Growing a business is hard. Geopolitical tensions, market volatility and economic uncertainty are real challenges you have to navigate to keep your organisation moving in the right direction.
Success often depends on your ability to determine which strategies will sustain growth, and this article helps you get started.
First, you should have a deep understanding of your company's objectives, resources, strengths and capabilities. Then, you can evaluate the market and assess consumer needs to understand how those demands are (or aren't) being met today.
Now, let’s examine how to analyse those factors to ignite your next growth opportunity.
8 analysis types to identify market opportunities
1. Consumer segmentation and behaviour analysis
Divide or group your audience based on traits. This will help you target the right people in the most effective way.
Consumer segments can be broken down by demographic (age, gender, education, income), geographic (city, country, region) or behavioural (attitudes, lifestyles) variables.
Demographic and geographic data help you estimate the number of potential customers. For example, a baby food brand should know the current and future population of infants in countries where its products are sold—especially relevant at a time of declining global fertility rates. Or an appliance manufacturer might want to understand the number of households in a target market before expanding distribution.
You should also consider behavioural variables because these indicators help pinpoint purchase motivations associated with your product or service. Price or positioning, to name a couple, can be influential factors. Lifestyles, attitudes and values often drive shopping decisions, so behavioural segmentations help you tailor your marketing efforts.
You’ll want to monitor short- and long-term consumer shifts, including megatrends, to understand how priorities are evolving. Wellness remains a top consumer trend and purchase driver. Major food and beverage players are expanding portfolios with health-orientated products in response. The pursuit of protein stands out here, and one example is Starbucks. The company launched protein-infused menu items last year, followed by a Coffee & Protein line of ready-to-drink beverages in 2026.
Organisations that use consumer segmentation to tailor their messaging, marketing and products will sell more effectively.
2. Purchase situation and retail channel analysis
The buyer’s journey is anything but straightforward. A multitude of factors can impact what, when and where consumers make purchases. Here are some questions you’ll want to answer.
• When might people need or want your product or service?
• Where do people make their purchases?
• How do they pay for your product or service?
Look at distribution channels and payment methods to start uncovering buying patterns and opportunities. This enables you to reach your customers with the right products in the right place at the right time.
Let’s dig into the retail sector as an example. Today, most consumers expect affordability and convenience, which is transforming the grocery landscape. From 2020 to 2025, the number of discounters and convenience retailers globally grew 46% and 15%, respectively, while the number of hypermarkets declined 5%.1
That demand for convenience also influences how consumers shop and find products. E-commerce expanded from 18% of global retail sales in 2020 to 24% in 2025.1 Discovery shifts towards social media—especially Douyin/TikTok—and now GenAI platforms, which up to 22% of consumers rely on as a source of information when making purchase decisions.2
Analysing potential consumption occasions is also essential to tailor product formats or attributes. For instance, several yoghurt brands identified a growing demand for healthy, on-the-go snacks and launched pouch formats in response.
A clear analysis of consumer needs across the buying journey—including channel and payment preferences—helps you make informed decisions for your commercial strategy.
3. Direct competitor analysis
Direct competitors offer similar products or services. For example, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, or Netflix and Hulu.
Conduct comprehensive research on where your business stands in the marketplace. You should know how key players are building a competitive edge and positioning their products or services. Then, find out how these companies size up against your business. These questions can help you get started.
• Which brands are growing and why?
• What is their unique value proposition?
• How are they approaching innovation?
• What competitive advantage do you have over them?
For example, the chocolate confectionery market has witnessed an explosion of Dubai chocolate launches recently, as numerous brands, including Lindt, introduce their own versions after seeing the flavour’s strong traction among competitors.
Understanding your competitors—from performance to product portfolios and new product development (NPD) to strategic direction—will help you identify growth opportunities.
4. Indirect competitor analysis
Indirect competitors target a similar audience but sell different products that satisfy the same needs. For example, Coca-Cola and Tropicana, or Netflix and Marvel Comics. Analysing companies in tangential industries or categories can help you improve your offerings and reach new audiences.
Let’s use the travel industry to bring this to life. Airlines could look for opportunities to capture share from other modes of transport. The following questions start to uncover white space.
• How many people travel long distances on buses and trains?
• What are the most in-demand routes?
• How much do travellers pay for their tickets?
• What is the occupancy rate of long-distance buses and trains?
• How can we persuade a current bus or train passenger to travel by plane instead?
Similarly, producers of chocolate spreads should research performance and pricing of jams, honey and peanut butter to understand their competitive positioning within the whole sweet spreads market.
Attributes of adjacent products give you insight into market opportunities as well. You should keep up with NPD launches of your indirect competitors to inform your innovation plans.
This type of analysis helps you tap into a wider customer base and reveals your value proposition compared with indirect competitors.
5. Complementary product and service analysis
You should monitor the performance of products and services that complement your business.
That means sweet spreads and butter brands should analyse market trends in bread and savoury biscuits. Another example: tomato sauce manufacturers monitoring performance of the pasta category.
This research helps you:
• Understand how your customers use your product in conjunction with others
• Detect new needs, opportunities and threats
• Develop new offerings or redesign your products
• Sell more effectively
Let’s say a company that produces fresh ground coffee pods wants to expand retail distribution. Sales data on pod coffee machines like Nespresso and Dolce Gusto can estimate market potential and demand.
Trends in complementary sectors should be considered when making investment decisions. Use this information to guide your product innovation strategy and gain market share.
6. Diversification analysis
If your company has reached a high level of maturity in your current market, a diversification analysis will help you understand how and where to grow. But you also need the right skills, resources and business models to successfully expand into new categories.
First, analyse any sectors that could benefit from your offering. Then, quantify the growth potential and understand the competitive landscape for each. Look at market sizes, shares, growth rates, unit prices, per capita sales and brand positioning. You’ll want to answer these important questions before making investment decisions.
• Do you have the capacity and tools to diversify?
• Do you have applicable resources in other industries, and could you gain economies of scale?
• Will diversifying dilute your brand reputation? Should you use a new brand in this new industry?
• Do the potential financial gains outweigh the risks?
Mergers and acquisitions are valid options for business diversification—when sufficient financial resources are available. This year, Unilever announced the combination of Unilever Foods with McCormick. In mayonnaise, Unilever’s Hellmann’s fills a clear gap in McCormick’s portfolio, particularly in North America where the brand held a 47% category share in 2025.3
Diversification can bring in more customers, income security and consistent demand when executed successfully because your company transforms alongside consumer needs.
7. Foreign market analysis
If your company operates in a mature or saturated market, exploring other countries could help you achieve your financial goals.
Different countries grow at different paces due to disparities in economic development and local habits. The evolution of per capita consumption for a given product in each country can serve as an indicator of product lifecycle maturity. Understanding the size of the market and competitive landscape will help you estimate business potential.
Many global companies are turning their attention to emerging regions due to stronger GDP growth of developing markets compared with advanced economies in recent years. Local cultures, regulations and competitors need to be considered before expanding into new markets.
For example, as US tariffs on Chinese goods increased, Southeast Asia became a critical market for China’s exports. A large and youthful population, combined with rising average incomes, makes the region an attractive growth market, further supported by favourable demographics, geographic proximity and deep historical trade ties.
Helpful questions to ask:
• How does your product need to adapt to local preferences or legislation?
• Who are your main competitors in this new country?
• Are there seasons or local festivities when your products could be in higher demand?
These questions should be addressed when planning international expansion.
8. Environmental analysis
Don’t forget to analyse external factors like international relations, scientific developments, regulations and environmental shifts that could impact your business. A PEST (political, economic, social, technological) analysis is useful here as well.
GenAI has moved up the corporate agenda—49% of professionals view integrating automated solutions (e.g. Generative AI, AI automation) as one of the most important commerce-specific developments for their organisation in the coming 12 months.4 Companies can embrace this new technology to facilitate business growth.
You’ll also want to evaluate possible economic scenarios to plan for potential disruptions or risks. For example, the US/Israel-Iran war has caused a major shift in global economic dynamics, driving oil prices higher and exposing vulnerabilities in energy-dependent economies. Paying attention to these elements will help you assess market attractiveness.
Another example of an external factor is the rise of GLP-1 drugs, which are contributing to lower calorie intake and, in turn, impacting the food and beverage industry. In 2026, 9% of consumers report using GLP‑1 medications (semaglutides) for weight loss.5
This type of analysis should be ongoing. External factors change every day. But this research will help you stay resilient amid volatility.
Next steps
Using a mix of these eight analyses will help your business gain a holistic view of opportunities and create long-term strategic business plans. Remember: not all market opportunities identified will succeed. That’s why companies invest in different types of research before moving into a new market or making changes to a product.
Now, are you ready to spot your next opportunity? Tune in to our Opportunity Minded series where our experts share insights to accelerate your growth, and connect with us to get the market intelligence you need to conduct these analyses for your business strategy.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in June 2017 and has been updated.
Sources
1Euromonitor International, Passport Retail
2Euromonitor International, Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, fielded January to February 2026 (n=40,225)
3Euromonitor International, Passport, Company Analytics Dashboard
4Euromonitor International, Voice of the Industry Survey 2026 (n=454)
5Euromonitor International, Voice of the Consumer: Health and Nutrition Survey, fielded February 2026 (n=21,156)
