Consumers are excited for the holidays — how will inflation impact them?
With inflation at a four-decade high since March this year, consumers have been readjusting how they spend, including trading down to...
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Leverage macro trends and broader industry insights!
Our experts thoughtfully curate, analyze and synthesize insightful reports and articles from industry leading consulting firms (like McKinsey, HBR) and news publications (like WSJ, NY Times).
We add our thought leadership perspectives on why these topics matter.
New learning updated regularly, hope you find useful. Enjoy!
uzmakrauf
- Aug 10, 2022
- 1 min
Luxury brands are prospering and expanding stores despite high inflation
The US consumer is somewhat bifurcated, and we are seeing different behaviors: Those on the lower income scale are starting to struggle...
uzmakrauf
- Aug 2, 2022
- 2 min
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
- Jul 7, 2022
- 2 min
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
- Jun 14, 2022
- 2 min
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
- May 24, 2022
- 1 min
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 12, 2022
- 1 min
Brands need to prepare for sales impact as inflation drives people to defer, reduce or trade down
COVID related concerns are thankfully slowing, and consumers feeling more comfortable re-engaging in activities they had stepped away...
uzmakrauf
- May 3, 2022
- 2 min
Marketing spend grew +10.3% this past year, the highest growth in a decade.
A further +13.6% increase in marketing budgets is expected this year. These are finding from “The CMO Survey”, Feb 2022 of 320,...
uzmakrauf
- Apr 20, 2022
- 2 min
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 13, 2022
- 2 min
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
- Mar 10, 2022
- 1 min
10 lessons from the first two years of COVID-19
McKinsey shares 10 lessons from the first two years of COVID-19 on the 2nd anniversary of World Health Organization (WHO) declaring...
uzmakrauf
- Mar 3, 2022
- 1 min
Spend on Gaming grew +75% during pandemic as people stuck at home sought fun.
About 3 billion global players expected by end 2021 and revenue of >$200 billion by 2023. BCG report (Dec’21) notes This revenue is...
uzmakrauf
- Feb 17, 2022
- 2 min
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 5, 2022
- 1 min
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 1, 2022
- 1 min
Social commerce growing 3X and democratizing opportunities for smaller brands
Social commerce continues to democratize opportunities for smaller brands (and individuals) vs big brands, with sales expected to triple...
uzmakrauf
- Jan 20, 2022
- 1 min
Restoring TRUST is key to societal stability — business expected to lead this
Almost 1 in 2 people globally consider government and media as “a dividing force in society”, while businesses and NGOs as more...
uzmakrauf
- Jan 12, 2022
- 2 min
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 4, 2022
- 2 min
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
- Dec 22, 2021
- 1 min
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
- Nov 30, 2021
- 2 min
So… was Black Friday 2021 a success?
Here is a breakdown: 1 2021 Black Friday sales were robust with consumers really interested in and able to spend ◊ US shoppers spent...
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