The latest “Entrepreneurship in 2025″ report by Intuit QuickBooks looks at the entrepreneurial trends for the upcoming year — including how new businesses and set to grow and the effects of inflation on new business owners. The study surveyed 3,000 U.S. consumers aged 18 or older and fell into three self-identified categories business owners, former … Read more
China confirmed on Friday that its economy grew by 5 percent in 2024, settling the debate over whether Beijing’s “around 5 percent” growth target would be achieved. The National Bureau of Statistics also revealed that China‘s GDP grew 5.4 percent during the latest fourth quarter, a 1.6 percent increase year-over-year and the highest growth level … Read more
Despite a rocky economy (thanks to inflation and rising interest rates) retail foot traffic saw a slight increase in 2024 compared to the previous year. According to a recent report by location analytics platform Placer.ai, overall retail foot traffic rose by 0.4 percent year-over-year in 2024. While most months experienced year-over-year growth, some (including January, … Read more
China’s major e-commerce companies, from JD.com to Alibaba Group Holding, are rushing to take advantage of Beijing’s latest subsidies aimed at spurring consumer spending at the start of the year. Tmall, Alibaba’s premium shopping site carrying mainly established brands, on Wednesday kicked off new subsidies for shoppers buying home appliances. Rival JD.com on the same … Read more
As the year comes to a close, restaurants have continued to be a major place for consumers to spend time — especially with the mass decline of “third places,” a place for people that encourages social interaction and public relaxation outside of the home (“first place”) and work (“second place”) through shared activities and shared … Read more
Chinese consumer spending is so weak that even Starbucks is considering selling a stake in its China franchise, but one venture capital firm is bucking the trend by finding growth in niche sectors despite overall weakness. Shanghai-based company BA Capital, a long term backer of China’s “blind box” toy franchise Pop Mart and jeweller Laopu … Read more
China’s video gaming industry grew 7.53 per cent this year, reaching record sales of 325.8 billion yuan (US$44.8 billion), aided by the release of new hit games, according to the country’s semi-official gaming industry association. The figures for the domestic video game market, the second-largest in the world, mark the highest annual sales since the … Read more
Black Friday sales grew at a faster pace in the U.S. this year, underscoring that choosy consumers are still opening their wallets when they find the right products. Retail sales, excluding automotive, grew 3.4% on the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. That figure outpaced growth … Read more
Amidst a stressful holiday season with inflation and cost of living being top of mind, consumers continue to remain cautious this year. This year’s annual report by QuickBooks titled “Holiday Shopping” found that consumers are pulling back on spending this year — shoppers are expected to spend $85 billion less versus last year, a 34 … Read more
From the current economic climate to the recent election results, consumers have a lot to be stressed about, and according to Rakuten, those feelings are showing up in shopping carts. Rakuten’s latest consumer survey, which aimed to identify key trends in consumer behavior as they continue to develop, found stress to be a key theme … Read more
