“Brexit has been delayed again. The public faces a Christmas general election. And the economy narrowly avoided a recession in September. It is no wonder, then, that consumer confidence has taken a hit. However, financial well-being is holding up and the vast majority of people ...

“Smart home appliances are only the beginning. Health and good product appearance design will be strategic considerations for brands and companies to invest in over the next five years. In order to maintain rapid growth, educating younger males about their unmet needs should be ...

“Chinese urbanities are quickly evolving into fashion-conscious consumers that want to look well-dressed and express their individuality, including when they are in sportswear. The athleisure trend is not expected to die down in the near future, although it has been on trend ...

"While food and drink shoppers still view cooking at home from scratch as the standard for health, freshness and taste, they have an ever-widening array of shopping options to choose from for fresh meals. For food and drink retailers, the challenge and opportunity is to make ...

“During an uncertain period, demand in the grocery sector has held up well. Within this the underlying demographic shifts continue to see sales move away from larger-format stores, but they remain the format that attracts the majority of two thirds of consumers’ grocery budgets.”

“The popularity of creative home cooking and baking, especially at weekends, is fuelling demand for more worksurfaces and better storage in the kitchen. The average kitchen space in modern homes is getting smaller, while at the same time people desire bigger, open kitchen ...

“European supermarkets continue to face the challenges of a mature and increasingly competitive market. While in certain countries of Eastern Europe there is still some room for growth, in most Western European economies the leading players are being forced to act defensively ...

“While Mercadona continues to be the leading player in Spain by far, the retail landscape is shifting as Lidl is making strides in the market to compete harder with the likes of Auchan and Dia. Consumers are taking a more multichannel approach when it comes to grocery shopping ...

“As in many other European markets, discounters are growing their sales much faster than the market average and, as a result, are rapidly increasing their share of the Italian grocery market. In the context of a market where consumers’ incomes have been squeezed by low economic ...