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How Home Will Heat Up Holiday Again in 2018
Last year's momentum continues, and like Instant Pot, the hottest home products this holiday will center around convenience, entertaining, and innovation.
Video Games
Gotta Catch Them All – Pokémon Expands its Console Market by Engaging Mobile
Video games analyst, Mat Piscatella, from market research company The NPD Group offers his thoughts on the impact that the Pokemon franchise has had on the industry, across mobile, console and portable platforms, and where he thinks it’s heading.
Fashion Accessories
Tis the Season to Accessorize
Innovative products addressing versatility and personalization will be among those behind the biggest fashion accessory sellers this holiday season.
Apparel
Cozy Christmas Predictions
Casual and furry, sweaters, pajamas and more - all hot products in the fashion industry that evoke the feeling of cozy warmth that will be hot this holiday.
Footwear
A Fashionable and Functional Holiday for Footwear
Fashion sneakers and boots are positioned to sell well this holiday season, as are the brands and retailers that speak to the consumer priorities of comfort, coziness, convenience and versatility. Beth Goldstein outlines the trends and her expectations for the footwear industry this holiday.
Retail
Timing is Everything This Holiday
Early promotions and Super Saturday's return mean the ‘when’ will play as much of a role in driving this holiday's retail trends as the 'what'.
Beauty
Merry and Bright for Beauty
With over a week until Thanksgiving, the holiday season is already in high gear. Given the huge success of the U.S. beauty market last holiday, what can we expect from this one?
Sports
Sneakernomics: U.S. Team Sports Equipment Q3 Recap
After what was a solid first half of 2018 for the U.S. team sports equipment market, sales slowed in the third quarter. Matt Powell recaps how sales fared for baseball, golf, soccer, and other sports equipment products in Q3.
Foldables Are Coming
Will foldable smartphones give consumers a reason to lust after a new device or will ever-increasing costs become a barrier? See thoughts from Connected Intelligence President, Eddie Hold regarding the latest innovation.
Video Games
Another Look at Video Game Industry Predictions for Holiday 2018
NPD video game industry analyst, Mat Piscatella, provides insights into his expectations for holiday 2018 in the U.S.
Sports
Sneakernomics: Holiday 2018 Predictions for Sports Retail
Matt Powell outlines his holiday season expectations for the U.S. athletic footwear and activewear markets, including where there will be challenges as well as bright spots.
Sports
Sneakernomics: Athletic Footwear and Activewear Q3 Results
Matt Powell recaps how key categories and brands in the athletic footwear and activewear markets performed during the third quarter of 2018, and what this may foreshadow for the holiday season.
Are Subscription Meal Kits Doomed?
It’s no secret the subscription-based fresh meal delivery kits are facing struggles. The solution may be for these services to take a multi-channel approach and be where consumers shop for meals.
Connected Intelligence
The best phone you cannot (easily) buy
NPD Connected Intelligence president, Eddie Hold, provides his take on Huawei’s latest smartphones, the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro
B2B Technology
The Open Office Trend – Peter Gibbons Was a Genius
As companies across the globe look for ways to increase productivity, collaboration display sales are reaping the benefits. According to NPD’s U.S. B2B Distributor and Reseller Tracking Service, the collaboration display market grew 61 percent in dollars for the 12 months ending August 2018 versus the year prior.
Flashback Friday
Are cameras the main point of differentiation between smartphones these days? Connected Intelligence President, Eddie Hold takes a look back at past generations of mobile phones and shares his thoughts on the future.
Foodservice
Let’s Disrupt the Overuse of Disrupt
The buzzword these days is disruption. What was initially used as a term to define technology-enabled services or products that target an established market and eventually move their way up to overtake the market leaders — think Uber — is now a catchall to describe any change or innovation.
Toys
Crazy About Football: The League Triggers Sales of Cards in Spain
When Cristiano Ronaldo announced this summer that he was leaving Real Madrid, it’s safe to assume that more than one child thought of his next season's sticker album.
Toys
The Holiday Landscape without Toys‟R”Us
As we move into the most important time of the year when nearly 50 percent of all U.S. toy sales occur, the question is, what impact will the liquidation have on the toy industry’s holiday season? Juli Lennett crunches the numbers and outlines her Q4 expectations.
Watches Jewelry
Smart Watches Rejuvenating the Department Store Watch Category
When I visited Macy’s Herald Square this week, I was struck again by how watch offerings have evolved – even in the past year alone.
Amazon Wants To Be Your TV Provider
Connected Intelligence analyst, John Buffone, shares insights regarding Amazon’s all new Fire TV Recast device, which is aimed at routing a larger portion of consumers TV viewing time through Amazon’s ecosystem of hardware and services.
Consumer Electronics
Amazon Extends Its Platform Mentality Even Further Into Devices
NPD’s Technology Industry Advisor, Stephen Baker, analyzes what he believes is the most interesting aspect of Amazon’s recent announcements: the clear path Amazon continues to take in both owning and partnering within its ecosystems.
Watches Jewelry
Luxury Watches and the “Supreme Effect”
While luxury watch brands release new product only once per year, the nature of their very tight distribution has become almost like Supreme’s product drops.
B2B Technology
The Current State of the Desktop Workstation Market
Workstations are one of the unsung segments of the desktop PC market. In this blog by B2B Industry Analyst, Mike Diamond, find out what is currently driving this category’s growth in the U.S. B2B Indirect market.
The Age of Ecosystem Dominance
The consumer tech market is approaching a transitional moment when the current smartphone-driven ecosystem will be superseded by a voice-driven interface. This blog by Eddie Hold, President of NPD’s Connected Intelligence, looks at how voice control and growth of home automation will ultimately drive the latest ecosystem change.
Beauty
Perfumers Become Superstars
While fragrances had become objects of consumerism, perfume makers are stepping into the spotlight and garnering attention, as consumers today are showing heightened interest for understanding, learning, and honoring the creative process of perfume making.
Voice as a Unifier
The growth in voice-enabled speakers has allowed consumers to begin to see the value of a more integrated smart home ecosystem. By providing a line of sight to a more robust smart home experience, speakers have become a leading indicator of smart home adoption.
Sports
Sneakernomics: Purpose-Driven Brands
Consumers want to know what a brand stands for and what motivates its decisions. Consumers want brands to align with their values. Matt Powell explains how the sports industry is winning here, through companies including Carhartt, Patagonia, Merrell, and VF Corporation.
Apple Watch Series 4: A Change Of Heart
With the launch of the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple has further separated itself from the smartwatch pack with larger edgeless screens, better resolution, and a sleeker design. However, the biggest shift heralded in by the Series 4 is a clear pivot by Apple towards the wellness and healthcare market and away from focusing primarily on fitness.
Retail
Tracking the Retail Rebound
Quarterly earnings are on the rise at Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Kohls, Nordstrom and other major retailers. Here's why that is -- and how they can make the rebound continue.
Big Screens, Big Data: The Future For Smartphones
When it comes to this year’s iPhone news, form factor sizing has risen the ranks to the most heavily speculated aspect. But what do these bigger screens mean for OEMs and carriers?
Elevator Music For The Soul
NPD Connected Intelligence President, Eddie Hold, explores the evolution of portable music players and why he believes the smartphone is not the best solution.
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