purchase decisions are often based on emotion vs logic - do you know which moments matter?
Getting a consumer to have the best emotional outcome in their journey for each moment that matters is key to driving sales. Forrester...
uzmakrauf
Feb 5, 20221 min read


Are winning the shifts in macro trends part of your business strategy?
Do your business plans consider macro trend shifts? As example, US Household formats are shifting — there may be ways for you to engage...
uzmakrauf
Jan 12, 20222 min read


How does your BRAND resonate with today’s demanding, discerning customer?
With so much change, especially these last 2 years of the pandemic, it’s important to revisit your brand’s relevance for your customers...
uzmakrauf
Jan 4, 20222 min read


Today's half-life of skills learned is not even 5 years — help employees learn how to learn
“Today, the half-life of learned skills is not even 5 years—fewer than 3 for digital skills” [BCG Nov’21 report] With the current race to...
uzmakrauf
Dec 22, 20211 min read
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