Tony D'Onofrio
Research
- June 21, 2024
State of the Consumer 2024: What’s now and what’s next
Consumers no longer fit into traditional archetypes. Some of the most influential consumers of tomorrow are currently underserved. What consumers want is changing too. Weakened brand loyalty, affordability over sustainability, and heightened interest in wellness products and services reflect the preferences and priorities of consumers across ages and geographies. - From McKinsey & Company
- May 20, 2024
What matters to Today’s Consumer: 2024 consumer behavior tracker for the consumer and retail industries
This report is the third in our annual research series that examines evolving consumer behaviors. This year, we find that many of the behaviors we noted in our 2023 report have persisted, with consumers continuing to express concern about their personal financial situations amid rising inflation. However, this concern has dropped significantly in the past twelve months as just 43% of consumers worry their personal finances will worsen over the next 6–9 months, compared with 80% who were concerned that they would worsen in the equivalent period last year. - From Cap Gemini
- May 13, 2024
2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report: AI at Work is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part
AI is being woven into the workplace at an unexpected scale. 75% of knowledge workers use AI at work today, and 46% of users started using it less than six months ago. It’s paying off as users say AI helps them save time (90%), focus on their most important work (85%), be more creative (84%), and enjoy their work more (83%). - From Microsoft & LinkedIn
- May 06, 2024
Retail’s Hidden Advantage: How RFID & Computer Vision’s Radically Improve Operational Improvements
Companies that are already using RFID technology in our study averaged profit growth in 2023 that was 57% higher than those who do not. And they are expecting their profits in 2024 to be 88% higher than those not already using RFID. Companies are 34x more likely to use computer vision already and 35% more likely to invest in computer vision in 2024 than below average performers. - From IHL Services
- April 22, 2024
Deloitte Global Retail Outlook 2024
After a prolonged period of suppressed consumer spending, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, and rapid changes in consumer behavior (among other things), the global retail industry stands at a crossroads; forced to make decisions about long term investments in new technology and business models while at the same time managing the rising cost of doing business and a decline in the spending power of consumers. - From Deloitte Insights
- March 26, 2024
World Happiness Report 2024
The top 10 countries have remained much the same since before COVID. Finland is still top, with Denmark now very close, and all five Nordic countries in the top 10. But in the next 10, there is more change, with the transition countries of Eastern Europe rising in happiness (especially Czechia, Lithuania and Slovenia). Partly for this reason the United States and Germany have fallen to 23 and 24 in the rankings. - A partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board.
- March 19, 2024
British Retail Consortium UK Retail Crime Survey
Once again, the crime survey shows a massive increase in violence and abuse, reaching the levels experienced during the pandemic at nearly half a million incidents a year. It also shows a massive increase in customer theft, doubling to just shy of £2 billion; a lack of confidence in the police response, with 60% rating it as poor or very poor; and a continuation of the rise in cyber crime. From the British Retail Consortium
- February 19, 2024
Store Experience Study 2024: The Heart of Retail Evolves
The coming year appears bright with possibilities for the retail industry. Survey respondents have an optimistic outlook going into 2024. Overall store counts are up, IT spend is up, and NRF’s forecasted sales growth of 4-6% for 2023 lands right in the wheelhouse of the retailers who responded to our survey. - From RIS News
- February 13, 2024
Long Live Luxury: Converge to Expand Through Turbulence
The overall luxury market reached €1.5 trillion globally in 2023, a robust 8% to 10% growth over 2022 at current exchange rates (11% to 13% at constant exchange rates), setting a record for the industry and proving its unparalleled resilience. Asia set the pace for growth thanks to strong domestic demand and a renewed influx of Chinese tourists across the region. Japan boomed due to local customers and a weak yen favoring tourist inflows. Mainland China posted a strong performance after its first quarter reopening but slowed progressively as new macroeconomic concerns arose. - From Bain & Company
- February 05, 2024
2024 Retail Industry Outlook - Looking for Loyalty in all the Right Places
One-half of retail executives expect consumers to value price over loyalty in 2024. The fact that the new e-commerce discount entrant,Temu, was the most downloaded Apple iPhone® app in the United States in 2023 suggests their view is not unfounded. Two-thirds (64%) of retail executives also expect inflation-weary consumers to purchase fewer goods—something that also concerns consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies as they pivot to profitable volume. - From Deloitte
- January 29, 2024
Crime Trends in USA Cities: Year End Update 2023
The number of homicides in the 32 study cities providing homicide data was 10% lower—representing 515 fewer homicides—in 2023 than in 2022. Shoplifting rates jumped upward by 22% from 2022 to 2023. - From Council of Criminal Justice
- January 22, 2024
Global Risks 2024: A Turning Point
As we enter 2024, results of the Forum’s Global Risks Perception Survey 2023-2024 (GRPS) highlight a predominantly negative outlook for the world over the short term that is expected to worsen over the long term. Risks relating to the financial, tech and real-estate sectors are towards the bottom of respondents’ concerns for 2024.- From World Economic Forum
- January 08, 2024
2023 Consumer Returns in the USA Retail Industry
Total returns for the retail industry amounted to $743 billion in merchandise in 2023. • The total returns rate as a percentage of sales for 2023 is 14.5%. The percentage of abuse and fraud impacting total returns in 2023 is 13.7%. The total amount of dollars lost to returns' abuse and fraud in 2023 is $101 billion. - From NRF and Appriss Retail
- January 01, 2024
Global Predictions for 2024: Optimism is on the rise as more think next year will be better
53% say 2023 was a bad year for them and 70% say it was a bad year for their country. This is the lowest level since before the Covid-19 pandemic. More people think AI will lead to more jobs being lost than being created in 2024. A majority (59%) think we’ll spend more time working in the office in 2024 than working at home. - From Ipsos.com
- December 26, 2023
RIS Software Leaderboard 2024: Retail Tech Giants
A favorite annual report from RIS News, now in its 23rd year that ranks the best in retail technology. – From RIS News.
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It is a Small World
Continuing our journey to learn something new, we travel to the War Rooms Museum in London England. The Churchill War Rooms is a secret underground headquarters which offers a fascinating glimpse into Britain's wartime operations, featuring the Map Room, Cabinet Room, and Churchill's office, all preserved as they were on the day the lights went out in 1945.
In the underground Cabinet Room Churchill and his key ministers and advisers would meet with the Chiefs of Staff to make important decisions about the course of World War II. Churchill was known to push his military chiefs far beyond their comfort zones, so it was likely to be a place of tension and confrontation.
The War Rooms were a top-secret location, with strict security measures and a focus on maintaining confidentiality, even down to the typewriters being noiseless. A tiny room disguised as a toilet was used for secret conversations between Churchill and the US President.
You can find some poignant graffiti, including a hand-drawn image of Adolf Hitler, in the Chief of Staff meeting room. To alleviate the health problems associated with working underground for prolonged periods of time, staff had to strip to their underwear, put on protective goggles and stand in front of portable sun lamps.
Churchill’s leadership lessons emphasize unwavering resolve, inspiring communication, and the importance of character and conviction, particularly during times of crisis. Visiting his War Rooms was inspirational.
As he also famously said, “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” My glass for visualizing success has always been half-full. What you visualize and action through continuous learning is what you will ultimately achieve. Believe in yourself and your dreams. Failure is never final. Reset, keep calm, and always carry on.
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