Alibaba has caught up with Wechat – both now have new digital alternatives to the traditional Chinese new year’s gifts of money in red envelopes. There’s a practical side to it as people are able to avoid the long queues that can form in the rush to get the crispiest and shiniest new notes for new year presents. The boost to Alibaba’s social network Laiwang has also been positive as young people rush online to update their status.
To find out more, contact Rob.
Figures released by the British Toy & Hobby Association ahead of London 2015 Toy Fair show a healthy and growing UK toy market in 2014. Toy sales in Black Friday week increased by 10{1f220ac64b9f6618bf0eb6cb6c1308cba7a01755811f72c92eb8a9a5d4c07adf} as consumers get ahead of the game to buy higher priced main presents and electronic toys. So successful has Black Friday week been that it has outstripped the sales in the week prior to Christmas, traditionally the key selling week in the toy calendar. Predictions for 2015 are also positive with electronic toys, creative products and collectables all set to continue as strong favourites.
To find out more, contact Rob.
The rise of the discount supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi has been sensational and made shoppers stop, think and truly evaluate what the big supermarket chains have been doing. Falling sales and declining market share among the mainstream – whether Tesco’s in the UK, Carrefour in France or Albert Heijn in the Netherlands – may not be a purely price driven reaction to the recession. Lidl is offering excellent value, and carving out a reputation for quality (fresh fruit and vegetables) and interesting locally sourced brands and produce. The rise of the discounter is shaking up supermarket shopping and offering highly attractive alternatives that will outlive the economic recession. In their German home market, the discounters have around 40{1f220ac64b9f6618bf0eb6cb6c1308cba7a01755811f72c92eb8a9a5d4c07adf} share, so there’s some way to go until other markets catch up. You know it makes sense.
To find out more about latest trends, contact Rob.
Whether it’s the Microsoft band that can monitor health and fitness, or the Nike and Apple collaboration that’s heralding a stylish new departure for wearable technology, it feels like we’ve turned a corner. This is a truly convergent space – with brands known for consumer technology, sportswear, healthcare brands and navigation all laying down a claim and coming fast one after the other with new and exciting offers. In Japan, the technology is already established and it’ll be interesting to see how applications evolve on different parts of the world. Epson’s Wristable GPS was a great pioneering and still going strong.
To find out more about our insights into the world of wearable technology, contact Dam.
Freya and her family and friends from Sylvanian Village have been delighting children for 30 years. We’re working with manufacturer Epoch to understand the heritage of the Sylvanian Families brand and to build the strategy that connects to today’s generation of children and their parents.
It sounds too good to be true – roads surfaced not with tarmac, but with solar cells, generating energy from the sun, embedded with smart LED road signs and even wirelessly charging electric vehicles as they drive along. Brilliant. Yes, please. When will they be ready? Well, the brainchild of a couple from Idaho, Julie and Scott Brusaw, is now heading into a new phase – made possible by a highly successful $2m crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo to hire engineers and improve the design.
From weekly supermarket purchases to big ticket items you might only buy once every four years or so, getting the price right can be a minefield of category norms, competitive pressures and consumer expectations. We start by determining all the relevant competitive market price parameters for your product category. And then work out the price that works best for potential consumers and makes sense for your brand as well. The methodology also sorts out the likely impact on your definite buyers (must have it) versus your possible buyers (thinking about it).
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34{1f220ac64b9f6618bf0eb6cb6c1308cba7a01755811f72c92eb8a9a5d4c07adf} of British children aged between 5 and 15 now have their own tablet – up from 19{1f220ac64b9f6618bf0eb6cb6c1308cba7a01755811f72c92eb8a9a5d4c07adf} in 2013, whilst over six in ten children use a tablet at home. TV sets for children in the bedroom are declining – with a decrease of 1/3 in five years. The research from Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, reveals the changing viewing and entertainment habits of the nation’s children, as tablet continue their rise.
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The trend for Asia’s growing middle class to consume premium mass market products as markers of status is now well established. And it’s now stepping up a gear to go beyond familiar ‘MASSTIGE’ to embrace a new kind of mass market exclusivity. Welcome MASSCLUSIVITY, where experience, artisan backstories and rich brand narratives are adding new layers of premium and delivering greater sophistication for middle class consumers across Asia.
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Potential Buyer Diagnostics analyses demographic patterns, consumer attitudes and behaviours, and lifestyle trends. Mapping these values with a brand’s own strengths and references, we can reveal who your real consumers are and help determine how to reach them and how to engage them. Our approach has resulted in identifying whole new groups of target consumers, challenging the pre-conceived or prevailing views about who’s buying and giving new input to marketing strategy and communications.
To find out more about Potential Buyer Diagnostics, contact Nimrod.
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