Consumer & Market Trends

In 2009 the great value people were used to in the boom time will change, as will ideas about privacy in an age of media saturation, says Marian Salzman

Google’s decision to liberalise its policy on competitive brand bidding may have had a dramatic effect on the travel and financial sectors, but has had little impact in many other disciplines

Optimism is the default setting for marketers. It has to be when your job involves trying to change human behaviour. But the disruptive events of 2008 and gloomy forecasts for this year that put marketing budgets in the firing line, are expected to knock some of that confidence.

As major influencers over which household brands are purchased, mums are a vital target consumer group for marketers. However, they are more likely to listen to their peers than marketing campaigns

Can young women already hooked on chick lit be persuaded that the more ‘edgy, refreshing and contemporary’ Mills & Boon books are worth taking off the shelf? asks Archana Venkatraman

Our contributors to last years Year Ahead magazine were right to be guarded about the prospects for most sectors in 2008. With our experts prescient understanding of markets, readers may wish to steel themselves before turning to the predictions for 2009. However, while bad news about the economy in the media is relentless, this is matched by the dogged optimism of marketers. Those who have experienced recessions in the past, in particular, appreciate how to seek out silver linings, while the storm clouds gather, and prepare for better days ahead…

Even when they’re not on a weight-loss diet, the British are now counting calories as never before, which has led to a huge shift in eating habits as people try to develop a healthy everyday diet