Amazon.com, Inc.

After conducting high-level research into the into the strategies employed by Fortune 500 companies across the United States, Mintel singles out the top five trends in online consumer marketplace behavior this quarter some of which you may never have seen coming. Find out how social media-savvy brands, like Wawa, Apple, Amazon and Lay's, are realizing results by tackling these timely trends.

Walmart maintains its No. 1 spot on a new list of the best retail brands, and even with a 6 percent decline in brand value it preserves an enormous margin over the next closest brand. Four brands increased their brand value by more than 25 percent this year, while others fell off the list completely.

A new list of The Worlds 50 Most Innovate Companies features widely recognized global brand names, like Nike and Levi Strauss, alongside small companies that are only now known in their countries of origin. Find out why these 13 consumer goods companies made the list.

CGT's readers rank the top technology providers of a suite of software or point solution for supply chain execution, including WMS, TMS, load optimization, etc.

The greater data capacity is expected to enhance enterprise agility, provide right-time support for improved customer insight and service.

We have heard the argument by some consumer goods manufacturers that direct-to-consumer e-commerce will upset their retailer. This is changing. The Apparel & Footwear sector moved beyond this argument, and other sectors are soon to change the dynamic as well. Whether they open their own stores, follow China's model of a store-within-a-store, sell via Amazon or direct-to-consumer via web sites, change is upon us.

While Black Friday (and now Thanksgiving Day) is the traditional kick off to the brick-and-mortar holiday shopping season, both days continue to grow in importance online. Meanwhile, Cyber Monday reached $1.735 billion in desktop online spending, representing the heaviest online spending day in history.

The Supermarket Guru predicts that social shopping, healthy snacking and millennials will shape consumer trends in the New Year. Find out what other dramatic food changes will stem from ever-changing consumers and their relationships with merchants, brands and food.