Euromonitor International’s Consumers team is pleased to present key insights for Consumers in 2018. Global consumer spending will hit a new high of US$45.0 trillion in 2018 in constant terms with much of the growth being driven by emerging markets. These insights from our expert analysts cover digital, household, income, expenditure and population. For example, household heads aged 60+ will expand faster than any other age group, while Automated Commerce (A-commerce) will continue to grow in popularity. However, income inequality will remain a problem, polarising consumer markets for the year ahead.
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- The mobile-first mentality will continue to gain traction. Asian nations lead the world with the predominance of mobile payments continuing in 2018, opening up a wealth of opportunities for companies looking to target consumers directly through their mobile devices;
- The proportion of households with a car will reach the highest in history, at 38.3%, as middle class households in emerging markets continue to grow;
- Income equality is not expected to improve across 69 out of 85 major economies whose Gini index is tracked by Euromonitor International. The income gap is set to widen the most in Japan, Hong Kong and India. Companies targeting these countries will need to adapt their strategies to find opportunities at both ends of the income scale;
- World population growth will be driven by the 65+ age group, which will be the fastest-growing cohort with a 3.7% year-on-year expansion. The population aged 0-14 is expected to rise by just 0.8% annually in 2018. This is a result of higher female labour force participation, delaying childbirth, and rising life expectancy across the globe.