Consumer Analytics

As 2014 begins, Mintel identifies four trends that are set to hit the American consumer market, examines the areas of commercial opportunity for brands and predicts what consumers will be buying this year.

Amway introduces a personalized health assessment to eliminate the guess work from supplementation.

Nestl signs a partnership with Walmart Chile, Coca-Cola Chile, PepsiCo, and Unilever, in a joint collaboration to improve waste management in the country.

With the advent of personalized digital marketing, social and mobile engagement, and rich consumer insights, brands now have an unprecedented ability to engage directly with consumers, shifting the balance of power between manufacturers and retailers. This month, we asked Cassandra Moren, senior director, CG & Retail Solutions Industry Marketing, Oracle, to weigh in on this unstoppable trend.

It's no secret that consumer programs aimed at the digital shopper represent a huge opportunity for brands to engage consumers and improve marketing efficiencies. That's one reason why Kellogg Company recently enhanced its consumer loyalty program.

McCormick's new digital service, FlavorPrint, is a testament to the role that collaboration (both internal and external) plays when it comes to delivering meaningful consumer experiences both online and off.

Mobile commerce will grow exponentially during the 2013 holiday season with consumers buying at home and in store via their phone. In fact, mobility will drive e-commerce sales gains of between 13 percent and 15 percent. Today's sales and marketing strategies, therefore, need to acknowledge the mobile device not as a "channel" but rather as gateway to multiple channels.

A new social media engagement program scans photos and visuals from public Instagrammer posts and verifies imagery of branded content, recognizing not only keyword and hashtag use but also photo use.