Euromonitor Podcasts

Three new virtual reality headsets are set to enter the toys and games market in 2016, including the Occulus Rift, the HTC Vive, and the Playstation VR from Sony. Sony’s new headset is a winner is both price and the fact that users only need a Playstation and Playstation camera to use the device, but the Playstation hardware is not as fast as a brand new PC which may lead some users to experience...

With the government's focus on providing cooking gas connections and electricity to rural households, low-priced electronics may see a bit of an uptick in India over the next two to four years. Real estate development is one of the main focuses of the Union budget this year, and many housing projects are expected to pop up over the next five years.     Lots of brands claim to be number one… b...

India's economy is facing challenges such as high public debt, weak private investment and struggling agriculture. In 2016's union budget, the government has made attempts to face these challenges, as it aims to reduce fiscal deficit and increase agricultural employment especially to rural areas. Finally, the relaxation of FDI restrictions will boost private investment. For businesses, t...

Domino's Pizza is at the forefront of mobile ordering in consumer foodservice, and the company recently announced that online orders in the UK reached nearly 80 percent of all delivery orders in the past year. Nearly half of those online orders were made using the company's mobile app. This is evidence that we have reached the tipping point in terms of mobile ordering in developed market...

2015 marked a new record of mortgaged properties, and more than 20 percent of all homes in the world will be owned with the help of a mortgage in 2016. Consumers who have mortgages are likely to cut down on other aspects of spending. China, however, has seen its housing market slow down as developers flooded the market over the past 15 years. Supply is simply outweighing demand in housing in the c...

Gender blurring is a rejection of gender stereotypes and saluting an androgynous lifestyle. This trend has manifested itself in many ways: Calvin Klein's gender-free fragrance CK2, the declassification of toys by Disney and Amazon, and even Playboy's toned-down issue in March 2016. This trend will continue to impact the media, consumer ideals, and industries in the near future.         L...

Premium color cosmetics, men's grooming, multi-purpose products that offer convenience and natural ingredients will all play a large part in the Mexican beauty and person care industry in the years to come. Both international and Mexican brands are focusing on developing new products that offer multiple benefits for consumers, and although international categories dominate retail value sales...

The city of Hamburg, Germany recently banned coffee pods for use in all of its government buildings as part of a green initiative. Coffee pods are relativity large in Germany, with consumers there spending US $1.2 billion on coffee pods in 2015. Although the ban will not likely effect the overall coffee pods market, Hamburg is the first city to institute this type of ban and highlights an importan...

Luxury Goods in Asia Pacific have not fared well, suffering from weak economic stability. However, this has given a rise to affordable luxury goods in the country. These goods cater to consumers with lower spending power but who want to upgrade to luxury items. Large consumer markets, growing income levels, growing urban areas and a large middle class exist in many areas of Asia-Pacific and all he...

Consumers are constantly expanding their soft drink consumption outside of carbonates. Ready-to-drinks tea, bottled water and juices are just as prevalent to consumers as soda. As a result, companies are increasingly expanding their product portfolios outside of traditional carbonates categories. Coca-Cola, for instance, acquired Culiangwang, manufacturers of a plant-based protein drink in China a...

Starbucks has recently made some changes to its rewards program and mobile app, called My Starbucks Rewards. These changes are indicative of a move that Starbucks may be trying to put its rewards app at the center of its consumers mobile commerce ecosystem. For instance, consumers can now use the app to pay at Starbucks as well as order their beverages ahead of time. Reportedly, 9 million weekly p...

Private label products are a lucrative market in Eastern Europe as many consumers switched to buying them during the economic recession and kept them a regular part of their shopping experience. Now, there is an increased number of premium private label brands entering the Eastern European market, posing an even larger threat to manufacturer brands. These premium private label products are closer...

The current move away from artificial colours and towards natural ones in packaged food is due to a trend in clean labeling, where consumers scrutinize ingredients, shunning products with ingredients that they are unfamiliar with or that are artificial. This trend has caused many packaged food manufacturers to rethink their ingredients, especially the use of natural colours. As more and more compa...

Cada vez más personas miran contenidos en sus notebooks, tablets y smartphones, y esto está afectando al mercado de televisores. En el año 2015 la mayoría de los países de Latinoamérica vieron una disminución en el volumen de venta de televisores. De acuerdo con Euromonitor International, el promedio anual de crecimiento de ventas de televisores entre 2006 y 2010 fue del 5% mientras que entre 2010...

В 2016 году на украинский кофейный рынок может повлиять договор о зоне свободной торговли между Украиной и Европейским Союзом, который предполагает снижение, а в некоторых случаях, полное обнуление таможенных пошлин. Это, вероятнее всего, приведет к обострению конкуренции между национальными и европейскими брендами. Однако, в то  же время, многие украинцы сознательно покупают украинские товары, пр...

Consumers are demanding food from operators that are free from additives, and in the industry today its expected of operators to make an effort toward clean labeling. This action is widespread in the industry currently, but there will be a point where consumers will see chains that haven't taken steps towards clean labeling as inherently lower quality. Although there has been discussion in th...

Fashion brands continue to seek new ways in which they can harness the power of social media. With connected consumers driving the so called "selfie-culture" yet hesitant to engage with their favorite companies and brands outside of "liking" a brand's Facebook or Twitter account, companies must expand outside of trending hashtags and create lucrative sales channels on soci...

Policy analysts estimate that between 500,000 and 1 million Americans will lose eligibility for participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamps Program, over the course of 2016. The prompt change in coverage for 2016 is due to federal implementation of a 1996 welfare law which limits childless, non-disabled Americans to three months of SNAP...

McDonald's just released its fourth-quarter results, and the results are relatively positive considering what the industry was expecting. McDonald's is attributing these results to the all-day breakfast launch that came in October 2015. For the upcoming year, McDonald's will stick to its strategy of trimming back menu items, focusing on speed and efficiency and emphasizing value pla...

In January of 2016 Nippon Paper announced its plans to enter China’s diaper market as an original equipment manufacturer. Given China’s significant consumer base and consumer preference for quality Japanese diaper brands, the move is not without its merits. However, a number of factors need to be considered with respect to China’s future diaper demand. The change in one-child policy also comes ami...

Euromonitor recently released new data for soft drinks and the results are showing 2015 as the slowest year for global carbonates growth in all of our historic data set. Microeconomic factors are definitely to blame, but there is also a heightened global sense of health and wellness that is turning consumers away from carbonated drinks. As consumers look to lower their sugar and calorie intake and...

Three key trends are impacting global hot drinks: premiumisation, growth in specialist coffee shops and tea boutiques, and a health positioning. In the podcast Euromonitor International’s Senior Beverages Analyst Virginia Lee discusses how growing consumer sophistication is leading to growth in handcrafted coffee tea drinks and premium teas in “third wave” coffee shops and tea specialists. She als...

McDonald’s, facing increasing competition from fast-casual operators and changing consumer preferences, was able to post some positive results in the third quarter of 2014. The chain recently simplified its menu, lowering operating costs and catering to the specialist trend in fast food. Now that the chain has simplified the menu, focusing on the quality and taste of the remaining items is key. In...

The crisis in the Ukraine is still negatively impacting the apparel and footwear market in the country. Since 2014, over 30 international brands have left the country, including MEXX, Espirit and Lee Cooper. However, Ukrainian consumers are turning to locally-made apparel and footwear as a wave of patriotism sweeps over the nation. The 2014 elections were the catalyst for this national pride, and...

Skandinavia er på verdenstoppen når det gjelder forbruk av saft, med en sterkere vekst i sukkerfri saft enn i de fleste andre markeder. I Norge er det spesielt to merker som driver veksten i retning av sukkerfri saft; Fun Light og ZerOH!. Med en solid posisjonering rettet mot unge kvinner, en voksende demografisk gruppe i Norge, har disse merkene hatt betydelig vekst de siste årene. Lots of brands...