Euromonitor Podcasts

Black Friday, the shopping day in the US after Thanksgiving, conjures up images of doorbuster deals and packed stores. In this podcast, Euromonitor explains this year's Black Friday strategies from three different perspectives: retailing, toys and games and apparel and accessories. Retailing This year, many retailers chose to release their Black Friday deals early in an effort to make things...

Euromonitor International and Nation’s Restaurant News identified the top 25 international foodservice operators outside North America. This list is based on system-wide sales, corporate revenue, unit metrics and market share statistics. The importance of Japanese companies in this list is striking, especially considering that three of the top 25 are Japanese convenience store chains: 7-Eleven, La...

Economic conditions in different world regions and countries will impact how consumers spend their money this holiday season. Consumers in North America, Europe and some part of the Asia-Pacific region are approaching this holiday season with a more positive outlook than consumers in Latin America. As the holiday buying season becomes continually stretched, online shopping records will most likely...

Несколько новых международных ритейлеров планируют в скором времени выйти на рынок Казахстана, в том числе Auchan и Carrefour. Значительный приток иностранных инвестиций в Казахстан и политическая стабильность привлекают внимание крупных международных компаний. На данный момент рынок  современной розничной торговли в Казахстане не насыщен и появление новых игроков положительно скажется на рознично...

The Kroger Company announced its intention to acquire Roundy's, a grocery retailer operating in Wisconsin and Illinois in the US.  Kroger is the industry leader in supermarkets in the US with a 22.2% market share and is seeking continued growth through various strategies, one of which is mergers and acquisitions. The company purchased  Harris Teeter in 2013  and by acquiring the Roundy's...

Weight management generated an impressive US$13.7 billion in retail value sales in 2015. Although not as large as some other OTC categories, weight management is growing into a mainstream category in a number of countries, especially developing markets, where overweight and obesity rates are growing exponentially. In the future, sales in the weight management category will continue to grow with me...

Australian consumers are eager to keep up with the latest video game hardware and software trends, spending US$3.1 Billion on toys and games in 2014. The upcoming launch of the Alienware Steam Machine in Australia will likely provide some competition for Sony and Microsoft in the region. This new breed of static video game console will play a gradual but positive impact on hardware and software in...

Several multinational grocery retailers plan to enter the Kazakhstan market in the near future, including French grocery retailers Auchan and Carrefour. Kazakhstan is enjoying an inflow of foreign direct investment and political stability, which is leading to multinational retailers eyeing the country. The retailing market in Kazakhstan is not yet saturated, and in general the entrance of multinat...

Germany has bucked the trend of shifting manufacturing work to emerging economies like many of its developed counterparts.  This is due to the fact that manufacturing work in Germany is highly technical and requires a skilled workforce,making the work difficult to transfer to low-skilled emerging markets: aerospace, automotive and quality electronics are among the main types of products made in th...

Falling oil prices, economic sanctions and the weakening ruble have all taken their toll on Russian's financial industry, causing profits in this sector to shrink by a staggering US$ 12 billion in 2014. While the largest banks are reeving financial support from the Central Bank, a number of smaller banks were forced to merge or terminate their operations completely. Unfortunately, Russia&apos...

This podcast covers the commodities market for the month of September. Decreased oil production in September of 2015 led to rising crude oil prices, but energy prices remain subdued for the month. Metal prices rose for the first time in four months because of higher prices of aluminum, copper and iron ore. In soft commodities, food and beverage prices both fell and agricultural inched up slightly....

Smart Cars , which are vehicles with high-speed, broadband internet connection and digital add-on features, are being regarded as the next frontier in consumer entertainment. With consumers moving away from their living rooms for entertainment, cars are becoming more connected - some new car models even have free mobile internet as an option. The issue with smart cars so far is that the automotive...

The watch market has undergone a change in recent years, successfully transforming from a necessity to a fashion item marked by social status and individuality. Smart watches, which have recently come into the market, will not yet make an impact in the market – especially on watches in the high-priced range. In fact, many traditional watch companies are starting to manufacture their own smart watc...

On October 26, 2015, the World Health Organization concluded that eating processed red meats such as ham, bacon and sausages and highly processed meats such as hot dogs raises the risk of colon cancer. The research unit now classifies processed meats as "carcinogenic to humans". Overall red meat consumption in America has been falling for decades although meat consumption in America over...

Euromonitor International recently updated its retailing data and uncovered several trends in its research. Increased penetration of mobile internet has led to an evolution of internet retailing. In developed countries, a growing familiarity with mobile devices is creating a welcoming environment for mobile shopping, and in emerging markets, some countries are skipping wired networks altogether fo...

The e-commerce market continues to grow, driven by increased global digital access. Both fixed and mobile internet penetration are rising rapidly, especially in emerging markets. In markets where e-commerce is relatively new, consumers are starting to understand the value, cost savings and speed of purchase available to them. Lots of brands claim to be number one… but can they prove it? At Euromon...

Omnichannel shopping, a term used to describe consumers shopping between a number of different devices and channels, is impacting shopping trends in a number of ways. Although mobile devices are part of the daily lives of many consumers, buying products on a mobile device is still limited, but is set to grow in the next few years. However, the integration of mobile technology into the shopping pro...

It's no secret that consumers habits, tastes and preferences change over time. And consumer foodservice trends have changed with those preferences throughout the years. Domino's pizza is responding to several consumer preferences in their recipe redesign, social media campaigns and franchising strategy.  Lots of brands claim to be number one… but can they prove it? At Euromonitor Interna...

Omnichannel shopping, a term used to describe consumers shopping between a number of different devices and channels, is impacting shopping trends in a number of ways. According to Euromonitor's survey results, many consumers are comfortable with completing all steps of the shopping process online, without ever seeing the product in person. One area where consumers are likely to blur the lines...

Labour market flexibility or rigidity refers to employment issues such as staff wages, the ease of which companies can hire and fire employees, length of probation periods and power of unions. Flexible labour markets are characterised by things such as low minimum wage and laws that don't impede the hiring or termination of employees. These flexible markets, which favour worker's rights...

Omnichannel shopping, a term used to describe consumers shopping between a number of different devices and channels, is impacting shopping trends in a number of ways. According to Euromonitor's survey results, consumers are turning to the internet to research products even if they end up purchasing products in stores. Brick and mortar stores should ensure that customers have a seamless experi...

According to the recently released  Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2015  by Compass, the list of cities ideal for startups is dominated by North American and European cities. However, a few emerging cities cracked the list, including Sao Paulo, Moscow, and Bangalore. These cities share common traits, including well-educated, talented populations, the spread of technology and high value-added ind...

The trend of natural and organic products is creating quite a buzz in the fashion and beauty scene and has been for some time. However in emerging markets such as India, pricing remains an issue as players in these markets look to target the emerging middle class. Branding, therefore, plays an important role, and in India, spokespeople for these natural products include Bollywood stars. Although m...

  Eatsa is a new restaurant concept out of San Francisco that harkens back to the days of automats. Food is ordered through iPads in store or through an app and delivered via a cubbyhole in the restaurant's wall. Eatsa can be seen as a natural progression of trends in the US foodservice industry - technological advancements, convenience and novelty, to name a few. Consumers in the US want foo...

August was another volatile month for commodities, with falling prices for oil, metal and agricultural prices. These falling prices are good news for consumers as it boosts their purchasing power and household disposable income, but as commodity prices continue to slide, deflation may follow. Lots of brands claim to be number one… but can they prove it? At Euromonitor International, we help brands...