Consumer

Consumer Goods Industry

The consumer industry is a huge and ever-growing sector that encompasses everything from food and drink to fashion and electronics. It’s easy to see why it’s such a popular target for businesses; after all, everyone needs to consume goods and services at some point in their life.

The global market for consumer products was estimated to be worth around $18 trillion in 2015, according to research firm Euromonitor International, with North America accounting for the lion’s share of spending.

A person pushing a cart full of groceries

Consumer Industry - highly competitive

There are endless opportunities within the consumer industry to start or grow a business – but plenty of challenges. For one thing, competition is fierce as companies battle it out for shelf space (or web real estate) and customer attention. These companies constantly have to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve and meet the ever-changing demands of consumers who have more choices than ever before thanks to technological advances like eCommerce.

Then there are issues like sustainability which are becoming increasingly important To succeed long term, businesses not only need to have great products, they must understand how best to sell them too – whether that means understanding digital marketing or being able provide an exceptional in store experience.

Mastering this is part of the puzzle and can make all the difference between success or failure in the highly competitive world of consumer packaged goods.

Why Consumer Industry is important?

It can be difficult to rise above the noise and get customers to buy your product rather than that offered by one of the well-established brands they already know and switch between on a constant basis. In fact studies have shown that people are far more likely to purchase a good or service that is convenient for them.

As the retail landscape continues to change, so does consumer behaviour. Today’s consumers are more empowered than ever before and they have high expectations when it comes to the brands they purchase from. In order to remain competitive in today’s market, businesses need to understand what motivates their customers and how to best reach them.

Some key trends that are shaping the consumer industry

#1 The rise of e-commerce: Thanks to technological advancements, shopping online is now easier than ever before. Consumers can research products and make purchases with just a few clicks – all from the comfort of their own homes. As a result, brick-and-mortar stores are feeling pressure to keep up with this shift by offering an omnichannel experience (a seamless shopping experience across both physical and digital platforms).
#2 An increase in mobile shoppers: With smartphones becoming increasingly ubiquitous, it’s no surprise that mobile commerce is on the rise as well. In fact, studies show that nearly 60% of internet users worldwide access the web exclusively through their phones. This trend is especially popular among younger generations; millennials and Gen Zers rely heavily on their phones for everything from researching products to making purchases. For businesses, this means creating a user-friendly website or app that caters specifically to mobile users.
#3 Companies investing in social media marketing: Social media has become one of THE most important tools for marketing your business. Not only does it give you direct access to the consumer, it is easily accessible to a vast majority of the population and the influence that social media has on the average consumer shapes the way they make purchases.

Conclusion

The consumer industry has been growing steadily for many years, but it has faced some challenges in recent times. One of the biggest problems facing the consumer industry is rising prices.

Many companies have had to increase their prices in order to cope with higher costs, such as raw materials and labour. This has put pressure on household budgets and caused some people to cut back on spending or switch to cheaper alternatives.