While other countries in the region and around the globe have been affected by significant economic uncertainty, Indonesia’s economy is running at full bore, with a rapidly expanding middle class that is now the third-largest in the world.

The American consumer is changing. Uneven population growth, a growing base of older consumers with new needs, changes in household spending, a declining percentage of households with children and particularly increased ethnic diversity mean that manufacturers and retailers need to rethink how they invest their marketing dollars.

Consumers have an increasingly wider range of shopping choices available to satisfy their needs, making the competition for shoppers keener than ever. But what categories benefit the most and how can retailers attract a greater portion of consumers’ shopping dollars?

As we manage through one of the most challenging U.S. economic downturns, American consumers have made significant shifts in what they buy and watch. From planning their shopping trips to focusing on value to trading down to going out less and staying in more, consumers have pressed the reset button and fundamentally changed their habits.

Private label products can be found in the pantry of nearly every Canadian home, but who buys private label products occasionally and who buys them on a regular basis? New analysis from The Nielsen Company identifies the heaviest private label buyer and finds that the face of today’s private label consumer is changing.

Retail in developing markets like Vietnam has remained fairly robust. All signs point to further opportunities for expansion.

Three-quarters of U.S. households believe store brands are a good alternative to name brands and nearly two-thirds of households say that store brand quality is just as good as name brands.

A relief from the heat came in the form of increased consumption of soft drinks in Russia, which increased 24% since last year — a sign of recovering consumer confidence.

The power of micro-targeting insights to reach high-profit customer segments is unleashing new and profitable growth opportunities. The road map to success starts with five key steps.

Demographic and economic shifts over the next ten years will dramatically reshape the growth of consumer packaged goods (CPG), according to new research from Nielsen which was presented today at the Consumer 360 conference in Orlando.
Categories that are likely to experience solid growth include ethnic health and beauty products, flour/shortening/sugar/yeast/eggs, and a variety of health-related goods such as vitamins and medications/remedies.  The slowest growth categories are expected to be toys and sporting goods, breakfast foods, baby care and pet products.
In just ten years time, the face of America will change: fewer households will have …