Clothing Merchants to Maximize Seamless Shopping Experience Through Online-Offline Approach

Rivaling consumer electronics, clothing has become one of the most purchased physical products online in recent years. Clothing was also the leading category in global cross-border B2C E-Commerce in 2014, accounting for over a third of all cross-border online purchases. In China and Japan, online mass merchants and marketplaces have become the most popular platforms for consumers to purchase clothing. In Europe, clothing has been the leading category by share of online shoppers in countries such as the UK, Germany, Russia, Italy and Turkey. Clothing merchants stand to benefit from adoption of current market trends, including but not limited to: M-Commerce, Omnichannel and Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce. Those merchants currently operating purely online or predominantly store-based could seek to adopt these strategies in an effort to gain a share in the booming online clothing market.

Topics: E-commerce & IT Outsourcing Apparel Telecommunications & Wireless Business Services & Administration

Smart Cities & Their Supporting Technologies

As smartphone penetration continues to increase, smartphone apps and well-implemented technology can help city authorities save money and become more efficient. However, there is much more than smartphones involved, including the networks that support cellular communications (LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiFi, etc.). 

Topics: Telecommunications & Wireless Public Sector

The Technical, Legal, and Political Minefield of Commercializing Stem Cells

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms and are characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type. However, it is this primitive nature that intrinsically makes commercializing stem cells a technical, legal and political minefield.

Topics: Biotechnology

5 Common Mistakes When Conducting Online Market Research Surveys

You can’t read marketing blogs these days without hearing about “data-driven decisions.”  Marketers are expected to have transitioned from the “Don Draper” era (in which gut feel and instinct ruled) to the “Data-driven” era (in which analytics, benchmarks, and consumer feedback should be in heavy supply).

The good news is this appetite for feedback is driving more online surveys being run across every organization. The bad news is most professionals don’t know the best practices for conducting a survey.  Seemingly minor mistakes can throw an entire dataset into question. Below are some common mistakes I’ve seen survey rookies make, and how to fix them.

Topics: Market Research Strategy Industry Insights

How to Get a Job in Today's Market Research Landscape

“Big Data” has been quite a buzzword in recent years, but it does have some real world implications for those in the market research industry. As technology evolves, it bleeds into market research and creates both new challenges as well as opportunities. Internet and mobile research have blended with new tools, such as survey applications, and many brands are taking advantage. What does this mean for market research and the professionals that perform it? Will they be pushed to the side, or is there a way for market researchers to adapt and strengthen themselves through these new technologies?

Topics: Marketing How To's Industry Insights

Affluents' Shopping Habits: 5 Top Trends Shaping the Luxury Market

Unity Marketing's look at the most important trends for marketers targeting the U.S. affluent customer

In recent blog posts, we’ve explored the top trends shaping the luxury market in 2015. The overriding trend that will impact all marketers at the high-end is that affluents have settled into a mood of austerity. One way that affluents' austere mood is expressed is in a new style of shopping which trends toward mass rather than 'class,' and preference for premium, rather than heritage luxury brands.

Topics: Retail Demographics Marketing

How to Use Market Research to Win New Business

The exact statistics may vary, but most people that have ever worked in or around sales will tell you that it is significantly harder, more time consuming, and more costly to acquire a new client than it is to retain and grow an existing customer. However, those same people will also tell you how important it is to constantly be growing your account base. With that in mind, anything that can help with client acquisition has to be a good thing. There are many best practices in this area, but market research is probably not the first thing you would think to use. Yet, it can be one of the most powerful.

Topics: Profound How To's

How to Use Market Research to Determine & Implement Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs are one of the fastest growing marketing techniques among various different industries. American Airlines was one of the first companies to launch a successful loyalty program in 1981, and since then, loyalty programs have only increased in popularity and diversity. Because such programs are so common, not to mention the number of types of loyalty programs to choose from, it is important that you use market research to help you understand which program works best for your organization.

Topics: Market Research Strategy Retail Marketing How To's

Projected Trends in the Banking Industry for 2015, Part 3

A Series Identifying Trends, Challenges and Opportunities Banks and Bankers Will Face in 2015

In Part-1 and Part-2 of this three-part series, Banking Reports, Ltd. Research, a leading research firm covering the banking industry, identified six significant trends that are projected to impact the banking sector during 2015. These trends have included: Apple Pay, FED rate-hike, African banking, the Chinese banking system, crypto-currencies and commodity-sensitive economies. In  this final installment, Banking Reports will explore four final trends and how they will impact the industry this year, including: PayPal, FinTech vs. FinServ, Europe's struggles, and the biggest challenges and successes for the upcoming year.

Topics: Business Services & Administration Financial Services

The Future of the UK Lighting Market in 2015 & Beyond

The UK Lighting market was estimated to be worth over £1.7 billion in 2014, with a positive outlook in 2015 for good growth of around 8-9%. Key drivers of this growth include the following:

  • Returning confidence in the new housebuilding market
  • Growth in consumer confidence for the repair and maintenance sector
  • Recovery within the private commercial construction sector
  • Growth of the LED lighting sector
Topics: House & Home Manufacturing & Construction Energy & Resources