North America

Generation Z, comprising one-fifth of the global population, is poised to wield significant consumer influence. However, their polarized behaviours toward social activism, technology, and spending present challenges for businesses. This report…

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

The global economy is facing weaker growth and increasing fragmentation, as a result of rising geopolitical tensions, especially due to the war in Ukraine and the US-China strategic rivalry. Protectionism, industrial policy and a focus on resilience…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

Wearable electronics experienced modest growth in retail volume terms in 2023. Demand continued to be impacted by a high rate of inflation, at least during the first half of the year, which led to more guarded discretionary spending. Continuing the…

Retail volume sales of portable players increased in 2023, thanks to better economic conditions, which impacted positively on discretionary consumer spending. Wireless speakers were the key beneficiary of this trend, with a growing demand for these…

Retail volume sales of smartphones saw a marginal decline in 2023, although this represented an improvement over the previous year. In 2022, the high rate of inflation had negative impact on discretionary spending, and this trend continued into the…

Ongoing challenges in the car market hampered growth in in-car entertainment in Canada in 2023. New vehicle prices remained higher than before the pandemic, due to lingering supply chain issues, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. High interest rates…

Digital cameras continued their downward spiral in 2023, as smartphones served the needs of most casual and amateur photographers. Most consumers are satisfied with the quality and features of smartphone cameras, alongside their convenience,…

Retail volume sales of televisions saw an uptick in 2023 as consumers started to replace their older models. With the rate of inflation having eased from its peak in the summer of 2022, Canadians gradually returned to spending money on discretionary…

Audio separates experienced a decline in retail volume sales in 2023, continuing the trend of the review period. This was driven by a consumer transition towards smaller, more portable audio devices, such as wireless speakers, which offer more…

Headphones struggled to gain momentum in 2023 as inflationary pressures continued to weigh on discretionary consumer spending, at least during the early part of the year. However TWS earbuds saw modest gains in retail volume terms, as consumers opted…

Retail volume sales of consumer electronics registered a modest decline in 2023, although this represented a considerable improvement over the previous year, when global uncertainty linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led unit prices to increase…

Retail volume sales of computers and peripherals saw a decline in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous two years. Growth was hindered by the high rate of inflation, at least during the first half of 2023, which continued to bite into…

During 2023, wearable electronics generated slightly negative retail volume sales growth, with this representing the first time that demand has contracted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, value sales continued to rise in current…

2023 saw e-readers experience declining volume sales after positive growth was registered in the category during 2022. This return to negative sales growth is indicative of the general slowdown that is being seen in demand for these products despite…

2023 saw volume sales of mobile phones continue to decline, marking a continuation of the downwards trend that has been seen in the category for many years. Apple remains the category’s leading player, with each new release of the new generation of…

2023 witnessed a remarkable recovery in new car sales in the US, a trend which defied lingering economic uncertainty fuelled by concerns over soaring inflation and the spectre of interest rate hikes. Over the first five months of the year, demand for…