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Office Supplies
Kindness Rocks
Similar to benefits of adult coloring and DIY slime, The Kindness Rocks Project is an outlet for consumers to collectively participate in an activity that connects them and supports compassion through the process. With spring underway, summer fast approaching, and back-to-school season down the road, this is a trend to watch.
B2B Technology
SMB Spending Intentions Paint a Rosy Picture for the U.S. Tech B2B Indirect Market in 2019
According to NPD’s most recent SMB Quarterly Technology Monitor, 54 percent of small businesses with 500 or fewer employees plan to spend on technology purchases in 2019. NPD’s B2B technology analyst, Michael Diamond, takes a look at what categories they anticipate spending on.
Entertainment
Convergence: A Love Story
NPD’s entertainment industry analyst provides insight into the business end of IP in entertainment
Beauty
Gender Fluidity in Makeup
Inclusivity, representation, and equality – in the beauty community these words are becoming as common as attractive, sexy, and feminine used to be. We are observing an increasing number of brands relying on male brand ambassadors and influencers to promote cosmetics.
Food Consumption
Will Legal Marijuana Create New Food Opportunities?
A look at whether or not there are changes in snack food consumption in areas where marijuana has been legalized.
The Dream of A La Carte TV
NPD’s Connected Intelligence Analyst, John Buffone, takes a look at how the direct-to-consumer (DTC) trend extends beyond CPG brands and has established a foundation in the TV and Movie industries.
Sports
Sneakernomics: E-commerce in Sports Retail
While e-commerce giants pose big competition, brands and retailers are successfully building their own niche, online platforms and there remains plenty of room to grow in this space. Matt Powell highlights the strategies and ways in which brands and retailers can win online.
Foodservice
Breakfast Is Sunny Side Up
Breakfast at restaurants and foodservice outlets has shown consistent traffic growth over the last several years. The only foodservice meal with year-over-year growth.
Edgy Phones Bring Hope At MWC19
NPD’s Connected Intelligence President, Eddie Hold, shares highlights from MWC2019 including 5G, foldables, and other interesting mobile phone form factors that are working to break the mold.
Food Consumption
Australians Prefer Home-Cooked Meals over Convenience
Latest research from NPD Australia reveals home-cooked meal is still the most desired option for Australians
Office Supplies
Spark Joy to Grow Sales
The launch of Marie Kondo’s new Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” brought the idea of “Choosing Joy” to American households and the response has been mass participation. Sales of organization products including file storage supplies and specialty labels are growing, reaping the benefits of consumers’ latest obsession with tidying.
Footwear
Where Will the Payless Sales Go?
After the going out of business sales are over, the most likely beneficiaries of Payless’s demise will be Walmart and, to a lesser extent, Target, followed by Kohl’s. According to NPD’s Checkout, almost half of Payless footwear in-store buyers also bought footwear at Walmart in 2018. Twenty percent also bought from Target, and coming in third was Kohl’s, though Kohl’s average price per pair is approximately double that of Payless
Foodservice
France: A Restaurant’s Interior Design Is Just as Important as What’s on the Menu
The NPD Group’s foodservice industry expert for Europe and Russia offers insight on the importance of interior design in today’s restaurants
MWC and The U.S. Unlocked Market: A Shining Opportunity for OEMs Squeezed by Top Vendors
NPD Connected Intelligence analyst, Brad Akyuz, takes a look at what’s to come at this week’s MWC19.
Beauty
Make-up applicators: the shining stars of the French beauty market
The total value of make-up sales in France declined in 2018, but sales for make-up applicators, which includes brushes and sponges (amongst others) increased 19%.
Sports
Sneakernomics: Predictions for Sports Retail in 2019
Matt Powell expects a rocky year for the sports industry in 2019, as macro issues will likely weigh heavily on the industry. In these challenging times, what can retailers and brands do to stand out? Powell outlines his expectations and what opportunities should be seized to thrive.
B2B Technology
Thank you, Maslow! CES Takeaways
NPD B2B tech industry analyst, Michael Diamond, takes a look at some of the technologies from CES 2019 that will impact the B2B tech market.
Video Games
Spider-Man’s Resurging Brand Power across Entertainment Industries
The Spider-Man license in the U.S. has an incredible impact across multiple industries, including media entertainment, video games, books, and toys.
Putting a Fresh Perspective on “More of the Same”
The core consumer needs haven’t changed, but we need to find new ways to keep consumers engaged with housewares, appliances, and home textiles products.
Entertainment
Who’s That Nipping at the Heels of the “Big Three” SVOD Services
The “Big Three” U.S. SVOD players – Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video – receive a lot of media attention for their original runaway hits, award-winning series or meme-spurring content.
Sports
Sneakernomics: What Really Happened with Athletic Footwear and Activewear Sales in 2018
Matt Powell provides the highlights and his analysis on how the brands and categories across the U.S. athletic footwear and activewear markets fared in 2018.
Foodservice
UK: Driven by technology and convenience, British foodservice industry visits fall as consumers increasingly prefer ‘off-premise’ dining options
Dominic Allport, UK’s Insight Director for market research company, The NPD Group, provides insight into expectations for the British foodservice industry through the end of 2020.
Office Supplies
The E-Commerce Effect
2018 was a year of continued online growth for the U.S. office supplies industry; while brick-and-mortar retail sales were relatively flat, the e-commerce channel grew double digits compared to 2017. E-commerce has transformed the way consumers browse, compare, and purchase products, and this behavior continues to evolve. As a result, we expect the online channel will bring even more opportunities and changes to the office supplies space in 2019.
Video Games
Mat’s 2019 US Video Game Market Predictions
The U.S. Video Game industry experienced strong growth in 2018, as sales increased 18% to over $43 billion. According to NPD’s Mat Piscatella, it will be difficult, but not impossible, to show significant growth this year against what may have been the strongest software slate in a decade a year ago.
B2B Technology
Like A Box Of Chocolates - 2019 U.S. B2B IT Channel Predictions
The U.S. B2B IT channel experienced eight percent growth in 2018 propelled by a stronger PC market, growth of all-flash arrays, cloud, collaboration screens, and many more. With 2018 in the rearview mirror, see what NPD’s B2B Industry Analyst, Michael Diamond, expects in 2019.
Sports
Sneakernomics: Golf and Team Sports Equipment 2018 Recap
Matt Powell recaps how sales fared for baseball, golf, soccer, and other sports equipment products in 2018. Baseball/softball equipment sales grew largely as a result of new youth bat safety regulations that required most youth players to replace their bats. Golf was another bright spot for the market. After years of soft sales, the category bounced back. One of the top growth categories in golf were complete golf sets, particularly at opening price-points, suggesting new entrants.
Video Games
Mat’s 2018 US Video Game Market Prediction Results
Market research company The NPD Group’s video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella provides an overview on his 2018 prediction results for the U.S. video game industry.
Google Finally Doubling Down on Wear OS
Could Google’s purchase of Fossil IP lay the groundwork for a Google branded Pixel smartwatch? See what Connected Intelligence analyst, Weston Henderek, thinks in his latest blog.
Foodservice
In 2018, Russian Consumers Sought Value When Dining Out
In Russia, throughout most of 2018 there was a noticeable shift in consumer behavior around eating out, with the average individual check in foodservice was virtually flat compared to the same time period in 2017, while the average price per item on the menu increased.
Fashion Footwear & Accessories: Keeping Up the Momentum in 2019
2018 was an impressive year for the U.S. fashion footwear market—its strongest performance in recent years—and most accessories categories saw improved sales results. Though at a slower pace, footwear’s momentum will likely continue, and the accessories market will continue to level out. The most significant trends to watch will be an amplification of the familiar, including athleisure, comfortability, online’s growth and social/environment concerns.
Automotive
Automotive Aftermarket Forecast for 2019
Nathan Shipley outlines the opportunities as well as challenges for the automotive aftermarket industry this year. NPD forecasts that the industry will see little to no growth in 2019. The biggest factors driving this forecast include a combination of our outlook on miles driven (flat to slightly positive), our forecast for product pricing on the shelf (continuing to increase in the 5 percent range), and Moody’s 2019 forecast for the consumer price index for new and used cars (falling).
Beauty
Beauty Outlook for 2019
In beauty, we have seen stress-reducing ingredients like adaptogens, healing crystals and CBD emerge as some of the breakout stars of 2018. The coming year will see areas of growth within each U.S. prestige beauty category, but recession fears may slow the performance of the total market as consumers make the move to more careful consumption.