Global - NIQ

Winning in South Korea: Turning On-Premise pressure into brand growth

emilybuckley0522 — Mon, 11 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Content

The state of play in Korea’s On-Premise

NIQ’s unique combination of sources highlights Koreans’ passion for bars and restaurants. Nearly nine in ten (88%) consumers typically visit the On-Premise, and 61% do so weekly. Encouragingly, these numbers are up year-on-year, and they are also slightly ahead of global averages. Spending has risen too, by 8% to an average of ₩254,288 per month.

However, some Koreans are cutting back on their On-Premise visits as household costs are rising fast. Total visitation has dropped by 8.1% in the last year, and while nearly a fifth (18%) of consumers expect to go out more often over the next year, a higher number (22%) plan to go out less. Nearly three quarters (73%) say their disposable incomes have either fallen or stayed the same in the last 12 months.

Pressure on spending is being amplified by high inflation in businesses’ costs and heavy competition for consumers’ attention. This makes it vital for operators and suppliers to understand the latest trends in Korea’s market and grasp opportunities when they emerge.

Drinks categories: Ups and downs

The spending squeeze has pushed volumes of spirits and soju in 2025 to 10.6% below the levels of 2024, while beer was down by 8.1%. Some of these sales are shifting to at-home consumption, as Off-Premise volumes in these three categories have held up better. Bars and restaurants are vital platforms for influencing these Off-Premise sales, because 60% of consumers are likely to repurchase a drink to consume at home if they enjoy it while they are out. It’s clear that the On-Premise is where brand preferences are born.

While overall sales are contracting, there are some positive segments. For example, tequila, gin and single-malt whisky sales all grew in the On-Premise in 2025, with tequila rising in the Off-Premise as well. Single malt’s success indicates that premiumisation is still active in Korea, with many premium brands outperforming the market, and just over a third (35%) of consumers saying they are likely to pay extra for a better quality drink. Highballs are another hotspot, with sales jumping by 18.1% in the Off-Premise in 2025.

Premium drinks and highballs are both particularly popular among millennials, who have relatively high spending levels and have reduced their outgoings less than other cohorts. Because they are also less likely than average to stay loyal to brands, there are sizeable opportunities to secure trial among millennials.

Finding the right channels to play in

When planning On-Premise strategies, it’s essential to track not just what Korean consumers want but where. NIQ’s OPUS data emphasises the central role of food-led venues, which account for 58% of all occasions in the On-Premise. Visits to channels including traditional and BBQ restaurants held up reasonably well in 2025, but many more consumers reduced their trips to pubs and bars—an indication that people with limited budgets are prioritising dining out over drinking out at the moment.

Wherever Korean consumers visit, there are ample opportunities to influence their decisions. More than four in five (83%) say they are open to influences in lounge bars, and two in five (40%) haven’t decided which category or brand to buy before they step inside. Brands that identify the right in-venue touchpoints to influence purchases can achieve excellent sales uplifts.

From Korea to the rest of the world

Success in Korea can also help brands to improve their visibility around the world. The country is benefiting from surging international visitor numbers, which has a double benefit. First, increased tourist footfall is helping to make up for a flattening of Koreans’ visits to bars and restaurants. And second, tourists who buy and enjoy Korean brands are likely to purchase them when they get back home. For drinks like soju, baekseju, Cheongju, this opens up great potential for growth—not just domestically but globally.

NIQ’s exclusive On-Premise Measurement (OPM) solution provides expert breakdowns of brand and category sales performance. Analysis is enhanced by the On-Premise User Survey (OPUS) of Korean consumers, as well as NIQ RSM Market Track, which measures offline FMCG sales across Korea.

Ready to win in South Korea?

NIQ’s best-in-class suite of research tools provide suppliers with the tools they need to succeed in Korea’s On-Premise and Off-Premise. From sales measurement to consumer understanding to outlet planning, the solutions provide expert insights for powerful, data-driven strategies.

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Spaceman: Evolving to Unlock Value through Cloud & AI/ML

eminamaslic0415 — Mon, 11 May 2026 08:38:31 +0000

Space planning teams are under pressure to move faster, collaborate better, and make decisions with greater confidence. At the same time, many organizations still face common barriers: complex local deployments, heavy IT dependency, fragmented data, manual workflows, and limited ability to scale automation and AI/ML across teams and markets. 

In this webinar, we explore how Spaceman is evolving to help address these challenges through cloud deployment, centralized data, intelligent automation, and AI/ML-enabled capabilities. The session will focus on practical client needs: simplifying deployment, improving governance, reducing manual effort, enabling better collaboration, and creating a stronger foundation for future space planning innovation. 

We will also share how cloud-based environments and AI/ML capabilities can support a more connected merchandising process, from planning to execution, compliance visibility, and smarter decision-making. 

Why attend? 

If your organization is looking to modernize space planning, reduce operational complexity, improve collaboration, or better understand the role of cloud and AI/ML in merchandising, this session will provide a practical view of what is possible today and what is coming next.  

Webinar overview:

Date: 23rd June 2026 @ 11am CET 

Presenters: Sergio Hernando, Jonas Parmhed, and Jonathan Craven, NIQ Strategic Analytics and Insights

The post Spaceman: Evolving to Unlock Value through Cloud & AI/ML  appeared first on NIQ.

How big sporting events boost drinks sales

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 08 May 2026 14:50:00 +0000

New insights from NIQ’s expert analysis of the rugby tournament’s impact on trading trends by matchday, category and daypart are revealed. While the benefit to sales was smaller this year, the data reveals the huge value of big sporting occasions to the On-Premise ahead of football’s FIFA World Cup in June and July.

Content

Drinks sales: The final score

Across all Six Nations fixtures, total drinks sales by value were 4.1% lower than on the equivalent days in the 2025 tournament. This is broadly in line with NIQ data that shows the On-Premise battling for year-on-year growth in general this year, with many consumers keeping a tight lid on their spending.

A breakdown of sales shows there was growth on only three of the nine matchdays. Two of these came in the first fortnight, reflecting strong interest at the start of the tournament. Sales rose 3.9% on Saturday 7 February, when England, Scotland and Wales were all in action; and by 5.2% on Saturday 14 February, when England played Scotland in one of the tournament’s highest profile games. The second of these also benefited from Valentine’s Day, which sustained sales beyond the rugby.

However, growth tailed off towards the conclusion of the tournament – partly because England’s chances of winning the tournament soon ended. Sales on the last two matchdays on Saturday 7 and Saturday 14 March were down on the equivalent days in 2025 by 12.9% and 6.2% respectively.

Categories: LAD leads

As is usually the case during big sporting tournaments, Long Alcoholic Drinks (LAD) categories received the biggest sales uplifts. They generated well over half of all drinks sales on every matchday, and increased their share year-on-year on seven of them.

LAD’s performance was partly driven by stout, which has a close association with rugby and has grown in popularity in many pubs and bars in the last 12 months. Stout’s Rate of Sale (RoS) and share of drinks sales both rose on each of the nine matchdays, and they tended to peak on days when Ireland played.

Among other categories, soft drinks also achieved a modest increase in share on seven of the nine matchdays, while spirits were down on all but one. This may reflect some consumers’ switches from alcoholic to non-alcoholic drinks, for either moderation or financial reasons.

Dayparts: Sales track kick-offs

Daypart breakdowns show how spikes in LAD sales coincided with the timing of games. On Saturday 7 February, England’s kick-off time of 4.40pm meant exactly half (50%) of the day’s LAD sales were generated during the lunchtime and happy hour periods – more than usual for those segments. On Saturday 14 March, when three games followed in succession through the afternoon and evening, sales were distributed more evenly. Matchdays had less of an effect on spirits sales, which usually peak in late-night periods. Patterns were little changed, with most rugby fans sticking to beer and cider rather than short serves.

Rachel Weller, Commercial Lead, UK and Ireland – BevAl at NIQ, said: “Big sporting occasions are vital to pubs, bars and LAD brands, and while the impact of the Six Nations was a little more muted in 2026, it was nevertheless a welcome boost at an otherwise quiet time of year. Our category and daypart analysis shows how sales closely correlate to fixtures, but consumers’ habits can vary, so activations need to be carefully scheduled. The football World Cup will hopefully deliver even bigger benefits, especially if England and Scotland can progress deep into the tournament. Venues and suppliers will need to flex offerings for the later-than-usual kick-off times for most games, and those that adapt well are in line for significant uplifts.”

Ready to win during big games?

NIQ’s sales measurement solutions provide in-depth analysis of drinks sales by category, daypart, RoS and many more metrics. They help suppliers and operators understand key trends and consumer preferences around major sporting events, enabling them to optimize strategies and gain share.

The post How big sporting events boost drinks sales appeared first on NIQ.

Mixed April for drinks sales but LAD categories shine in the sun

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 08 May 2026 14:50:00 +0000

Unsettled weather made it an up-and-down April for Britain’s pubs, bars and suppliers, according to NIQ’s latest Daily Drinks Tracker.

The Tracker, powered by CGA intelligence, shows average sales in managed venues in the week to Saturday 25 April were 4.1% ahead of the equivalent period in 2025. This positive performance coincided with a spell of warm and dry weather that brought many consumers out to pub gardens and terraces for the first time this year.

However, that encouraging week was sandwiched by negative trading. Sales in the weeks to Saturday 18 April and Saturday 2 May were down year-on-year by 4.8% and 4.3% respectively. Both these weeks featured more mixed weather, including lower than usual temperatures in some parts of Britain that may have kept people inside.

Weekly comparisons in the Tracker are skewed by Easter, which fell early in April in 2026 but later in the month in 2025. However, the combined results suggest that taken as a whole, drinks sales were broadly flat year-on-year, with boosts from stronger days and public holidays offset by quieter periods.

April’s bursts of sunshine created good conditions for Long Alcoholic Drinks (LAD) categories at points in April. Beer sales in the week to 25 April were 7.1% ahead of 2025, while cider rocketed 19.2% as drinkers sought refreshment. Wine was the most consistent of the major categories, with sales rising by 2.9% and 1.1% in the weeks to Saturday 25 April and Saturday 2 May. Soft drinks were down in all three of the recent weeks, though comparisons are affected by the timing of school holidays. Spirits sales dropped by between 8.9% and 15.0% in each of the three weeks, continuing an extended run of tough trading conditions.

As well as mixed weather, April’s trading figures may reflect consumers’ ongoing uncertainty about spending. The possible impacts of ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East on energy-related prices are likely to be damaging confidence, and prompting some people to rein in their spending for their time being.

Rachel Weller, NIQ’s Commercial Lead, UK & Ireland, said: “April is always an unpredictable month for the On-Premise, as the fast-changing weather makes it harder for consumers to plan their visits to pubs and bars. However, while overall trading is still muted, it’s clear that people remain very eager to drink out when the weather allows. Consumers and businesses alike will be concerned about future inflation, and spending is likely to remain cautious for some time. But if the sun shines, suppliers can be hopeful about the release of some pent-up demand in the On-Premise as we move towards the summer.”

The Daily Drinks Tracker provides analysis of sales at managed licensed premises across Britain and is part of NIQ‘s suite of research services delivering in-depth data on category, supplier and brand rate of sale performance in the On-Premise.

Unlock essential On-Premise insights

Discover more about brand rate of sales performance and access the latest intelligence on drinks Understand the trends and opportunities to win across this crucial channel.

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Free compendium: NIQ Retail Purchasing Power

thomasmuranyi0924 — Fri, 08 May 2026 08:45:27 +0000

How is retail purchasing power distributed within different countries across the world? Find out in our free compendium with maps for 28 countries.

Download our free compendium with 28 illustrative maps and find out how retail purchasing power is regionally distributed.

NIQ Retail Purchasing Power refers to the portion of general purchasing power available for retail spending. The data reveals the composite demand potential for brick-and-mortar, online and mail-order retail for a given region. The purchasing power figures refer to consumers’ places of residence rather than points of sale.

Knowing about the regional distribution of spending potential allows you to tailor your sales and marketing endeavors according to the consumer preferences of particular regions. The resulting insights give you a decisive competitive advantage for all location-related decisions. Whether planning or evaluating locations, optimizing your direct marketing or managing your sales, NIQ Retail Purchasing Power comprises a value basis for your decisions in many countries across the world.

Feel free to contact us for more information or a personalized consultation.

T +49 911 395 2600
geomarketing.gfk@smb.nielseniq.com

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NIQ Perspective: Gas Prices and the Delayed Cost Impact on Home, Family & Baby

andresxportilla — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:18:03 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This perspective uncovers how gas price spikes create delayed inflation and demand shifts across Home, Family, and Baby.

Fuel volatility is back, and the cost shock lingers.

Why it matters

When gas prices rise, the impact reaches far beyond fuel. For Home, Family, and Baby categories, the real pressure shows up later in budgets, baskets, and buying behavior.

Gas price shocks do not end at the pump

Home, Family, and Baby inflation peaks later and stays elevated longer.

Household budget pressure

Drives more planning, deal-seeking, private label adoption, and channel shifts without eroding essentials.

Strong value architecture

Clearer entry price points, and stock-up solutions help brands defend volume and loyalty.

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“Gas price volatility does not stop at the pump. The downstream impact on Home, Family, and Baby is delayed, sustained, and deeply tied to how families plan, budget, and manage essentials.”

–Darren Seifer

Vice President, Thought Leadership, Home, Family & Baby, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

In a short session with our team, we’ll take a closer look at your category and business priorities and help you identify the most relevant insights, tools, or next steps for your needs. Whether you’re exploring the findings from this Perspective or evaluating broader growth opportunities, our experts will point you toward the right path forward.

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Retailer Data to Value Maturity: From Insight to Action to Value

andresxportilla — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:26:48 +0000

Webinar

Retailer Data to Value Maturity: From Insight to Action to Value

Now Available On-Demand

Retailers today generate vast volumes of sales and loyalty data — yet many still struggle to translate insights into consistent, measurable commercial outcomes.

This on‑demand NIQ webinar explores how retailers can progress along the Data‑to‑Value maturity journey, moving beyond insight generation to effective execution and real business impact.

Whether you joined the live session or missed it, this recording provides practical frameworks, best‑practice execution models, and real retailer examples you can apply to your own organization.

What You’ll Learn

In this session, NIQ experts cover:

The Retailer Data‑to‑Value Maturity Model and how to assess your current position

Execution styles, best practices, and common challenges retailers face

Why effectiveness is the foundation of successful data activation

How NIQ Activate enables Data‑to‑Value maturity, illustrated through a real use case

A customer success story demonstrating measurable outcomes

This session is practical and execution‑focused — designed to help retailers move from insight to action.

Meet Your Speakers

Lubomir Mechura

Activate GTM Lead

Hanan Cohen

Activate Sales Engineering Lead

Peter Kurucz

Retail Analytics Lead

Together, they bring hands‑on experience helping retailers across Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa activate data more effectively and drive stronger commercial performance.

The post Retailer Data to Value Maturity: From Insight to Action to Value appeared first on NIQ.

Quality on Tap: How Draft Drives Occasions and Spend

emilybuckley0522 — Wed, 06 May 2026 10:15:00 +0000

Draft now generates more than half of beer volumes in the US On-Premise thanks to interest in its taste and value, new research from NIQ and Draftline Technologies reveals.

Quality on Tap: The Draft Beer Report indicates that draft attracts 53.1% of all sales by volume, an increase of 2 percentage points in just two years. Its share of sales by value now stands at 49.9%, meaning it is set to overtake bottles or cans for dollar spend in US bars, restaurants and other venues.

The Draft Beer Report is packed with expert insights about key trends in draft beer and reasons for its appeal, including:

Draft market snapshot
Why Draft earns more
Draft segments, imports and demographics
Reasons why Beer drinkers choose Draft
Draft: Occasions and Daypart dynamics
Non-Alc beer on Draft
A Retailer’s guide on Draft maintenance

Download the report to read more!

The post Quality on Tap: How Draft Drives Occasions and Spend appeared first on NIQ.

Map of the Month: Industry Density, Germany 2026

thomasmuranyi0924 — Wed, 06 May 2026 08:38:20 +0000

Our Geomarketing Map of the Month for May shows the regional distribution of industry density in Germany in 2026.

According to the latest NIQ Base Data, the industry density, i.e. the number of industrial employees per 1,000 inhabitants, is above average especially in the old federal states. By a wide margin, the district of Wolfsburg ranks first, with 465 out of every 1,000 residents employed in the industrial sector. The best-ranked district in eastern Germany is the Ilm-Kreis district, with 111 industrial employees per 1,000 inhabitants, placing it only 58th overall. By contrast, the German capital Berlin ranks just 379th out of all 400 urban and rural districts, with an industry density of 20. At the bottom of the ranking is the district of Potsdam, where industry density is the lowest at only 3 industrial employees per 1,000 inhabitants.

Download the map in high-resolution JPG format…

The map may be freely distributed and reproduced if the following attribution is included: “Illustration: NIQ Geomarketing”.

Further insights into NIQ Geomarketing’s market data offering can be found here.

The post Map of the Month: Industry Density, Germany 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

K‑Beauty in Canada: From Niche Trend to Strategic Growth Engine

andresxportilla — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:56:45 +0000

K‑Beauty’s rise in Canada is already reshaping the competitive landscape of the beauty industry. Once limited to specialty retailers and early adopters, Korean beauty brands are now firmly embedded in the Canadian market, driven by strong sales growth, expanded distribution and a young, diverse consumer base seeking performance‑driven skincare at accessible price points.

According to NielsenIQ data, K‑Beauty sales in Canada reached $164 million in 2025, growing 57% year over year, significantly outpacing total beauty market growth. This momentum positions Canada as one of the fastest‑accelerating K‑Beauty markets outside Asia.

Rapid Growth, Broadening Brand Footprint

Growth is not limited to a handful of hero brands. While established names such as  Laneige, COSRX, Dr. Jart+ and Innisfree continue to post double‑digit gains, newer and fast‑scaling brands are driving incremental growth as they expand distribution across mass, beauty specialty and online channels.

Brands including Beauty of Joseon, Skin1004, ma:nyo, Torriden and D’Alba Piedmont  recorded outsized growth in the past year, in some cases exceeding triple‑digit increases. Expanded availability — rather than price inflation — has been the primary growth lever, indicating that Canadian consumers are still in the discovery phase when it comes to the category.

Distribution Sets K‑Beauty Apart From Prestige

K‑Beauty’s path to scale in Canada differs materially from Prestige beauty. Drug stores play a limited role, while Beauty Specialty, Mass Merchandisers, Warehouse Clubs and E‑commerce are key growth engines.

In 2025:

Online represented over 40% of K‑Beauty sales, significantly higher than the total beauty average

Amazon and Sephora together accounted for nearly 40% of K‑Beauty spend, underscoring the category’s digital‑first nature

Brick‑and‑mortar growth is increasingly concentrated in Sephora, Costco and select ethnic grocery banners, where price, education and assortment intersect

This channel mix reflects the way K‑Beauty is shopped: digitally discovered, heavily researched and often purchased through value‑oriented or assortment‑rich retailers.

A Younger, More Diverse Buyer Base

K‑Beauty buyers in Canada look markedly different from the average beauty shopper. The category over‑indexes strongly among consumers aged 18–44, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, who value ingredient transparency, visible results and skincare routines rooted in prevention rather than correction.

Ethnically, K‑Beauty resonates disproportionately with Chinese, Filipino and South Asian households, with buyer indices significantly above the national average. These consumers tend to live in Ontario and British Columbia, while Québec under‑indexes highlighting a clear regional growth opportunity as awareness and distribution expand.

Households purchasing K‑Beauty are also larger, more urban and skew toward mid‑ to higher‑income brackets, reinforcing the category’s ability to bridge affordability with perceived efficacy.

Seasonality and Gifting Matter More Than Expected

Like Prestige, nearly one‑quarter of K‑Beauty’s annual sales occur in the eight weeks leading up to Christmas, a share that has grown year over year. This shift reflects the category’s evolution from personal use skincare into giftable territory driven by routine kits, visually distinctive packaging and social media‑fueled brand recognition.

Holidays are no longer just about fragrance for Canadian beauty shoppers. K‑Beauty’s strong performance during peak gifting periods confirms its transition into a mainstream beauty consideration.

Why K‑Beauty Is Winning in Canada

Several structural factors are converging to fuel K‑Beauty’s momentum:

Performance‑led positioning aligned with skin health, barrier repair and sensitivity

Clean and minimalist formulations that meet rising consumer expectations without premium pricing

Digital‑first discovery, amplified by social platforms, influencers and algorithm‑driven retail environments

Value perception in an increasingly price‑sensitive beauty market

As Canadian consumers reassess discretionary spending, they are more selective but not disengaged. K‑Beauty offers a compelling mix of efficacy, education and value at a time when trust and functionality increasingly outweigh heritage and brand legacy.

The Road Ahead

K‑Beauty in Canada is still early in its lifecycle. Distribution gains, stronger holiday relevance and broader consumer education suggest that growth is far from capped. For retailers and manufacturers, the opportunity lies in treating K‑Beauty not as a niche sub‑segment, but as a core pillar of modern skincare strategy, one shaped by younger consumers, digital shelves and a redefinition of prestige itself.

Meet with NIQ’s beauty experts

Understand what K‑Beauty’s growth means for how your brand competes, scales, and wins in Canada.

The post K‑Beauty in Canada: From Niche Trend to Strategic Growth Engine appeared first on NIQ.

Best Brands Austria 2026

veronaklug0819 — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:46:01 +0000

Best Brands Austria 2026

Best Brands Austria

Am 27. April 2026 wurden die Best Brands Awards 2026 in Wien von Serviceplan Group Austria, NielsenIQ, ProSiebenSat.1, PULS 4, Kronen Zeitung, RMS, Gewista, Weischer.Cinema Austria und Sacher verliehen.

Ausgezeichnet wurden jene Marken, die nicht nur wirtschaftlich erfolgreich sind, sondern auch emotional überzeugen: Marken, die strahlen, im Gedächtnis der Konsument:innen bleiben und mit Innovation sowie positiven Erlebnissen verbunden werden.

Das Besondere an Best Brands: Nicht die subjektive Meinung einer Jury entscheidet über die Gewinner, sondern ausschließlich die Konsument:innen selbst. Best Brands ist der einzige Marketingpreis für Marken, der auf einer repräsentativen empirischen Studie basiert. Die Studie wird von NIQ durchgeführt und misst die Markenstärke anhand zweier zentraler Kriterien:

den tatsächlichen wirtschaftlichen Erfolg einer Marke sowie
die psychologische Attraktivität in der Wahrnehmung der Konsument:innen – und damit die Basis für ihren zukünftigen Erfolg.

Wie wird eine Best Brand datenbasiert ermittelt?
Entdecken Sie die einzelnen Award‑Kategorien und erfahren Sie, wie auf Basis von Daten entschieden wird, welche Marken zu den Besten gehören.

Hier finden Sie weitere Informationen zur Studie.

Review 2026

Best Brands 2026

Interesse an einem Deep Dive in die Ergebnisse?

Für eine tiefere Analyse und einen Markenvergleich können Sie einen Deep‑Dive‑Report anfordern.
Formular ausfüllen – wir melden uns mit einem persönlichen Angebot.

The post Best Brands Austria 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

Webinar: From Data to Decisions: Mapping Consumer Potential Worldwide

thomasmuranyi0924 — Tue, 05 May 2026 10:52:37 +0000

From Data to Decisions: Mapping Consumer Potential Worldwide

How can consumer potential be accurately analyzed and compared across international markets? In this webinar, we provide a concise introduction to our international market datasets, primarily focusing on Retail Purchasing Power for Product Lines and Age Groups.

You will learn how this data uncovers regional insights into consumer demand, spending capacity, and demographic structures across different geographies. Through practical use cases, we will demonstrate how NIQ Geomarketing data supports data-driven decision-making in an international context – from market assessment and location analysis to strategic planning.

📅 Date: June 11, 2026
⏰ Time: 11:00–11:30 AM CEST

What you will learn:

An overview of NIQ’s international geomarketing datasets on purchasing power and demographics
How to interpret consumer potential by product line and age group
Practical use cases for international market analysis
How these insights enhance strategic and operational decision-making

This webinar is designed for professionals in market intelligence, strategy, sales, marketing, and location planning who are looking to evaluate international markets using robust, data-driven insights.

We look forward to your participation!

Speaker:

Oliver Pape
+49 911 395 4925
oliver.pape@nielseniq.com

Market data

NIQ market data offer regionalized information on end consumers, trade and commerce for a wide range of markets and help you to objectively assess your markets, sales and locations. For this purpose, we calculate all data for regions such as districts, postcode areas, municipalities or street sections. This increases the validity of your analyses, the certainty of sales optimization and the objectivity of location analyses.

Find out more

The post Webinar: From Data to Decisions: Mapping Consumer Potential Worldwide appeared first on NIQ.

Ciclo de vida del planograma – Crea el futuro que quieres

eminamaslic0415 — Tue, 05 May 2026 07:49:35 +0000

Únete a nosotros para una demostración del ciclo completo de vida de los planogramas con Planogram Life Cycle: la vía hacia una gestión de espacio más inteligente y eficiente. 

Diseñado para retailers y fabricantes, tanto si ya utilizas Spaceman como si estás explorando herramientas avanzadas de gestión de espacio, esta sesión te llevará a través del ciclo de vida completo de creación de planogramas, automatización y optimización. 

Nuestros expertos mostrarán cómo los conocimientos basados en datos y la automatización avanzada pueden transformar tu estrategia de merchandising y ayudarte a construir el futuro comercial que deseas. 

¿Qué aprenderás?

Cómo el ciclo de vida del planograma y la automatización transforman el proceso de planogramas de principio a fin. Descubre cómo la creación automatizada de planogramas agiliza los flujos de trabajo, mejora la precisión y garantiza una ejecución coherente en tiendas y equipos.

Cómo identificar y aplicar oportunidades en el espacio disponible. Aprende cómo la analítica integrada detecta espacios en blanco, brechas de rendimiento y oportunidades de crecimiento a nivel de categoría, directamente a través de tu proceso de planogramas.

Cómo fortalecer tu estrategia de merchandising de principio a fin. Entiende cómo el entorno unificado de Spaceman mejora la el lineal, optimiza el surtido y simplifica tareas de merchandising, desde la creación hasta la ejecución y la validación.

Cómo una asignación de espacios más inteligente genera verdadero impacto. Explora ejemplos reales de cómo las organizaciones mejoran tanto los procesos como los ingresos a través de planogramas que ofrecen una mejor optimización de lineales, surtidos refinados y reposición más eficiente.

Webinar overview:

Unlock Planogram success with the perfect shelf

Ponentes: Elena Alonso, Javier Clavijo Ruiz & Sergio Hernando, NIQ Strategic Analytics and Insights

The post Ciclo de vida del planograma – Crea el futuro que quieres  appeared first on NIQ.

Greener Tails Ahead: Sustainability Gets Real in Pet Care

andresxportilla — Mon, 04 May 2026 22:11:12 +0000

Sustainability in pet care has moved beyond promise and positioning. It is now a proven growth lever, but only when done with clarity and care.

Pet parents are actively trying to live more sustainably, and pet owners over index versus the general population.

Certified sustainable pet care sales reached $2.6B, with strong growth across animal welfare, sustainable seafood, upcycled ingredients, and sustainable packaging. These claims consistently outperform the total pet care category, even as overall growth moderates. Sustainability, rather than slowing, is concentrating.

But this is not a blank check moment. Cost pressure is real. Nearly three quarters of pet parents say the cost of owning a pet is higher than last year, and value still rules. Winning brands are not asking pet parents to choose between sustainability and affordability. They are making sustainability feel essential, intuitive, and worth it.

When pet parents think “green,” they think simple and actionable. Recyclable packaging. Recycled materials. Less waste. Nearly half of pet owners say the manufacturing stage matters most when judging environmental impact, yet confusing and crowded claims erode trust. Clear instructions and transparent sourcing build it. Simplification is emerging as the next competitive advantage.

Packaging sits at the center of this shift. Sustainable packaging is no longer just innovation. It is becoming compliance. With extended producer responsibility laws already in place and expanding, packaging decisions now carry regulatory and financial consequences. Brands that simplify materials, design for recyclability, and communicate clearly will be best positioned for what comes next.

Ready to make sustainability work harder for your brand?

Download the full report & Book a meeting with an NIQ pet expert to dig in.

The post Greener Tails Ahead: Sustainability Gets Real in Pet Care appeared first on NIQ.

From Trade Spend to Growth Engine: Why Disconnected Pricing Tools Are Costing Manufacturers More Than Time

andresxportilla — Mon, 04 May 2026 20:02:05 +0000

For most CPG manufacturers, trade spend is the second-largest line item and the least optimized. Promotional budgets get set by what happened last year. Pricing decisions get validated in spreadsheets that can’t model cross-retailer dynamics. If scenario planning happens, it’s disconnected from the systems that finance, sales, and category teams use. When conditions shift, which they do constantly, the decisions that follow tend to be reactive and poorly informed.

The gap between manufacturers who can act on pricing data quickly and those who can’t is widening. Speed is increasingly where competitive positioning gets made or lost.

What changed in CPG pricing, and why old playbooks don’t hold

Between 2021 and 2023, CPG value sales climbed 13% while volume fell 6%, the gap sustained by price. By 2024, that dollar sales growth had dropped to a three-year low of 2.5%. Manufacturers that held prices through the inflationary period, through increases, pack-size adjustments, and selective promotion, have mostly exhausted those levers. What’s left is the slower, harder work of rebuilding volume with shoppers who comparison-shop categories they used to buy on autopilot.

Private label has picked up durable share across multiple categories. Brand switching has become habitual for a generation of shoppers recalibrated by inflation. A price increase that might have held for two quarters now triggers volume loss within weeks. Pricing decisions that used to get reviewed quarterly need to be monitored and stress-tested on a much shorter cycle.

82%

Of U.S. consumers are actively seeking lower prices — NIQ State of the Consumer 2025

Retailers have raised the bar on what they expect from manufacturer conversations. Promotional calendars don’t move the needle anymore. What wins a better JBP outcome is showing up with a price elasticity model, a clear read on promotional ROI across mechanics and retail accounts, and a view of how a proposed strategy affects category volume, not just brand volume. Manufacturers who can’t get there are negotiating from a weaker position.

Teams are under pressure to justify every price and promotion decision with data. The manufacturers winning retailer conversations are those who can pressure-test scenarios before they walk in the door.

Why trade promotion decisions keep getting made with incomplete data

CPG manufacturers have no shortage of data. The problem is that pricing analytics, promotional effectiveness measurement, and financial planning live in separate systems built at separate times for separate teams. Category managers and sales teams run off different data sets. An analyst trying to pull together a coherent view of a pricing scenario across retailers has to reconcile outputs from multiple platforms before the actual analysis can begin.

Trade budgets allocated without visibility into price elasticity or baseline volume trends get wasted in ways that only become clear after the promotional window closes. Post-event analysis that lands three weeks later can’t change anything for the current cycle. And when scenario planning runs in spreadsheets, there’s no way to model how a price move at one retailer ripples into category dynamics at another before the decision gets made.

$7.4T+

In global consumer spend tracked by NIQ store-level data

The Promotion Optimization Institute’s 2025 Industry Report puts trade terms and spend optimization at the top of the RGM lever stack for P&L impact. That most manufacturers are still running those decisions through disconnected tools is less a resource problem than a tooling one.

How AI changes the timing of pricing and promotion decisions

Revenue growth management has always been a retrospective discipline: figure out what drove performance last quarter, apply the learnings going forward. The tooling enforced that posture. Data arrived on a lag. Running a proper elasticity model required a specialist. Testing assumptions meant waiting for the next planning cycle.

AI-enabled simulation changes when the analysis happens. Instead of reconstructing what worked last quarter, commercial teams can test what’s likely to work next month, before budgets are committed. Price elasticity runs at item and retailer level. Promotional depth and frequency get modeled against volume, revenue, and margin together. Category dynamics surface cannibalization risk before it shows up in sales data.

That changes what’s possible in a joint business planning conversation, a price increase justification, or a trade investment review. The analysis supports the argument rather than following it.

The manufacturers who will pull ahead are not those with more data. They are those with a better way to act on it before the market moves.

A connected pricing and promotion platform changes the game

NIQ’s Price & Promo Optimizer brings price optimization, promotional effectiveness measurement, and trade spend scenario planning into one platform, built on NIQ store-level measurement data covering approximately 82% of the world’s population. The value is not just having those capabilities, but having them in one place where they can inform each other.

The platform is built around how decisions get made. A category manager modeling the category volume impact of a proposed promotional mechanic can start from the insight view. A Revenue Growth Manager stress-testing price thresholds before a negotiation works from the simulation layer. A commercial leader reviewing performance across accounts gets a unified dashboard rather than reports from three systems. The underlying data and models are the same across all of them.

The modular design means manufacturers don’t have to implement everything at once. Teams can start where their most pressing decisions are and expand from there. Role-based access keeps the view relevant to whoever is using it: a finance lead running margin scenarios sees what they need without wading through category-level detail. Planning cycles get shorter because the analysis is already in the platform, not sitting in someone’s inbox waiting to be consolidated.

Where to go from here

The pricing environment isn’t getting easier. Consumer price sensitivity has reset at a level that’s durable, not cyclical. Private label will keep gaining share in categories where the branded value proposition hasn’t kept pace. Retailers will keep raising the standard for what counts as a credible manufacturer conversation. That combination puts real pressure on any RGM team still working from a patchwork of disconnected tools.

The manufacturers handling that pressure well share a common pattern. Pricing, category management, sales, and finance are working from the same data, running scenarios on the same platform, and walking into retailer conversations with analysis that holds up. That’s less about technology than about building the internal discipline to treat pricing and promotion decisions as a continuous process rather than a periodic event.

The manufacturers investing in that capability now are the ones who will have the institutional knowledge, the data history, and the cross-functional habits to act fast when the next pricing inflection point arrives. And in the current market, that’s not a long wait.

Discover how NIQ helps CPG teams reimagine the planning, execution, and scaling of pricing and promotion

Explore the full solution

Why choose Price & Promo Optimizer?

Better models spur superior choices. Reduce risk and win more.

1

Clarity

Work from a unified view of pricing and promotion performance across products, retailers, and markets, eliminating fragmented data and conflicting outputs.

2

Confidence

Validate decisions before execution using AI-powered simulations that quantify trade-offs, surface risks, and improve accuracy.

3

Control & Efficiency

Move faster with less manual effort by replacing disconnected tools with a single platform that streamlines workflows and shortens planning cycles.

“Price & Promo Optimizer reflects how pricing and trade decisions are made today. By bringing price elasticity, promotional effectiveness, and trade spend scenario planning into one AI‑enabled platform, we’re giving commercial teams the ability to test assumptions, understand category‑level impact, and make better decisions before anything goes to market.”

-Martin Hernandez, SVP NIQ

Data sources

NIQ State of the Consumer 2025; NIQ Mid-Year Consumer Outlook: Guide to 2025; Promotion Optimization Institute Consumer Goods State of the Industry 2025 Report; NIQ store-level measurement data.

The post From Trade Spend to Growth Engine: Why Disconnected Pricing Tools Are Costing Manufacturers More Than Time appeared first on NIQ.

Amazon Grocery Same‑Day Delivery: Early Signals in Perishables Performance

emilyparenti27 — Fri, 01 May 2026 16:53:07 +0000

Understanding Perishables Performance

More than six months after expanding same-day delivery, Amazon has made it easier for shoppers to buy Perishables (Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen). Early indicators suggest progress, though outcomes vary by category.

Second in a Series: Temperature State with an Omni Lens

This is the second article in a NielsenIQ series that uses Temperature State and the Omnishopper panel (our largest consumer panel) to explore key questions in U.S. food retail. The first installment focused on Grocery Center Store (Shelf Stable items) and separated perception from in-market results (Introducing Temperature State: A New Omni Lens for Food). Here, we look at what Amazon’s same-day delivery expansion signals for Perishables engagement

Same-day delivery reduces friction for Perishables

On August 13, 2025, Amazon launched same-day grocery delivery across more than 1,000 U.S. cities, extending coverage to 2,300+ locations by December. The move directly addressed common barriers to buying Perishables online—tight delivery windows, a smoother cart experience, and order minimums.

Early indicators suggest progress. By year-end, Amazon reported that Fresh Fruit accounted for many of its top 10 best-selling grocery items [1]—suggesting that more shoppers are becoming comfortable buying select Perishables online. To put that progress in context, let’s start by looking at how Temperature State organizes grocery purchases.

How Temperature State Works

Temperature State groups grocery purchases into four straightforward types—Shelf Stable, Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen—so we can compare behavior consistently across in-store and online trips. It includes UPC-coded items as well as random-weight items priced by the pound, like many Fresh foods. With that foundation, we can see where Amazon is gaining traction in Perishables—and where there’s still room to grow.

The views below apply this framework to Amazon—showing how its mix and trip behavior compare with the broader market and where Perishables are gaining traction.

Shelf Stable anchors Amazon grocery, while Perishables build

Six months in, Amazon’s food business leans more toward Shelf Stable items than other fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) food channels. That reflects Amazon’s historical strengths—and what many shoppers expect from the platform.

Figure: Amazon food remains Shelf Stable-led, with Perishables still representing a relatively small share of total food dollars.
Source: NielsenIQ Omnishopper Panel | Total US | Amazon vs. Total Outlets (all retail) | 28 Weeks Ending 02/21/2026

Most Amazon grocery trips remain Shelf Stable-only, but Perishables are gaining ground. Baskets that combine Shelf Stable items and Perishables are growing fastest—and, when factoring in spend per trip, they also stand out as the highest-value trips. While Perishables-only trips are far less common, their frequency is trending upward, signaling increased shopper comfort.

Figure: Shelf-Stable baskets dominate Amazon food trips, but dual baskets are growing fastest and have the highest spend per trip.
Trip Growth Index: Share of trip growth ÷ share of trips. Above 100 = gaining share of trips
Source: NielsenIQ Omnishopper Panel | Total US | Amazon | 28 Weeks Ending 02/21/2026 vs. 28 Weeks Ending 02/22/2025

Implication:

Perishables growth is building on Amazon’s Shelf Stable core—adding value as the assortment expands.

Refrigerated categories translate best online

Looking across the three Perishable temperature states (Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen), the chart below shows a clear pattern: Amazon tends to over-index most in Refrigerated. These products are more likely to be packaged, branded, and purchased with a clearer expectation of what will arrive. Fresh, by contrast, leans more heavily on in-person selection and confidence in quality at the moment of purchase. Categories like meat and seafood can also fall on the line between Fresh and Refrigerated depending on how items are packaged and sold, which can contribute to more mixed results.

Figure: Amazon most often over-indexes in Refrigerated categories, where purchases are more packaged and predictable online.
Source: NielsenIQ Omnishopper Panel | Total US | Amazon vs. Total Outlets (all retail) | 28 Weeks Ending 02/21/2026

Implication:

Refrigerated categories are currently leading the way, suggesting that reducing uncertainty through packaging, consistent formats, reliable fulfillment, and flexibility on when products need to be used supports online Perishables growth. Speed helps, but the next step-change comes from building confidence in more sensory Fresh categories. For categories that blur the line between Fresh and Refrigerated (like some meat and seafood items), assortment and merchandising choices can meaningfully influence outcomes.

Penetration is the next lever for Perishables growth

Once shoppers try Perishables, repeat purchase rates tend to be solid. The bigger constraint is penetration: getting more households to try those categories in the first place.

Figure: Amazon Perishables show solid repeat once tried—but limited penetration continues to cap growth.
Source: NielsenIQ Omnishopper Panel | Total US | Amazon | 28 Weeks Ending 02/21/2026

Implication:
Future growth will depend less on repeat purchase and more on expanding trial through confidence-building and clear reasons to buy Perishables online.

What to do with these signals

Amazon’s Perishables momentum is becoming clearer—and still evolving. Today, categories with predictable quality, strong brands, and a bit more flexibility on when products need to be used are best positioned, while more sensory-driven segments represent the next frontier for innovation.

Apply Temperature State to your questions

Use the Omnishopper Temperature State lens to answer questions about retailers, channels, categories, or brands. Your NIQ representative can help you understand where shoppers are shifting, where dollars may be leaking, and what’s driving growth across Shelf Stable, Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen.

Interested in learning more? Let’s connect.

References

[1] Amazon’s Same-Day Perishable Grocery Delivery Expands to 2,300+ Cities and Towns as Fresh Foods Become Bestsellers

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The Asian Consumer: Nuance, Value, and the Next Dollar

andresxportilla — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:05:07 +0000

Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing consumer segments in the U.S., but growth alone does not translate into automatic CPG wins. Behind the topline numbers sits a consumer whose purchasing behavior is shaped by immigration journeys, cultural continuity, economic caution, and a precise definition of value. For brands, relevance and loyalty are earned.

Today, more than half of Asian Americans are immigrants, and nearly two-thirds speak a language other than English at home. Even among those born in the U.S., cultural ties remain strong and highly localized. Ethnicity-specific enclaves exist in every region, often sustaining distinct cuisines, shopping habits, and retail ecosystems far beyond traditional coastal markets. This is not a monolith, but a rich mosaic, and CPG strategies that flatten it risk missing the shelf entirely.

Spending Power Meets Spending Restraint

Asian Americans over‑index in education and higher-income households, yet their total CPG spend trails the market. NIQ data shows Asian consumers spend less per buyer and shop fewer occasions than the total panel. The gap is not about the ability to spend, but about consumer intent.

Asian consumers are more cautious in today’s economy. Inflation, healthcare costs, global policy, and job security rank higher as concerns than other groups. In response, Asian households are more likely to seek deals, shop multiple retailers, and wait to purchase when prices feel misaligned with value. Dollar growth has slowed and recently fallen behind the total market.

For CPG brands, this creates a critical tension: strong long-term potential paired with short‑term discipline. Winning means closing frequency and volume gaps without undermining trust.

Value Is Not Code for Cheap

Asian consumers redefine value beyond price tags. Warehouse clubs are the clearest proof. Asian Americans index more than 2x versus the total market in club shopping, driven by bulk efficiency, assortment depth, and cultural breadth. Club is not to be taken as a trade‑down channel for this shopper, but instead, as a trade‑up in practicality.

The same principle appears in food. Meat, fruit, prepared foods, and seafood command outsized shares of Asian American food spending, with fresh categories prioritized even as budgets tighten. At national Asian grocers like H Mart, Patel Brothers, and 99 Ranch, Asian shoppers spend more per trip across core categories than they do in conventional grocery. Basket building among this cohort is far from impulsive. It is intentional.

This distinction matters. Promotions, pack architecture, and channel strategy must support perceived longevity, quality, and relevance rather than short‑term price relief.

Culture Travels from Kitchen to Aisle

Food has always carried meaning in Asian cultures, especially through the lens of health. Ingredients such as matcha, turmeric, probiotics, collagen, and ashwagandha have long been embedded in everyday routines. Modern CPG is only now scaling what Asian households have practiced for decades.

NIQ data shows Asian Americans leaning toward peer‑driven health choices, favoring home‑based solutions, independent research, and functional benefits over clinical authority. Brands entering this space must respect origin stories. Stripped‑down appropriation risks backlash, while thoughtful integration builds credibility.

Authenticity extends beyond product formulation. Asian consumers rank honesty, protecting the family, and stable personal relationships among their top values. Cultural missteps disproportionately erode trust, and once lost, it is difficult to rebuild.

What the Asian Dollar Demands

The opportunity ahead is not theoretical. Asian American population growth has doubled since 2000, yet their share of CPG dollars still lags their presence. NIQ sees a clear path to growth through culturally relevant occasions, mission‑based shopping, and smarter channel alignment.

To earn both dollars and loyalty, brands must do three things well: design for diversity rather than averages, anchor value in utility and trust, and show up with consistency across product, price, and place.

The Asian consumer is not waiting for brands to catch up. They are already shopping with intention. The question is whether brands are ready to meet them there.

Ready to turn insight into growth?

Connect with us to understand multicultural consumer demand and how to win share with the right strategy.

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Leading Through Uncertainty: Turning Volatility into Confident Decisions Across EEMEA

andresxportilla — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:23:02 +0000

Across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, disruption is not a temporary phase—it is the business environment. Geopolitical conflict, economic volatility, supply insecurity, and rapidly shifting consumer behavior are redefining how markets operate and how growth decisions are made.

In these conditions, many organizations fall into reactive firefighting—responding to immediate issues without the clarity to distinguish short‑term noise from long‑term reality. Yet the most resilient companies across EEMEA are proving that even in unstable environments, better, faster decisions are possible.

The difference lies in visibility.

More info about NIQ Next here

When Partial Views Fail, Full Visibility Wins

In conflict‑affected and high‑uncertainty markets, traditional data sources often tell an incomplete story. Sales declines may reflect availability constraints rather than weakening demand. Consumer shifts may be driven by forced substitution, not lost loyalty. Promotions may underperform simply because products are not on shelf.

NIQ Next Consulting — integrating NIQ’s full view capabilities—creates a single, connected reality. By linking what is selling, who is buying, and what is available, organizations gain the clarity needed to separate distortion from truth.

This level of insight is critical across EEMEA, where volatility, infrastructure gaps, and supply disruption can mask real growth opportunities—or exaggerate risks.

From Reaction to Repeatable Decision‑Making

Insight alone is not enough in uncertain environments. What leading organizations need is a structured way to make decisions under pressure.

Through NIQ Next Consulting, clients embed connected intelligence into how decisions are made—across portfolio, pricing, promotions, innovation, and investment. Using a disciplined approach that moves from envisioning the challenge to activating action in‑market, organizations replace reactive responses with repeatable, data‑led decision frameworks that hold up even as conditions change.

Resilience Is a Capability—Not a Response

In Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the winners will not be those who predict volatility perfectly—but those who see clearly, decide confidently, and act consistently in the face of it.

With The NIQ Full View™ and NIQ Next Consulting, uncertainty becomes navigable—and volatility becomes a source of competitive advantage.

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Beauty, Recalibrated: Inside Asian American Beauty Behavior

andresxportilla — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:11:47 +0000

More than half of Asian Americans are immigrants—and nearly half have lived in the U.S. for over two decades—reshaping how culture, loyalty, and consumption evolve over time. Asian American consumers represent one of the most dynamic and complex growth segments in the U.S. market, shaped by cultural diversity, immigration experience, and a wide spread of income and education levels.

While population growth and overall spending power remain strong, current economic pressures—including inflation, tariff anxiety, and global uncertainty—are influencing how this group prioritizes purchases. The result is a thoughtful, value‑conscious consumer who continues to spend, but with greater intention, fewer trips, and clearer expectations around quality, utility, and authenticity.

Growth Slows, Selectivity Rises in Asian Beauty

Within beauty, Asian consumer spending is still growing +7.5%, but momentum has slowed relative to the total U.S. market, which is up +9.6%. Dollar growth has decelerated as shoppers react to higher prices and economic uncertainty, particularly in discretionary and luxury segments. Even so, beauty remains an important category, supported by higher‑than‑average spend per buyer, 13% higher compared to the average consumer.

This reflects not a pullback from beauty altogether, but a recalibration—where consumers are more selective, consolidating purchases, and focusing on products that deliver proven performance and long‑term value. In fact, this shopper behavior is reflected in channel preferences for Asian consumers. This cohort is more likely to spend their beauty dollars at Club, Department Store, and Beauty Specialty highlighting the important balance of quality and price.

Fewer Purchases, Higher Value: The New Asian Beauty Mindset

Striking the right balance between price and quality is now critical. Asian beauty shoppers are increasingly deal‑aware and cautious on premium spending, yet they are not trading down indiscriminately. Instead, they prefer fewer, higher‑quality products that justify their cost.

In fact, 39% of Asian consumers say they prefer to own fewer but higher quality items compared to 30% for total US. This mindset reinforces skincare as the most resilient and engagement‑driven area of beauty, where education, efficacy, and routine matter.

By contrast, personal care categories see lower relative engagement, signaling that emotional investment and perceived value play a larger role in driving beauty spend than everyday maintenance products.

From Measurement to Momentum

Despite fewer shopping trips, Asian consumers continue to outspend the average buyer, underscoring a “fewer trips, fuller baskets” dynamic. High category engagement—especially in skincare and scent—combined with a strong digital orientation supports ongoing opportunity, even in a slower growth environment. The path forward in beauty is less about chasing volume and more about earning trust through value, relevance, and quality—meeting a highly engaged consumer where intention, not impulse, drives purchase decisions.

Unlock more insights on the Asian beauty consumer

Download the report

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Retail 2030 Unleashed: Fetching the Future of Pet Stores

andresxportilla — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:29:08 +0000

As pet care barrels toward 2030, the role of physical retail is shifting fast. It’s not moving away from relevance but taking steps toward responsibility. The data is clear: pet parents are shopping more fluidly across channels, but the most valuable shoppers are omni by design. Sixty-five percent of pet care buyers straddle in-store and online, accounting for nearly eighty-five percent of spend. Seamless commerce is not just a “nice-to-have,” but it is now the minimum baseline to a credible industry presence.

Online is gaining share across every pet category, yet stores still matter where immediacy, expertise, and reassurance are required. Nearly one-third of pet parents say immediate need blocks online shopping entirely. Young pet parents under 35 remain heavy in-store shoppers, especially in pet specialty. A clear indication of mission-based behavior.

Retail 2030 reshapes the pet store around three defining roles

Fulfillment centers

Where speed wins. Same day pickup, local inventory, and micro fulfillment turn stores into competitive advantages.

Product showrooms

Where AI compresses choice. As discovery shifts to mobile and agentic AI, visible assortment shrinks. The winners will be products that earn recommendation through clarity, relevance, and attributes.

Pet plus owner experiences

Where differentiation lives. Services, trusted people, and private brands give stores meaning beyond transactions. Experiences build loyalty in a world where products are increasingly commoditized.

Pet parents are time constrained, value driven, and overloaded with information. The future favors retailers who simplify decisions, remove friction, and design around journeys, not channels.

Want to pressure test your Retail 2030 strategy?

Download the full report & book a meeting with an NIQ pet expert to map what this future means for your business.

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Drinks sales edge back to growth in early April but cost fears mount

kunaldiwan0227 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:36:51 +0000

NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker, powered by CGA intelligence, shows average sales in managed venues in the last full week of March, to Saturday 28 March, were down by 0.9% year-on-year. This was followed by a drop of 6.1% in the following seven days to Saturday 4 April—though comparisons were distorted by the boost of very warm weather and Mother’s Day celebrations during that week in 2025. The run-in to Easter was also hit by Storm Dave, which kept many people indoors over the start of the crucial long weekend.

However, the better weather that followed helped managed venues to recover some footfall in the week to Saturday 11 April. Average sales were 3.3% up year-on-year over these seven days—exactly the same as the UK’s rate of inflation in March, according to the Consumer Prices Index.

The three-week period continues the pattern of tough trading conditions and limited drinks sales growth for pubs, bars and suppliers in 2026. Consumers’ spending confidence has been sapped further by the effects of the war in the Middle East on the prices of their energy-related costs including petrol, food and drink.

The Daily Drinks Tracker shows soft drinks were the best performing segment in early April. Sales rose by 8.6% in the week to 11 April, suggesting that some consumers might be looking to save money by switching from alcoholic categories. Soft drinks performed notably better than both beer (up 3.3%) and cider (down 3.1%). Spirits dropped by 0.7%, though this represents an improvement on general trends this year.

Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK & Ireland, said: “A return to modest growth towards the middle of April is a welcome development for operators and suppliers, and it shows once again the positive effect of warm weather on On-Premise footfall. However, many consumers have clearly been alarmed by the prospect of steep inflation in many of their household bills, and it’s filtering through to their discretionary spending. It’s a concerning indicator for the rest of Spring and Summer, and businesses and consumers alike will be hoping for a swift resolution to the disruption in the supply of oil before it starts to bite too deeply into their costs.”

The Daily Drinks Tracker provides analysis of sales at managed licensed premises across Britain and is part of NIQ powered by CGA’s suite of research services delivering in-depth data on category, supplier and brand rate of sale performance.

Unlock essential On-Premise insights

Discover more about brand rate of sales performance and access the latest intelligence on drinks Understand the trends and opportunities to win across this crucial channel.

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Winning Where It Matters: Why Local Precision Is Now a Growth Imperative for CPG Brands

andresxportilla — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:43:00 +0000

Growth used to follow predictable patterns. Today, it doesn’t. Shoppers move fluidly between channels, retailers, and neighborhoods.

Categories shift from month to month. And strategies built on national or regional averages increasingly miss the mark where it counts most: in the local markets where real buyers make real decisions.

The brands winning in this new environment share one common capability: the ability to see, understand, and act on local demand with precision. That’s exactly what NIQ’s Precision Solutions was built to deliver.

The Consumer Landscape Is Outrunning Traditional Planning

Consumer behavior is evolving faster than annual planning cycles can keep up. Preferences, values, and buying patterns are fragmenting across generations, income levels, and cultural groups. Meanwhile, shoppers are dispersing their spend across more banners, formats, and channels than ever before.

Historically, CPG teams have kept pace by stitching together multiple disconnected datasets. But manual integration slows decisions and creates blind spots, especially when trying to identify where opportunity is emerging and why performance shifts from store to store.

The consequences can be harsh.
Brands overinvest in low-yield areas and underinvest where growth is actually happening.

Why “Good Enough” National Planning No Longer Works

Averages flatten what matters:

Neighborhood-level differences in demographics and spending power

Store-specific competitive dynamics

Local shopper preferences that drive conversion

Pockets of growth hidden inside underperforming markets

Without local context, even strong strategies lose impact. Teams struggle to prioritize the right stores, validate ideas before rollout, or explain why similar initiatives perform differently across markets.

Retailer data alone can’t fill the gap. It reveals only what happens inside one network and rarely explains what shoppers do next, why they switch, or where else they shop.

Discover how NIQ helps CPG teams unlock localized growth with confidence

Explore the full solution

CPG brands need a full, localized view—one that connects consumer, shopper, and retail signals in one place.

What Precision Solutions Delivers for CPG Teams

Precision Solutions brings NIQ’s deepest assets: consumer profiling, geographic granularity, and in-market experimentation into one connected workflow. It gives CPG teams a direct line of sight into four critical questions:

1. Where should we focus?

Pinpoint high-value stores, neighborhoods, and shopper pockets. Identify exactly which doors matter most and where incremental growth sits before resources are allocated.

2. Who are the right buyers?

Move beyond broad segmentation. Understand buyer profiles, lifestyles, and behaviors at the micro market level to tailor messaging, activation, and retailer stories with confidence.

3. What works in the market?

Test promotions, displays, pricing, and assortment changes in the real world. Quantify true lift and eliminate guesswork before committing budgets.

4. What will happen next?

Simulate scenarios and compare outcomes. Predict the impact of pricing decisions, distribution changes, or activation strategies so teams invest with clarity and reduce risk.

With all of this delivered in a modern, intuitive interface, Precision Solutions replaces disparate tools, removes workflow friction, and accelerates decision-making across sales, brand, category, and insights teams.

A Practical Example of Local Precision at Work

In a recent NIQ case study, a major food manufacturer sought to strengthen its performance in Chicago—a market where national averages suggested solid results, but local pockets told a different story. Using Precision Solutions, the team uncovered heavy buyer competitive pockets and high opportunity precision zones where distribution gaps were limiting growth.

Closing these gaps represented an estimated $10.1 million in potential value. Further optimization of pricing and promotion strategies uncovered an additional $4.2 million.

Combined, the brand unlocked more than $14 million in total opportunity, simply by seeing the market as it actually behaves, not as an average.

This level of clarity—knowing exactly where growth sits and what actions drive it—is what enables teams to move with speed and invest confidently.

“For brands, growth today is no longer about doing more everywhere. It is about taking the right actions in the right places. Precision Solutions gives teams the clarity to see where demand truly exists, the confidence to prioritize the stores that matter most, and the evidence to act decisively. When execution is guided by local precision, performance follows.”

Kim Cox, Managing Director, NIQ

Why Precision Is Becoming a Competitive Requirement

Today’s shoppers demand relevance. Brands that understand local nuances and act on them consistently outperform those relying on broad, one-size-fits-all plans. CPG organizations that embrace local insight can:

Deliver more resonant assortments

Localize promotions and activation for higher conversion

Strengthen retailer partnerships with evidence-backed recommendations

Prioritize investments with confidence

Move faster from insight to execution

Precision Solutions makes this possible by unifying NIQ’s most powerful data, models, and methodologies into one seamless experience.

The Opportunity Ahead

The next wave of CPG growth will come from localized, evidence-based decision-making. Precision Solutions gives teams the tools to stop guessing, start predicting, and invest exactly where growth can be captured.

If your brand is looking to strengthen execution, improve decision accuracy, and unlock measurable local growth, the time for Precision Solutions is now.

The post Winning Where It Matters: Why Local Precision Is Now a Growth Imperative for CPG Brands appeared first on NIQ.

Kick-Off Effect: How FIFA World Cup 2026 is Reshaping TV Sales Dynamics

andresxportilla — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:32:32 +0000

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is the largest tournament ever staged: 48 nations, 104 matches, and the longest schedule in the event’s history. For the Tech & Durables industry, it represents a once-every-four-years commercial window that brands cannot afford to misread.

Yet NIQ data tells a nuanced story: record scale on paper, structurally dampened impact in practice. Time-zone headwinds for Europe and Asia, decelerating FIFA sales cycles, and a challenging macro backdrop all complicate the picture. With NIQ’s global market intelligence across more than 40 countries’ TV panel markets, brands can move past the noise – identifying the real peak window, the right segments, and the regions where the opportunity is sharpest.

Why FIFA 2026 Demands a Different Playbook

Global consumer markets are dynamic and fragmented. A tournament that spans 48 countries and 104 matches creates an extraordinary breadth of demand signals – but not all demand is equal. Without granular, real-time intelligence, brands risk over-investing in markets where the uplift will be modest and under-capitalizing on the regions where it will be strongest.

For TV manufacturers, retailers, and media buyers, the challenge is the same: translate tournament excitement into sell-out momentum at the right time, in the right markets, at the right price points.

“FIFA 2026 is the biggest tournament on paper and the most uneven in practice. The brands that win won’t be the loudest – they’ll be the ones who read the time-zone map, the regional demand curves, and the Q4 trade-off, and build a plan that respects all three.”

Norbert Herzog, VP Global Strategic Insights, NielsenIQ

The Challenge: A Record Tournament with Hidden Headwinds

The scale of FIFA 2026 is unprecedented – but bigger does not automatically mean better for TV sell-out. NIQ data reveals three structural challenges brands must plan around:

The time-zone effect

61% of matches fall between 9pm–12am CET for European audiences; 25% after midnight, which will affect viewer intent at home to drop by ~33% for 10pm kick-offs versus 7pm – directly suppressing the purchase triggers that drive TV upgrades.

Diminishing returns per cycle

The May/June share of total annual TV revenues has declined at each successive FIFA tournament. NIQ projects <10% YoY revenue growth for May/June 2026 – below the uplift seen in 2018.

Macro backdrop

With overall TV market expectations pointing to a decline in 2026, the bar for incremental uplift is higher. Additional qualifying nations (e.g. Egypt, Congo, Türkiye) add reach but skew toward lower TV purchase power per capita.

Ready to Win the FIFA 2026 Commercial Window?

Discover how NIQ’s T&D market intelligence can help your brand turn tournament dynamics into a measurable competitive advantage.

“The FIFA effect is real – but it is not uniform. In 2026, winning brands will be those who read the regional and timing signals correctly, not those who simply activate around the tournament.”

Norbert Herzog, VP Global Strategic Insights, NielsenIQ

From Measurement to Momentum

Recent NIQ’s research translates tournament dynamics into a clear commercial roadmap. Based on 10+ years of soccer-event tracking across 15 panel markets, NIQ data identifies where and when brands should concentrate their investment:

Brands that align promotional investment with weeks 23–29, 2026, prioritize large-screen (65–75”+) premium categories, and build strong LATAM activation strategy stand to capture the most incremental value from the tournament.

Critically, NIQ data also highlights the cannibalization effect: mid-year promotional peaks consistently pull forward Q4 demand. Black Friday 2026 sell-out volumes are expected to soften for brands with high FIFA 2026 exposure – making full-year planning, not just Q2 activation, essential.

What’s Next: Planning Beyond the Final Whistle

As FIFA 2026 approaches, the partnership between brands and NIQ is entering its most critical phase – one defined by real-time agility, AI-powered forecasting, and disciplined H2 planning.

Real-time sell-out tracking across more than 40 countries panel markets through weekly data, enabling in-flight promotional and inventory adjustments.
AI-powered demand sensing to anticipate knockout-round secondary uplift by country – and identify which markets warrant a second wave of activation.
H2 cannibalization modelling to help commercial teams set realistic Black Friday 2026 targets and rebalance promotional spend across the full year.
Regional market deep-dives – where FIFA 2026 commercial impact will be most pronounced.

Ready to Win the FIFA 2026 Commercial Window?

Discover how NIQ’s T&D market intelligence can help your brand turn tournament dynamics into a measurable competitive advantage.

The post Kick-Off Effect: How FIFA World Cup 2026 is Reshaping TV Sales Dynamics appeared first on NIQ.

Global Bartender Report 2026: How to win behind the bar

emilybuckley0522 — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:48:35 +0000

The power behind the bar

Behind every great serve is a trusted voice and in the On‑Premise, that voice is the bartender.

Bartender recommendations don’t just influence choice; they can make or break drinks brands. When a bartender reaches for one bottle over another, they’re signalling quality, confidence and credibility in a moment that truly matters. For consumers scanning a back bar, that suggestion can be the difference between defaulting to the familiar or trading up to something new.

That’s why engaging frontline teams is so powerful. Bartenders aren’t passive distributors; they’re brand gatekeepers. Suppliers who invest in understanding what motivates them unlock meaningful advocacy. Training, smart incentives, and genuine relationship‑building are key levers that turn awareness into recommendation.

Unlock bartender engagement

| 88% of bartenders globally typically make a drinks recommendation every shift

| 95% of bartenders say the guest will order that recommended drink most times or more

BarSights is the largest study into hospitality professionals globally, surveying 1,750 hospitality professionals around the world, allowing for comprehensive insights into a crucial audience for you and your brands.

The study is strengthened by working with bartender associations, through capturing high-quality responses from committed hospitality recipients.

BarSights powers our Global Bartender Report, presenting an invaluable opportunity for beverage suppliers to connect with and drive advocacy among bartenders worldwide.

“In an increasingly competitive On‑Premise landscape, bartenders are the ultimate touchpoint between brands and consumers. Their endorsement can drive trial, spark conversation, and elevate the drinking occasion. Bartender research brings these insights to the surface, helping brands earn a place not just on the shelf, but in the serve and in the story told at the bar.”

Jonny Jones – Managing Director – On-Premise – NielsenIQ

Beverage success in the On-Premise

This report explores the insights, attitudes, and preferences that define today’s bartending community, revealing how brands can gain a competitive edge while building stronger, more meaningful relationships with the industry’s most influential professionals.

Drive advocacy of brands: Bar staff play an invaluable role in the consumer path-to-purchase and can be vital influencers of consumer decision making through their recommendations. This report will be key for ensuring staff are recommending your brands.

Unprecedented Insights: Gain a deep understanding of bartenders’ demographics, work experience, industry knowledge, and preferences, allowing for targeted strategies tailored to their needs.

Market Intelligence: Stay ahead of the competition by accessing valuable data on popular drinks and emerging trends, at both a global and regional level, as told by those who know the industry the most.

Optimize Engagement: Understand how best to interact with bartenders from online communities and engagement programs, to the role sales reps will play.

Strengthen Supplier-Bartender Relations: Understand how bartenders interact with suppliers, their sentiment towards brands, and drivers behind their supplier preferences, facilitating stronger partnerships and collaboration.

“Bartenders play a disproportionately powerful role in the On‑Premise. A single bartender influences over 11,000 consumer drink decisions each year — with impact extending far beyond advocacy. From menu optimization and trend prediction to experience delivery, bartenders are key gatekeepers to On‑Premise ROI. Yet despite their influence, bartenders remain under‑researched compared to consumers and operators. The Global Bartender Report addresses this gap by quantifying what was once qualitative, delivering the data brands need to justify investment and build winning On‑Premise strategies.“

Dylan Battick – Consumer Research Manager – On-Premise – NielsenIQ

Analysis

Five reasons to invest in bartender engagement

Ready to supercharge frontline advocacy?

Download more information about the Global Bartender Report 2026.

The post Global Bartender Report 2026: How to win behind the bar appeared first on NIQ.

The Next Tech Reset: Inside the Shift to Intelligent Ecosystems

diegoalvarado — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:19:01 +0000

The Next Tech Reset: Inside the Shift to Intelligent Ecosystems

MWC 2026 highlights the shift to intelligent ecosystems. Key signals on agentic AI, on-device intelligence, and ecosystem-led innovation.

Driving performance through intelligent analytics

The tech industry is entering a new era defined by intelligence and integration. At Mobile World Congress 2026, it was clear from the themes on display that this shift is rapidly reshaping how technology is designed and monetized.

MWC has long served as a barometer for technology trends, and in 2026 it offered a clear message for industry leaders. Intelligence is now central to devices and platforms, and value is driven by connected ecosystems. This article highlights key signals for 2026 and onwards – agentic AI, on‑device intelligence, and ecosystem innovation – to guide leaders on technology strategy and competitive growth.

The Business Context: Why This Shift is Happening Now

The signals from MWC 2026 reflect more than rapid technological progress – they point to mounting structural pressures across the device ecosystem. Rising component and memory costs are pushing prices up or forcing specification trade‑offs, especially in entry‑ and mid‑tier devices, accelerating the shift toward differentiation through software, intelligence, and experience rather than hardware alone.

At the same time, logistics and energy volatility continue to compress margins, elevating the importance of operational resilience and data‑driven decision‑making. Most critically, longer hardware replacement cycles are redirecting growth expectations away from unit volumes and toward services, subscriptions, and cross‑device ecosystems, increasing the focus on lifetime value, ongoing engagement, and experiences that extend beyond the point of sale.

“Telco leaders are no longer competing on products alone – they’re competing on how effectively they orchestrate ecosystems. The winners will be those who connect devices, data, and partners into experiences that deliver value long after the initial sale.”

Anastasia Bournelli, VP Global Mobile Network Operators

From AI Pilots to AI at the Core

AI as a core product attribute

Smartphones are becoming AI-centric platforms, with improved chipsets and on-device intelligence making AI a key differentiator. AI performance is now central to the product promise, not just a minor upgrade.

Intelligence expanding beyond the smartphone

AI-driven experiences are moving beyond smartphones into a wider connected ecosystem. New device types like robotics-inspired gadgets, smart glasses, and assistants signal a shift toward multi-device, coordinated experiences.

The Rise of Agentic AI

The conversation has moved beyond AI responding to prompts toward systems that can understand context, anticipate needs, and autonomously execute tasks across applications and services. These systems are positioned to manage more complex workflows, coordinate across ecosystems, and deliver experiences that feel proactive rather than reactive.  

This shift is closely tied to advances in on‑device processing. As neural processing capabilities improve, more AI functions can be handled locally, enabling faster responses, greater reliability, and stronger privacy assurances. The result is a new architectural foundation for AI – one that supports real‑time, personalized experiences while reducing dependency on continuous cloud interaction.

Devices Are Becoming Adaptable Platforms

A second major signal from MWC 2026 was the renewed focus on hardware as an enabler of new experiences. Rather than emphasizing novelty, device innovation increasingly reflects a shift toward adaptability – hardware designed to change form or behavior depending on context.

Form factors are evolving beyond static designs, enabling new modes of interaction and use. This includes devices that physically adapt to their environment, as well as foldable designs that balance portability with larger screens and improved durability. Hardware innovation is increasingly purposeful, aligned to enabling flexibility, longevity, and premium experiences.

Ecosystems and Partnerships as the New Growth Engine

Innovation is increasingly driven not by individual players acting alone, but by networks of partners delivering integrated experiences across categories.

This dynamic is visible across smartphones, wearables, audio products, tablets, PCs, and emerging form factors. Accessories and secondary devices are no longer peripheral; they reinforce daily engagement, improve continuity, and deepen long‑term value by expanding how and when users interact with technology.

Schedule a strategy session

Data and Autonomous Networks Move into Focus

Another important signal was the growing role of data as a strategic layer, particularly within telecom networks. Data is increasingly positioned as a source of optimization, monetization, and new service creation rather than a by‑product of operations.
In parallel, networks are advancing toward autonomous, AI‑driven operations. AI is being applied to prediction, optimization, and network management, reducing manual intervention, and improving performance. As automation increases, deeper insight into performance and user experience becomes more important, not less.

The network is evolving from infrastructure into an intelligence platform — enabling efficiency gains while opening up new avenues for value creation.

What Leaders Should Prioritize Next

The most important consumer shifts and consumption trends and what they mean for growth strategies.

Modular and sustainable design that extends device lifespan and supports repairability  
Flexible and foldable form factors with greater emphasis on durability and reliability  
On‑device AI for lower latency, stronger privacy, and reduced cloud dependency  
Advanced security and biometrics moving beyond traditional authentication models  
Real‑time translation and contextual assistance embedded directly into devices

A Signal Shaping What Comes Next

MWC 2026 was not defined by any single product or announcement. It was defined by a convergence around a new operating logic for the industry – one where intelligence is foundational; ecosystems are the competitive unit, and scale determines who can translate ambition into execution.

The leaders who succeed in this next phase will be those who can embed intelligence deeply, orchestrate ecosystems effectively, and align product and platform strategies with the realities of cost pressure, longer replacement cycles, and rising expectations for seamless experiences.

“The next wave of AI isn’t about smarter features – it’s about autonomous systems that anticipate needs, adapt continuously, and scale across devices and ecosystems. That shift fundamentally changes how value is created.”

– Nevin Francis, Senior Director Global Strategic Insights

Understand where the technology landscape is heading – and how to respond.

The post The Next Tech Reset: Inside the Shift to Intelligent Ecosystems appeared first on NIQ.

Shelf Intelligence: Inside AI’s Influence on Consumer Choice and Brand Strategy

devonrobson0620 — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:41:58 +0000

Early Signals of a Shift Toward Agentic Commerce

AI is already changing how people shop, even if purchases are still made by humans.

Recent NIQ consumer research shows that shoppers are actively using AI tools to research products, summarize reviews, and compare options, making AI an increasingly influential part of the path to purchase. Usage is becoming habitual across demographics, with younger and higher‑income consumers leading adoption, and interest continuing to rise across segments .

At the same time, most organizations are still early in their AI journeys. Enterprise AI adoption is largely focused on efficiency, productivity, and creative support, rather than embedded decision‑making or autonomous action. Budgets remain constrained, trust concerns persist, and many organizations lack the data‑ready infrastructure required to move beyond experimentation.

This growing disconnect raises an important question:
As consumers become more comfortable using AI in shopping, are organizations prepared to compete in an AI‑influenced commerce environment?

NIQ and DSI are collaborating on a forthcoming report that explores early signals at the intersection of consumer behavior and organizational readiness, with a focus on what today’s data suggests.

The report examines:

How consumers are using AI today and where interest is forming
How organizations are responding and where progress is slowing
What trust, education, and data readiness mean for what comes next

If AI is already shaping how customers decide, understanding where both shoppers and organizations stand today is a critical first step.

Register to be notified when the report is released.

Be the First to Know

The NIQ + DSI Agentic Commerce report is currently in development.

The post Shelf Intelligence: Inside AI’s Influence on Consumer Choice and Brand Strategy appeared first on NIQ.

Hospitality Market Monitor | April 2026

emilybuckley0522 — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Hospitality loses three sites a day in tough first quarter of 2026.

Soaring costs for businesses and consumers led to a 0.3% drop in Britain’s number of licensed premises in the first quarter of 2026, the latest Hospitality Market Monitor reveals.

The report from NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence, shows there were 98,609 outlets at the end of March 2026—305 fewer than in December 2025, and an average of 3.4 net closures per day. It is a second successive quarter-on-quarter drop and suggests that momentum of closures in hospitality is starting to build.

Download the latest report for more information.

The post Hospitality Market Monitor | April 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West

juancarlostarazonaperez0910 — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:49:41 +0000

A welcome from Marta Cyhan-Bowles

Commerce is no longer evolving in channels—it’s being rebuilt as a connected global system.

While the West has traditionally embraced data-rich retail ecosystems, the East has focused on rapid platform innovations, leading the way for emerging channels. As these two distinct models converge, we’re quickly moving toward a new global commerce framework—one powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and increasingly shaped by agent-driven decisioning, fundamentally shifting how consumers discover and purchase products, and how brands and retailers reach them.

While this shift creates a significant opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to deliver more personalized, relevant products and experiences to consumers, it also introduces new challenges across targeting, optimization, and measurement.

That’s what makes this moment—and this report—so critical. The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West not only provides retail and brand leaders with an in-depth analysis of the convergence between Eastern and Western commerce models—and the AI-driven technologies born of it; it also outlines the data, solutions, and insights they need to build commerce intelligence and capture share during this period of rapid transformation.

Our teams are ready to help your business thrive as consumer behaviors evolve, expectations rise, and the need for a unified view of the consumer becomes even more critical. If you have questions about our data, research, or how to navigate this increasingly global commerce landscape, we welcome the conversation.

Marta Cyhan-Bowles

Chief Communications Officer & Head of Global Marketing COE, NIQ

Discover how Eastern platform innovations and Western retail media are converging to reshape the global commerce landscape—and defining commerce intelligence along the way. Watch our preview and then read The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West.

Retail’s center of gravity is shifting

Global retail markets have developed at different speeds—largely driven by evolving consumer behavior trends and technology investments in each region. Format-led behaviors emerging from the East—including payment architecture, logistics capabilities, and digital channel expansion—are becoming increasingly linked with the monetization and commerce media systems of the West. This convergence has been further accelerated by AI and its ability to track, automate, and personalize the shopper journey—unlocking deeper consumer insights across channels and platforms.

Notably, AI is beginning to function as a decision engine for consumers through agentic commerce models—learning behaviors over time, interpreting intent, refining recommendations, and increasingly influencing or executing purchase decisions on the shopper’s behalf.

What’s emerging is a new model of consumer influence and value creation driven by more precise and continuously evolving demand signals. This blending of models is poised to reshape how manufacturers and retailers achieve lasting growth over the next five years.

The channel landscape

To ground this shift, we must first understand today’s “channel” landscape—and how consumers engage across it, even as the boundaries between channels begin to erode.

In Western markets, we see widescale adoption and usage of retail media platforms. Indeed, in the US today, more than 22% of total media budgets are now allocated to retail media campaigns, with brands, on average, distributing that budget across six retail platforms—a figure projected to grow to eight by the end of 2026.¹ Yet both execution and measurement remain fragmented, largely by campaign and retailer—with 77% of organizations reporting they’re seeking better measurement solutions and 68% reporting they’re actively seeking efficiencies.² These challenges are further compounded by the proliferation of large language models (LLMs) and agents shopping on consumers’ behalf.

Notably, we also see relatively low penetration in Western markets across key digital channels currently driving growth in the East—with roughly 69% of North American consumers and 66% of European consumers having never used quick commerce; 67%–68% having never purchased via social media; and only 10%–13% reporting increased social and live commerce usage.³ But consumer adoption is accelerating.

Conversely, in Asia Pacific (APAC), 58% of consumers have adopted quick commerce and 59% are using social commerce.⁴ Also critical to note is that social and live commerce in the East are becoming increasingly intertwined, as live commerce is often hosted on social apps like Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu.

While consumers in APAC are leveraging retail media, it remains far from the campaign-driven approach seen in the West. “Super apps” embed retail media within a cohesive platform, enabling hyper-personalized experiences and the development of deep user profiles.

Further differentiating this model is the advanced use of AI, through which platforms both capture purchase intent and stimulate demand—reinforcing a system in which commerce is continuously optimized around the individual consumer.

What can appear today as fragmented channel growth is, in reality, the early stages of a connected global commerce ecosystem—with the consumer at the center. In the East, platforms have married discovery, content, and purchase into a single consumer model. In the West, retail media networks (RMNs) have built monetization and measurement infrastructure to scale that model. AI is now the connective tissue between the two. As this continues to develop, commerce will no longer be a set of discrete channels or functions, but rather an integrated, continuously optimizing, intelligent ecosystem.

So when we discuss a unified commerce system, we’re conveying that three forces are colliding—and will redefine growth in the modern commerce era:

A robust infrastructure that facilitates commerce at record speed
Content experiences that transcend channel and format
AI-driven technologies that deliver across both at unprecedented speed and with hyper-personalization

As it specifically relates to the opportunity for brands and retailers, commerce intelligence—the ability to connect what brands and retailers need to know, what consumers need to discover and decide, and how platforms operate through a unified, data-rich view of the ecosystem—will redefine how consumer demand is generated, captured, and measured.

Skai x Stratably 2026 State of Retail Media Study
Skai x Stratably 2026 State of Retail Media Study
NIQ 2025 Consumer Outlook survey
NIQ 2025 Consumer Outlook survey

Key takeaways

Commerce is evolving beyond channels but is benefiting from the infrastructure built to support channel-driven growth. It’s transitioning into an integrated system where consumer discovery, transaction, and fulfillment move as a unit.
The East’s and West’s paths are now running in parallel, forming complementary halves where the strength of each will fuel the next wave of growth for brands and retailers.
The fastest-growing “channels” (live commerce, social commerce, and quick commerce) no longer operate in silos. Consumers will increasingly expect these experiences to feel integrated and to guide them through a cohesive shopping journey.
A competitive edge will belong to brands that can leverage best-in-class data to operate within this unified system—transforming that data into commerce intelligence that shapes how demand is generated, captured, and measured.

Read the full report now.

Category Killers: From Assortment to Experiences in 2026

andresxportilla — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:07:46 +0000

Category Killers: From Assortment to Experiences in 2026

By Steve Zurek: VP of Thought Leadership, Category and Shopper Insights

Webinar

Category killers have evolved: How attribute‑led portfolios and omnichannel design are driving growth today.

Experience that converts: Why Gen Z and Millennials pay for experiential retail—and how to deliver it.

From insight to action: Ten predictions turned into practical moves to modernize category strategy and prove incrementality.

Webinar description

Category killers aren’t dead, they’ve evolved. In this session hosted by CMA | SIMA, Steve Zurek explores how “category killer” retailers are reshaping growth through attribute-led portfolios, omnichannel journey design, and experiential retail that Gen Z and Millennials will pay for. We’ll unpack ten retail predictions and connect them to practical moves to help you advance your plans to modernize category strategy, prove incrementality, and future‑proof collaboration with retail partners.

Why Speak With an NIQ Strategist? 

Turn these insights into concrete actions for your portfolio.

Identify the attributes, claims, and experiences that matter most to your shoppers.

Benchmark your digital + in-store experience against leading retailers.

Pinpoint the biggest growth opportunities across pricing, retail media, packaging, and journey design.

Talk to an Expert 

Book a call with an agent and turn insights into action

The post Category Killers: From Assortment to Experiences in 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

Beauty Retail Choices: How Shopper Priorities Shift Across Prestige, Mainstream, and Online Pure Play Retailers

andresxportilla — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:43:41 +0000

Introduction

Beauty shoppers are not one size fits all: Trust matters everywhere, but what drives choice changes by channel.
Different retailers, different expectations: Prestige, mainstream, and online each win on distinct emotional and functional needs.
Winning relevance requires nuance: Understanding these drivers is key to building loyalty.

Prestige Beauty shoppers are far from one size fits all. While trust remains the foundational driver across the beauty landscape, the needs consumers prioritize shift meaningfully depending on whether they are shopping prestige retailers, mainstream stores, or online pure play platforms. Understanding these nuances is critical for brands and retailers looking to win relevance and loyalty in an increasingly fragmented beauty ecosystem. We recently conducted a quantitative research study among prestige beauty shoppers, to understand what influences their choice of a retailer within 3 retailer types – Prestige retailers, Mainstream retailers and Online Pure-Play retailers. There are some key similarities across the three, and a few unique drivers of choice.

Trust Is the Universal Starting Point

Among all three retailer types, trusted & recommended emerges as the single most important driver of retailer choice. Shoppers want reassurance that a retailer will deliver what it promises, whether that trust is built through brand authority, peer recommendations, a welcoming space to spend ‘me time‘, or consistent past experiences.

Prestige: Elevated Experiences and Emotional Connection

When shopping Prestige beauty retailers, consumers place outsized importance on emotional and experiential benefits. Attributes like “a retailer I would tell my friends or family to shop,” “a place I enjoy spending my ‘me time,’” and convenient physical locations rank especially high. High quality and premium products is expected, and not sufficient to attract shoppers to one specific Prestige retailer. This is because shoppers expect quality at Prestige retailers and are seeking more than products—they are buying into an experience that feels indulgent, inspiring, and confidence building.

Rewards programs also play a larger role in Prestige retailer choice compared to other channels. While price sensitivity is lower, shoppers still want to feel rewarded for their purchases, helping justify premium spending. Sampling, trying new products, and guided expertise further support Prestige’s role as a discovery destination where shoppers can explore trends and elevate routines.

Mainstream: Value, Accessibility, and Ease

Mainstream beauty retailers win by delivering clear value and practicality. Low prices, strong value perceptions, and products being “worth what I pay” are key differentiators amongst mainstream retailers. Shoppers expect convenience—easy store navigation, product availability, and straightforward decision-making support—without sacrificing trust or enjoyment.

Unlike Prestige, where shoppers expect higher price points and quality, Mainstream retailers must work harder to prove value and low prices vs their competitors. Also, Mainstream retailers with superior product information and inspiration will attract shoppers. Blending accessibility with emotional relevance, ‘inspiring shoppers to be themselves”, is a path to success for mainstream.

Online Pure Play: Confidence Through Convenience and Information

For Online Pure Play beauty retailers, digital excellence is paramount. Shoppers prioritize confident shopping, driven by easy product comparison, credible and clear product information, and reliable fulfillment. Being a true one stop shop matters more here than anywhere else—few things are as valuable to online shoppers as saving time and minimizing friction.

Personalized recommendations, low-cost shipping, and access to high quality products are also highly discriminating amongst online pure-play retailers. Interestingly, traditional rewards programs are less differentiating, likely due to channel leaders that emphasize everyday value and convenience over loyalty mechanics. Instead, confidence is built through transparency, personalization, and information richness.

What This Means for Beauty Growth

The takeaway is clear: while trust unites beauty shoppers, relevance is won by meeting channel specific needs. Prestige thrives on experience and inspiration, mainstream succeeds by proving value with ease, and pure play wins by removing friction and building confidence at every click. Brands and retailers that align their strategies to these distinct shopper mindsets will be best positioned to capture growth across the beauty landscape.

Curious to learn more?

Jen Laser is the Demand & Shopper Solutions Team Leader for NIQ North America, and can be reached at jennifer.laser@nielseniq.com

The post Beauty Retail Choices: How Shopper Priorities Shift Across Prestige, Mainstream, and Online Pure Play Retailers appeared first on NIQ.

Why Ignoring TikTok Shop Is a Strategic Risk

andresxportilla — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:21:14 +0000

Why Ignoring TikTok Shop Is a Strategic Risk 

Social commerce is reshaping how beauty shoppers discover, decide, and purchase products—both within and beyond the platform. TikTok Shop brings discovery, validation, and purchase into a single native environment, accelerating impulse‑led buying and redefining the beauty path to purchase. 

As TikTok Shop scales across Western markets, it is no longer an experimental channel. It is becoming a material driver of growth, attracting new shoppers, increasing category spend, and changing how brands win attention and conversion. 

Beauty Is the Engine of TikTok Shop Growth 

Beauty sits firmly at the centre of TikTok Shop’s performance. Beauty categories represent 46% of total FMCG value sales on TikTok Shop, making it the platform’s most important vertical. Cosmetics, skincare, hair care, and fragrances continue to dominate shopper engagement and sales, reinforcing TikTok Shop’s position as a credible online beauty destination. 

From Emerging Channel to Top Beauty Retailer 

TikTok Shop has rapidly climbed the online beauty retail ranks across key Western markets. By Q1 2026, the platform ranked among the top online beauty retailers in the UK, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, and the US—demonstrating its ability to compete with established e‑commerce players and specialists. 

TikTok Shop is not simply diverting spend from other channels. It is expanding the beauty category: 

Around 30% of TikTok Shop beauty buyers had not purchased beauty online in the previous year

Buyers converted from competitors went on to increase their total beauty category spend by €37–€47

This highlights TikTok Shop’s role in attracting new online buyers and driving incremental value into beauty. 

A Broader Shopper Base Than Expected 

Despite common assumptions, TikTok Shop’s shopper base extends well beyond Gen Z. Gen X shoppers are over‑represented in TikTok Shop beauty sales compared with the total beauty market across major European countries, underscoring the platform’s growing mainstream relevance. 

Luxury and everyday beauty coexist on the platform. A significant share of luxury beauty buyers and beauty specialist shoppers also purchase on TikTok Shop, indicating that consumers are using the platform as part of a multi‑channel, multi‑price‑tier journey rather than a replacement for other channels. 

Why Waiting Comes with Risk 

TikTok Shop combines content, creators, and commerce in a way that shortens the path to purchase. With impulse playing a major role in social commerce and consumers increasingly turning to social platforms for product discovery, brands that delay engagement risk missing incrementality, losing share of voice, and falling behind more socially fluent competitors. 

Early adopters are already building scale, capability, and consumer relevance—advantages that become harder to replicate over time. 

Why Ignoring TikTok Shop Is a Strategic Risk 

Explore the data, shopper insights, and strategic implications shaping the future of beauty and social commerce. 

The post Why Ignoring TikTok Shop Is a Strategic Risk  appeared first on NIQ.

Driving Measurable ROI with TikTok: How Premium Beauty Brands Unlocked 186% Higher Returns

diegoalvarado — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:48:00 +0000

Success Story

Driving Measurable ROI with TikTok: How Premium Beauty Brands Unlocked 186% Higher Returns

A leading premium beauty advertiser in Central East Europe, operating in a highly competitive market where digital channels dominate consumer engagement. The brand targets beauty-conscious consumers who discover products through social platforms and make purchases both online and offline.

The Challenge

The client invested heavily in digital advertising but lacked clarity on TikTok’s true contribution to sales. Traditional attribution models focused on last-click metrics, ignoring TikTok’s role in early discovery – a key component of the importance of TikTok in the consumer path to purchase.

In fact, 80% of TikTok-driven conversions were missed by standard models. Marketing ROI was underreported, leading to suboptimal budget allocation.

The client needed a data-driven approach to justify spending and optimize media mix.

NIQ Approach: Media Mix Modeling

Holistic Measurement Plan: Integrated multiple data sources to capture full-funnel impact.

MMM Analysis: Quantified TikTok’s contribution to sales after controlling for seasonality and channel overlap.

Simulation & Optimization: Ran spend simulations to identify optimal investment levels without hitting saturation.

Why NIQ? Proven expertise in MMM and advanced analytics, and strategic insights tailored to client goals.

Key results:

NIQ’s MMM solution found that TikTok ROI was 186% higher than other digital channels. Based on that a recommendation of 20% increase in TikTok spend was made without saturation risk. In fact, 50% underinvestment versus optimal levels was identified, which would unlock 3.7-6x potential sales growth.

Creative Format Performance: An Additional Efficiency Lever

Beyond channel level performance, NIQ’s analysis revealed material ROI differences by creative format, reinforcing the importance of content strategy alongside budget allocation:

Spark Ads delivered 37% higher ROI than standard ad formats, demonstrating the effectiveness of scaling organic style content within paid media environments.

Seasonally aligned TikTok campaigns generated 130% higher ROI than nonseasonal activity, underscoring the value of synchronizing media and creative with key retail and cultural moments.

These findings indicate that creative execution, timing, and format selection are critical drivers of media efficiency—not secondary considerations.

Why It Matters

This case demonstrates the strategic importance of measuring beyond last-click attribution. For beauty brands—and the broader industry—TikTok is not just a discovery channel; it’s a proven driver of incremental sales. Accurate measurement enables smarter budget allocation and sustained growth.

For brands navigating fragmented consumer journeys, the combination of causal measurement, format level insight, and scenario-based optimization enables more confident investment decisions and sustained performance gains.

NIQ Perspective

Accurate measurement is a strategic advantage. By uncovering true incrementality across both media and trade , NIQ enables brands to allocate capital with precision, unlock hidden growth, and maximize ROI in an increasingly complex marketing ecosystem.

Ready to uncover untapped ROI?

Partner with NIQ to measure what truly matters and scale your media & marketing investment for growth.

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From the Pump to the Aisle: The Hidden Economics of Oil in CPG

andresxportilla — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:04:04 +0000

Oil prices rarely show up as a line item on a store shelf, but for consumer-packaged goods, they quietly shape nearly every economic decision behind that price tag. From raw materials and packaging to transportation, manufacturing energy, and supply chain resilience, oil is embedded across the CPG value chain.

At a moment when consumers remain acutely price sensitive after several years of inflation, renewed pressure from higher oil prices represents more than another cost variable. It is a risk factor that can quickly alter demand, mix, and brand loyalty. According to NielsenIQ, the consumer appetite for absorbing additional price increases remains limited, leaving manufacturers and retailers with little room to maneuver without consequences for volume and share. [1,2]

Recent volatility in energy markets has pushed crude prices back into a range that historically coincides with renewed inflationary pressure across food, household, and personal care categories. History also shows that when oil price increases persist rather than reverse quickly, they tend to move alongside food prices and broader consumer inflation, reinforcing cost throughout the system rather than dissipating it. [3,4]

For CPG leaders, oil prices are not a background macro indicator. Instead, they are a practical input shaping daily commercial decisions.

The CPG Cost Stack Is More Oil‑Exposed Than It Looks

Oil’s influence on CPG economics operates through three interconnected channels that often activate simultaneously.

Transportation & fuel

click

Comodities & packaging

click

Manufacturing & utilities

click

Transportation Is the Fastest Transmission Mechanism

Transportation is typically where oil pressure shows up first and most visibly. Higher inbound freight costs for ingredients and packaging quickly flow into higher outbound distribution costs to retailers. Volatility also complicates budgeting and forecasting, as transportation costs become harder to lock in with confidence.

NIQ data indicates this pressure is especially acute in low margin, high velocity categories such as food, beverages, and household essentials. Pricing power is limited, while consumer trade down risk is high. [1]

Oil volatility also increases supply chain fragility. Research shows that sustained energy shocks tend to lengthen lead times, accelerate nearshoring or regionalization, and reduce reliance on distant suppliers. These decisions may improve resilience, but they often bring higher structural costs that do not quickly unwind when oil prices ease. [5,8]

If energy costs decide your growth strategy, let’s chat.

Schedule time with an NIQ industry expert

Where Oil Pressure Concentrates Inside the CPG Dollar

While every category is different, a typical CPG product allocates most of its dollars across ingredients, packaging, manufacturing, and transportation. Together, these cost components represent roughly three-quarters of the total cost and are all meaningfully exposed to oil-linked increases.

Transportation and fuel face a direct pass-through from higher diesel prices. Packaging absorbs higher resin, energy, and logistics costs. Ingredients and commodities reflect energy-intensive agriculture and processing.
Manufacturing and utilities rise with electricity and fuel costs.

Retail margins and trade spend are less directly tied to oil, but they often become pressure valves when price elasticity limits shelf price increases.

Category Implications Are Uneven. And It Matters

NIQ data shows that while higher oil prices affect all CPG, the timing and magnitude vary by category.

Food and beverage (F&B)

click

Household and cleaning products

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Health, beauty, and personal care

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Pet food and pet care

click

Shelf-stable snacks

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NONE

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Oil Prices Shape Consumer Behavior, Not Just Costs

Higher oil prices do more than raise costs. They reshape how consumers shop.

NIQ data consistently shows that when inflation resurfaces, shoppers shift more quickly toward private label, value channels, smaller pack sizes, and promotional dependence. These shifts change category dynamics and brand elasticity, often long before manufacturers fully adjust list prices. [1,2]

Manufacturers are forced into difficult tradeoffs. Absorbing costs compresses margins. Passing them through risks volume declines. Reformulating products, resizing packages, or rebalancing assortments introduces operational complexity. Supply chain redesigns aimed at resilience may stabilize service, but often at a higher long term cost base.

NIQ’s Perspective: Duration Matters More Than the Headline Price

From an NIQ perspective, the critical question is not whether oil prices spike, but how long elevated volatility persists. Short lived increases are often managed within existing systems. Sustained pressure, however, rewrites contracts, resets expectations, and embeds itself into consumer behavior.

With consumers still highly price conscious, future cost recovery is unlikely to be evenly distributed. Brands with strong value perception, disciplined pricing strategy, and granular visibility into cost drivers will navigate more effectively than those relying on blunt price increases.

As energy markets once again move to the center of the inflation conversation, CPG leaders will need deeper scenario modeling, sharper consumer insight, and more precise price pack architecture to protect growth. Oil prices may be set in global markets, but their consequences are decided every day on the shelf.

Talk to an NIQ expert about what oil prices mean for your category

Book a call with an industry expert

Sources

[nielseniq.com]

[nielsen-co…go-vip.net]

[fredblog.s…uisfed.org]

[dallasfed.org]

[aom.org]

[boxhero.io]

[linkedin.com]

[dtn.com]

[recyclingtoday.com]

[lindumpackaging.com]

[packagings…global.com]

[packnode.org]

[kitchenclass.com]

[finance.yahoo.com]

The post From the Pump to the Aisle: The Hidden Economics of Oil in CPG appeared first on NIQ.

Winning in Premium: How Consumers Decide What’s Worth It

kunaldiwan0227 — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:15:36 +0000

Premium has driven growth for years, but trade-offs are becoming more deliberate.

NIQ unpacked the latest signals in a recent webinar, ‘The Future of Premium: Navigating Consumer Trade-offs with Confidence.’

The webinar explored:

Defining “premium” today
The premium beverage landscape — performance shifts and drivers
Why premium isn’t dead — where it still outperforms
Who is the premium consumer
Planning to win — in‑outlet execution and bartender advocacy

Here are the key premium shifts explored in the webinar:

New realities of Premiumisation

Watch the webinar, now available on-demand

1. The premium segment has been at the forefront of beverage development for many years

Premium products have steadily increased their share of key beverage categories. While volumes of economy beers in the Off Premise have fallen, those of premium and super-premium brands have risen. Meanwhile in the On-Premise, NIQ’s global REACH research highlights consumers’ growing preference for quality over quantity. With a set amount of money, far more people would choose to buy one or two high quality drinks than four or five cheaper ones.

https://nielseniq.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/04/Snippet-1-.mp4

2. It’s not a surprise that premium is under pressure

While the long-term premiumisation trends have been strong, the segment has been under pressure lately. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted drinking-out for many months, and the positive sentiment that followed the reopening of hospitality was short-lived. On top of that, high inflation has pushed up costs in many key areas, including energy, food and drink. There has been a knock-on effect on consumers’ spending, with a quarter of On-Premise users in the EMEA region now planning to reduce their spend.

There have been some notable exceptions to negative trends in premium spirits lately. NIQ’s OPM solution reveals that premium-plus brands have grown their share of sales in tequila, whiskey, liqueurs and brandy in the UK year-on-year, in volume as well as value terms. In Germany, growth in all of these categories has also been much better in the On-Premise than the Off Premise, a reminder that it is in pubs, bars and other licensed premises where people are most likely to trade up their drinks choices.

https://nielseniq.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/04/Snippet-2.mp4

https://nielseniq.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/04/Snippet-3.mp4

4. We need to understand the consumer drivers to trade-up

NIQ’s global consumer research stresses how attitudes towards premiumisation vary substantially from country to country. For example, in some places consumers connect premium or luxury drinks with exclusivity, while in others it’s linked to the standard of presentation. Although some premium cues can work in every market, it’s also important to adapt strategies to local preferences.

5. Storytelling is a vital element of the premium-plus brand make-up

What do premium brands need to focus on in their products? Nidal Ramini, Advocacy Director at Brown-Forman, told the webinar that it’s essential to offer quality ingredients with no compromise, alongside first-class craftsmanship. Storytelling, and connecting people to brands on an emotional level, is vital too.

NIQ’s webinar was presented by George Argyropoulos, Managing Director, On-Premise – EMEA at NIQ, Graeme Loudon, Global Customer Success Lead – On-Premise at NIQ, and special guest Nidal Ramini, Advocacy Director at Brown-Forman.

NIQ’s REACH research delivers expert insights into consumers’ latest On-Premise habits in 43 countries around the world. It includes rich analysis of premiumisation trends to help suppliers and operators optimise strategies and seize opportunities in this space.

Unlock your premium opportunity

Access crucial insights into premiumisation trends across channels, categories and occasions, and how your brand can seize the growth opportunities.

The post Winning in Premium: How Consumers Decide What’s Worth It appeared first on NIQ.

Trust Is the New Price of Entry in the Wellness Economy

andresxportilla — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:37:55 +0000

Consumers are not pulling back from health. They are recalibrating who they trust. And that recalibration is reshaping conversion, loyalty, and shelf visibility across categories.

Trust is no longer tied to emotional strings. Instead, it’s been reimagined as functional.

Build Trust That Converts, Not Just Claims

Schedule time with an NIQ wellness expert

From Authority to Proof

Traditional signs of credibility are weakening. Legacy brands do not carry automatic trust. Institutional voices invite scrutiny. Transparency alone no longer persuades.

What replaces it is proof. Data. Specificity. Personal relevance.

Consumers increasingly validate claims through scanning apps, third party tools, and peer-informed experiences. Ingredient literacy is rising. Regulatory headlines amplify skepticism. Clean has become the baseline, not the differentiator.

Trust now rests on a brand’s ability to demonstrate quality, consistency, and clarity in language consumers can verify for themselves.

Curated Validation Wins

The next wave of influence comes from personalized proof, not transparency as personality.

Consumers want guidance that reflects their body, their goals, and their constraints. AI-enabled curation, structured data, and targeted recommendations are becoming social capital. A brand that fits ‘my needs’ earns trust faster than one that speaks loudly.

Retailers are responding by curating assortments around transparency, ingredient quality, and functional outcomes. This curation is both human and machine-led. Discovery increasingly happens before a consumer ever sees packaging.

Turn Skepticism into a Competitive Advantage

Book a demo with our wellness strategists

Regulation Is a But a Mere Marker

Ingredient scrutiny, SNAP restrictions, dye bans, and packaging responsibility often provoke fear across organizations. But these are not the risk.

The risk is irrelevance.

Regulatory pressure highlights what consumers already care about. Simplicity. Safety. Clarity. Compliance should not be treated as a constraint. It should be treated as a design brief.

Brands waiting for certainty will be forced into reactive reformulation. Brands acting now can redesign portfolios proactively around trust, accessibility, and future-proofed standards.

Value and Trust Are Colliding

The economic backdrop matters. The K-shaped reality means premium-seeking and value-seeking will accelerate simultaneously.

Trust must exist at both ends.

Lower-income households continue to prioritize core health and personal care categories. Higher-income households drive growth in premium wellness. Better For growth is strongest where functionality meets affordability.

Trust determines whether a product stays in the cart. Especially when budgets tighten. Especially when wellness requires trade-offs.

The Bottom Line

Trust cannot be manufactured through marketing alone. It is earned through consistency, clarity, and outcomes.

In a world where consumers self-diagnose, self-optimize, and self-research, trust becomes the gatekeeper of growth. It determines whether a brand is visible, selectable, and repeatable.

In the next phase of wellness, taste still matters. Innovation still matters. But trust decides whether any of it counts.

Winning goes beyond being the loudest. The real flex is about being the clearest.

Get in touch with us

Schedule time with an NIQ wellness expert

The post Trust Is the New Price of Entry in the Wellness Economy appeared first on NIQ.

Hotel Beverage Study 2026: Turning guest behavior into growth

emilybuckley0522 — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:47:01 +0000

The Hotel channel is evolving – strategies must evolve with it

Hotel operators continuously reassess both the assortment and format of their beverage alcohol offerings to keep pace with shifting guest expectations across an increasingly diverse set of occasions. Preferences vary dramatically by trip purpose, property type, and where beverages are consumed, from bars and restaurants to rooms and amenity space. As a result, operators are looking to supplier partners for sharper insight and informed recommendations that help them optimize these complex decisions.

The Hotel Beverage study 2026 equips alcohol manufacturers with a clear, actionable understanding of how consumer needs differ across hotel contexts and where brands can add the most value. By enabling more effective collaboration between suppliers and operators, it helps manufacturers unlock incremental guest spend, strengthen brand relevance, and ensure the right products show up in the right moments. The outcome is a win-win; enhanced guest experiences and improved commercial performance.

“The 2026 Study gives beverage manufacturers exactly what they need to win in hotels: a clear understanding of guest behavior by touchpoint, credible insight and commercially actionable guidance on pricing, assortment and emerging growth areas like non-alcoholic and functional beverages. It turns complexity into confident decision-making.“

Mike Rende – Client Solutions Manager – On-Premise – NielsenIQ

Unlock Hotel Beverage Growth

The study includes over 55 key hotel brands in the US market

A clear view of the hotel landscape – Understand expected hotel visitation over the next 12 months, including trip missions, destination types, preferred lodging formats, and how behaviours differ by demographic and guest segment.

Amenity beverage strategy – Discover how beverage engagement differs across 13 hotel touchpoints, helping you tailor your portfolio and activation plans for each moment of consumption from arrival to departure.

Actionable insight into Pricing & Value perception – Gain visibility into walk-away price thresholds and perceived value in hotel bar and lounge environments, helping to accurately size commercial opportunity and inform discussions.

Growth opportunity beyond alcohol – Uncover how guests are interacting with non-alcoholic, no and low, and functional beverages, how they complement or replace alcohol consumption and where demand is headed.

How suppliers can best support hotel chains – Uncover consumer preferences when visiting and inform reviews of drink assortments and format options.

What’s new for 2026?

This years’ report has been expanded and refined to reflect the rapidly evolving hotel landscape:

Deeper insight into non-alcoholic and functional beverage demand
Introduction of walk-away pricing thresholds by major beverage category
Expanded coverage of snacking behaviour and its role in drink selection

Turn Hotel insight into influence

Whether you’re shaping national account strategy, preparing for hotel beverage reviews or building activation plans, the 2026 Hotel Beverage Study gives you the evidence needed to lead with insight and win in the Hotel channel.

The post Hotel Beverage Study 2026: Turning guest behavior into growth appeared first on NIQ.

Sustainability in Tension: What’s Next?

andresxportilla — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:32:03 +0000

Each Earth Day offers consumers and brands a moment to take stock of sustainability efforts and the distance still to go. Economic pressure over the past several years has complicated that reflection.

NIQ Consumer Life’s Green Gauge builds on more than 30 years of tracking how consumers connect sustainability with everyday purchasing decisions.

While interest in health, weather impacts, and circularity continues to grow, concern for climate change and pollution has softened. In 2025, climate change ranked 9th and environmental pollution 17th among 24 societal concerns – both declining in rank from the previous year. However, Gen Z continues to prioritize these issues more highly, in line with their above-average sense of social responsibility.

The new reality of consumer-led sustainability

While climate concern has declined, other concerns grew from 2024-2025, including natural disasters (+4 points) and over-consumption (+5 points). Additionally, consumers view sustainability through the lens of personal health more often, with rising concerns about chemicals in food (+8 points from 2022-2025) and manufacturing (+7 points). Trust in health-related product claims is high, with 63% of consumers believing them, led by Gen Z and Millennials at 68%.

While enthusiasm for environmental preservation has cooled since its 2021 peak, it remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. For many, sustainability now shows up as a well-being choice rather than an environmental statement. More than a quarter of consumers agree that time in nature improves wellbeing, and 40% of Americans spend time outdoors to manage stress.

The barriers to greener behavior

Barriers to sustainability haven’t changed much. They have simply become harder to overcome.

–Economic security is prioritized over environmental concerns by almost half of the US population

–Limited knowledge on sustainable actions is another top barrier

–Time constraints limit nearly a third of American’s ability to “go green”

It follows, then, that low-effort, routine behaviors continue to dominate – especially those that have been present in consumers’ lives for decades. This includes energy conservation, water conservation, and recycling. Higher-effort actions are driven by Millennials (with Gen Z following close behind), such as sustainable travel when possible, discussing environmental issues, and researching corporate environmental practices.

When it comes to the store checkout, one in three Americans consider the environment in their purchases (+5 pts from 2023-2025). But generational divides are widening between younger and older shoppers as time goes on – Gen X and Boomers exhibit declining interest in such decisions.

For eco-conscious shoppers, the full product lifecycle now matters more than ever, particularly how products are manufactured and packaged. Consumers today have higher standards for the green aspects of a product’s manufacturing phase than they did over a decade ago. Circularity is a hot topic, evidenced by the popularity of recyclable products & packaging.

Consumer Life’s Green Gauge segmentation is a powerful tool to understand the diversity of sustainability mindsets and target each one effectively. The Glamour Greens segment –eco-conscious consumers driven by status and aesthetics – continues its upward trajectory. In the past 15 years, this group has grown from 20% to 38% of the US population, solidifying its dominance in the sustainability landscape. Glamour Greens now represent the largest sustainability segment, drawn to products that imply both values and aesthetics. While appealing to them can drive scale, relying on one mindset risks missing other high-value cohorts.

What brands should do next

Position sustainable products as a solution to climate and societal challenges.

Climate concerns continue to compete with economic demands, high costs of living, and political tensions, and most consumers will prioritize personal security if forced to choose.

Lead with health benefits where climate messaging falls flat

Consumers who are less concerned about climate change may still be concerned about the health implications of it. Take the opportunity to educate consumers on the connection to boost engagement with sustainable offerings.

Re-engage Gen X and Boomers.

Although Gen Z and Millennials are more strongly associated with sustainable living, older generations are the ones who lead in conservation behaviors.

Be explicit about sustainability features.

Most consumers believe “green” claims on products and consider recyclability an important feature of sustainable products. Additionally, it is crucial to highlight sustainable manufacturing practices, the most important phase for sustainability in the mind of the consumer.

Start a conversation with our experts

Talk to an NIQ expert

The post Sustainability in Tension: What’s Next? appeared first on NIQ.

The State of Omnichannel Grocery Shopping in America

devonrobson0620 — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:01:19 +0000

Fact #1: Emerging technology powers in-store and online shopping

Food retailers are incorporating a wide array of technology into their organizations to enhance shopper experiences and engagement. In-store examples include mobile checkout systems, smart carts and foodservice ordering and delivery. Retail media networks are prime examples of technology to drive discovery and trial. Retailers are also improving their ecommerce platforms to enable benefits, including enhanced speed and filtering.

Fact #2: Online grocery sales continue to advance

The projection is for continued advances in grocery omnichannel sales — across physical stores and ecommerce — between 2026 and 2028. While stores currently represent about 80% of grocery-related sales, ecommerce will drive most of the growth, according to an NIQ analysis. Total U.S. online grocery sales are projected to reach $452 billion by 2028.

Fact #3: Categories vary in ecommerce adoption journeys for grocery

Digital maturity varies by category. For example, vitamins/beauty is advanced in ecommerce, while fresh (meat/vegetables) remains in-store-led.

Social commerce adoption is growing, especially for Gen Z. TikTok Shop and Instagram are emerging conversion points, and brands have opportunities to integrate social into discovery-to-checkout journeys.

Discover What’s Shaping the Future of Grocery Shopping

The Digital Engagement Transforms Grocery Shopping 2026 study is part of a strategic alliance and multi-year initiative with FMI and NielsenIQ to uncover comprehensive insights on current and future digital shopping behaviors within the food retail marketplace. FMI and NIQ have been conducting a series of research reports on these topics reaching back to 2017. This latest report, Digital Engagement Transforms Grocery Shopping, charts the transformation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing emergence of new technologies that are reshaping the grocery shopping experience.

Download the Report

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NIQ Perspective: Buzz Worthy: The High Rise of THC Beverages

andresxportilla — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:46:20 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This Perspective uncovers how THC beverages are performing in mainstream retail and where growth is concentrating by channel, format, and dosage.

With sales up 135% year over year and interest extending beyond current users, understanding this category now is critical for portfolio and channel strategy.

Why it matters

THC beverages are emerging as a distinct, incremental beverage category, creating new demand while reshaping shopper behavior across alcohol-adjacent retail.

Download The Perspective

THC beverages reached $239M

In the latest 52 weeks, growing 135% year over year, signaling real momentum beyond early experimentation.

Consumer demand extends well beyond current users

With 50% of U.S. adults interested in trying cannabis-infused beverages.

Growth is concentrating in familiar formats and channels

With low-to-mid dose products and liquor and convenience leading adoption.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“THC beverages are emerging as a new adjacency to BevAl. Suppliers and retailers need to understand where these products fit within consumer repertoires and occasions. The drinks segment has proliferated despite a lack of national distributor adoption and legislative uncertainty. The players that win will be the ones that recognize THC beverages as an incremental beverage category with a distinct role and clear source of consumer demand.”

–Kaleigh Theriault

Director, Thought BevAl Thought Leadership, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

The post NIQ Perspective: Buzz Worthy: The High Rise of THC Beverages appeared first on NIQ.

How do we encourage children to read more?

belleedelman0513 — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:53:25 +0000

As a National Year of Reading in the UK, 2026 is of course all about people of all ages reading more, ideally from as young as possible to foster a lifelong love of books and create lasting habits. Fittingly, our annual Understanding the UK Children’s Book Consumer study is designed to deliver insights into how to boost reading among 0-17s and to understand how books fit into their lives alongside other leisure activities. We even have a question that covers what would encourage more reading for 0-17s, and the 2025 results showed that more interesting books and routine remain the top factors, followed by rewards, parental enjoyment and relatable characters/circumstances. Over the past couple of years, more interesting books has increased in potential, along with rewards, friends reading more, books linked to TV/films/video games and more books by celebrities/people liked.

That will vary by age, interests, level of enthusiasm for reading and many other factors, and one interesting split to look at is preference for fiction vs non-fiction. For those 0-17s that slightly/much prefer fiction books, routine pulls ahead of more interesting books and is especially more pronounced compared to those that prefer non-fiction. The fiction crowd is also more likely to be encouraged by parents showing enjoyment and relatable characters/circumstances, both at 20%, ahead of rewards, restricting TV and more time to read at school. On the other hand, those preferring non-fiction put rewards ahead of routine, with friends reading more, shorter books and books linked to TV/film also relatively more impactful. The graph below shows the top factors overall and how they vary by fiction and non-fiction preference (those with no preference not pictured).

Switching to age splits, more interesting books or routine led for most groups in 2025, shown below, apart from 0-2s, whose parents say that their own enjoyment can help to encourage their child. For growing factors, rewards rank highest among 8-10s, while friends reading more moves up the list with age, peaking among 14-17s. More books linked to TV/film could sway 5-7s more than other groups, with 8-10s looking for more books related to video games.

With parental enjoyment so prominent for younger ages and then friends reading more coming into the picture as children get older, it really shows the potential impact that sharing and talking about books can have, regardless of age and regardless of type of book. (We covered this from the adult reading perspective in a previous blog post.) Now is certainly the time to embrace the sharing and talking, as the National Year of Reading gives everyone an opportunity to shout (more) about books, hopefully generating plenty of enthusiasm for reading in 2026 and beyond.

The Understanding the UK Children’s Book Consumer study has been running annually since 2012, examining in depth and over time the book reading and buying habits of UK children in the context of their wider leisure activities. The 2025 report is available now, and you can view a preview here. Please contact infobookresearch@nielseniq.com for more information.

The post How do we encourage children to read more? appeared first on NIQ.

Launch Fast, Learn Faster: Are you reading the early signals—before your product launch falls behind?

lclementi7 — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:22:13 +0000

Why accessing Early Innovation Performance matters for Brands and Retailers.

Want to read more?

Across Europe, the innovation engine is running faster than ever. New products are launched every day, competition for physical and digital space is intensifying, and both brands and private labels are moving fast to capture increasingly fragmented consumer needs.

In 2025 alone, more than 3,500 new brands and sub‑brands were launched across the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Yet, only one third of them were able to reach 1% of households.

In a context where assortment is under pressure and activation windows are tightening, retailers must make harder decisions, faster — while manufacturers face a shrinking opportunity to prove that a new product truly resonates with consumers and deserves to stay. Still, areas of opportunity and growth remain amid this emotional battleground. In this analytical assessment of the state of consumers, we’ll help equip you to win with cautious yet hopeful consumers over the next 12 to 18 months—and beyond.

It is clear that accessing early performance matters more than ever.

The first months of a launch reveal whether a product is building the momentum, credibility, and category value it needs to grow — or whether it will quietly fade into the background.

This three‑part analysis explores the early‑stage indicators that matter most for FMCG product launches across five European markets:

Consumer acceptance — are shoppers not only trying, but coming back?
Consumer sentiment — what are early adopters really telling you?
Incrementality — are you adding value, or cannibalising your own brand?

Powered by our integrated and robust NIQ Consumer Panel data*, this analysis provides category‑specific benchmarks to give manufacturers and retailers a practical, evidence‑based framework to quickly diagnose whether a launch is performing as expected and build the foundations for sustainable growth.

Chapter 1: Consumer Acceptance

Not all products scale at the same pace, and repeat curves can hide big differences.

By analysing the first months of 2025 launches, we identified clear, category‑specific trial and repeat benchmarks across the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. These early indicators are critical to guide launch decisions and demonstrate credibility with retail partners.

Want to read more?

France

In France, Food dominates new product launches, with both Branded and Private Label activity heavily concentrated in Everyday and Confectionery & Snacks. However, the sheer volume of innovation in Ambient Food and Snacks makes it harder to drive both trial and repeat. While reaching 1% household penetration in the first year is achievable, only around 30% of launches get there. Perishable Food stands out, with 37% breaking through despite intense competition. Beyond trial, repeat is where categories truly diverge: Pet Food, Perishable Food and Beverages perform strongest, while Confectionery & Snacks struggle to convert experimentation into lasting loyalty.

While reaching 1% household penetration in the first year is achievable, only around 30% of launches get there.

The average new launch nearly reaches 1.5% household penetration in year one, and over half of launches surpass the 1% threshold.

Germany

In Germany, Food still dominates innovation, but priorities vary by brand type. Branded launches focus more on Confectionery & Snacks and Personal Care, while Private Labels concentrate on everyday Food, with Non‑Alcoholic Beverages emerging as a key battleground for both. Germany also shows stronger reach potential than other markets: the average new launch nearly reaches 1.5% household penetration in year one, and over half of launches surpass the 1% threshold. Home Care and Non‑Alcoholic Beverages scale fastest. Among successful launches, Non‑Alcoholic Beverages and Perishable Food build both trial and repeat most quickly, while Home Care enters households fast but develops repeat more slowly due to lower purchase frequency.

Italy

In Italy, Food remains the core of innovation, though focus shifts by brand type, with Branded Products also investing strongly in Health & Beauty. Achieving scale is possible, but performance varies by category. The average new launch slightly exceeds 1% household penetration in its first year, and around 30% of trialists repeat at least once. Nearly half of launches reach the 1% penetration threshold, with Home Care standing out as the most successful at scaling. Among launches that break through, Ambient Food, Perishable Food and Home Care drive faster trial, but repeat is more challenging in Ambient Food and Home Care, limiting longer‑term loyalty.

The average new launch slightly exceeds 1% household penetration in its first year, and around 30% of trialists repeat at least once.

The average new launch reaches around 1.5% household penetration in the first year, and two‑thirds of launches surpass the 1% threshold.

Spain

In Spain, new product launches show a balanced activation across categories, with clear winners emerging. Branded activity skews slightly toward Home Care and Confectionery & Snacks, while Private Label is more active in Health & Beauty. Spain stands out for its ability to scale: the average new launch reaches around 1.5% household penetration in the first year, and two‑thirds of launches surpass the 1% threshold, led by Confectionery & Snacks. Here, fast trial and strong repeat reinforce each other—Confectionery & Snacks is the only category over‑performing on both. In Non‑Food, Home Care delivers exceptionally rapid penetration while also retaining over 37% of trialists, highlighting strong early momentum and loyalty.

United Kingdom

In the UK, Food continues to dominate new product launches, but with a clear split between Branded and Private Label strategies. Branded launches skew toward indulgence and Personal Care, while PL activity concentrates on everyday meal and cooking categories. Scale remains the exception rather than the norm in a highly crowded market: only one in four launches reaches 1% household penetration. Less crowded categories such as Health & Beauty, Home Care and Paper Products show a more polarized pattern, with fewer launches but a higher likelihood of breaking through. While routine categories drive faster trial, they struggle to generate repeat, whereas less activated or more niche categories recruit more slowly but convert trial into loyalty more effectively.

Only one in four launches reaches 1% household penetration in the United Kingdom.

Want to read more?

Not all innovations are the same.

Do you want to access the early performance of your innovations with confidence, or gain strategic insights to plan the next one?

Chapter 2: Consumer Sentiment

coming soon

Chapter 3: Incrementality

coming soon

The post Launch Fast, Learn Faster: Are you reading the early signals—before your product launch falls behind? appeared first on NIQ.

K-Beauty Goes Global

andresxportilla — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:41:26 +0000

K-Beauty Goes Global

K-Beauty’s Global Takeover explores how Korean beauty is reshaping global beauty growth – from innovation and ingredients to channels and retail models.

Using NielsenIQ data and case studies, the report highlights where momentum is building and how brands are responding.

The report covers:

Global scaling of K-Beauty trends

High growth markets, categories, and formats

Brand and retail case studies

Strategic pathways for competing in a K-Beauty influenced market

The post K-Beauty Goes Global appeared first on NIQ.

NIQ Perspective: The Weekend That Sets The Season

andresxportilla — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:52:06 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

Clear indicators on how Memorial Day planning, protein-led baskets, and channel choices shape summer food and beverage demand.

Early-season execution decisions now determine summer share, as shoppers plan ahead and favor channels that reduce friction.

Why it matters

Memorial Day reveals how CPG brands can win the entire summer by simplifying execution, not by discounting harder:

Download The Perspective

Protein anchors summer baskets

Fresh meat drives the occasion, influencing volume, mix, and cross‑category attachment beyond the holiday weekend.

Execution beats price

Shoppers are ready to spend, but friction in planning and preparation is the biggest barrier to growth.

Channels follow confidence

Club and online are gaining share because they make value, quality, and hosting success feel certain.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

The post NIQ Perspective: The Weekend That Sets The Season appeared first on NIQ.

Unlocking Growth in Wearable Tech

andresxportilla — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:53:23 +0000

The Next Era of Wearable Tech Starts Now

The global wearables market is entering a new era of growth. From smartwatches and fitness trackers to AI-powered smart glasses and emerging healthtech wearables, consumer expectations are evolving—and so are the opportunities for brands and retailers ready to lead.

In this exclusive NielsenIQ report, we decode the signals shaping the future of wearable tech and outline a clear Path to Impact for sustainable growth.

Why it matters

Wearables are no longer niche. They’re becoming everyday essentials—spanning fitness, wellness, entertainment, productivity, and beyond.

65% of adults are wearable owners or intenders

This signals a massive addressable market.

Smartwatches currently dominate ownership

But the next wave of wearable tech growth lies ahead.

Smart rings and smart glasses are emerging categories

They show significantly higher interest than current ownership, especially among Gen Z and Millennials.

The question isn’t if wearables will grow, it’s where to focus, how to differentiate, and how to convert demand into impact.

Ready to Unlock the Next Wave of Growth?

The future of wearable tech is being shaped right now. Get the insights, signals, and strategy you need to lead with confidence.

The post Unlocking Growth in Wearable Tech appeared first on NIQ.

Life Insurance 2030: Why Decision Quality Will Define the Next Phase of Growth in India

andresxportilla — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:29:31 +0000

This report reveals why India’s life insurance market continues to grow in premiums while protection penetration stagnates. Using NIQ consumer insights, it uncovers the real barriers slowing adoption and upgrades – not awareness or access, but the quality of decisions consumers are able to make. The analysis focuses on:

The four decision gaps limiting penetration: trust, adequacy, guidance, and value

Why clarity converts while complexity delays action

How consumer confidence shapes purchase, upgrade, and persistency outcomes

The key shifts insurers must make to compete through 2030

Built for insurance, strategy, and commercial teams, the report helps reshape growth strategies around decision confidence to drive deeper, more sustainable market expansion.

The post Life Insurance 2030: Why Decision Quality Will Define the Next Phase of Growth in India appeared first on NIQ.

Map of the Month: NIQ Purchasing Power, Germany, Austria, Switzerland 2026

thomasmuranyi0924 — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:10:27 +0000

Our Geomarketing Map of the Month for April shows the regional distribution of purchasing power in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2026.

With an average per capita purchasing power of 54,730 euros, Swiss once again have significantly more financial resources available for consumption and savings in 2026 than the population in the neighboring German-speaking countries. In Austria, per capita purchasing power amounts to 31,454 euros, while Germans have an average of 31,193 euros at their disposal. However, pronounced differences are evident not only between countries but also within each nation, where spending potential in some cases varies considerably from region to region.

In Switzerland, the district of Hoefe leads the ranking by a wide margin, with residents having an average of 144,630 euros per capita at their disposal. This is nearly 3.6 times the purchasing power of the weakest district, Entlebuch, where the figure stands at 39,980 euros. In Austria, Vienna’s 1st district (inner city) tops the ranking with a per capita purchasing power of 44,096 euros, while Vienna’s 20th district (Brigittenau) occupies the bottom position with 24,720 euros. In Germany, the district of Starnberg ranks first with a spending potential of 42,751 euros, while Gelsenkirchen comes in last with 24,538 euros per capita.

Download the map in high-resolution JPG format…

The map may be freely distributed and reproduced if the following attribution is included: “Illustration: NIQ Geomarketing”.

Further insights into NIQ Geomarketing’s market data offering can be found here.

The post Map of the Month: NIQ Purchasing Power, Germany, Austria, Switzerland 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

US On-Premise momentum builds in 2026

emilybuckley0522 — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

On-Premise visitation: A solid base for growth

The On Premise remains an integral part of US drinking culture, with consumer engagement holding steady across food and drink occasions. In the past month, 78% of consumers had been out to eat, while 48% had gone out specifically for a drink, showing only minor movement versus February and reinforcing a stable visitation baseline.

Looking ahead, intent remains equally robust. 78% plan to go out to eat and 45% plan to go out for a drink in the next month, signalling sustained footfall as the market moves into spring and early summer. Importantly for suppliers, nearly one in four consumers (23%) expect to visit more frequently than last month, outweighing those planning to reduce visits.

What are they drinking?

Beer continues to dominate, with 41% of On-Premise visitors consuming beer in the past month, followed by cocktails (27%) and table wine (24%). That said, experimentation remains high: 36% of consumers tried a new drink when eating or drinking out, rising to 58% among Gen Z and Millennials. Beer and cocktails are the most common “new drink” choices, reinforcing the importance of innovation and visible menu placement in these categories.

Consistent visitation and high trial rates create a strong environment for NPD, limited-time offers and menu-led discovery, particularly among younger consumers who are disproportionately driving growth.

Mini Cocktails: Small serves, big opportunity

Mini cocktails are gaining noticeable traction across US bars and restaurants, moving from niche curiosity to a scalable menu strategy.

Nearly one in three consumers (31%) have noticed mini cocktails on menus, with awareness significantly higher among Gen Z and Millennials than older cohorts. More importantly, interest is translating into intent: 42% of consumers say they are very likely or likely to try a mini cocktail when visiting the On-Premise.

The appeal is rooted in familiarity rather than novelty. Among consumers open to mini cocktails, the strongest interest is in classic, high-penetration serves:

These preferences closely mirror the most popular cocktails already performing well in venues, suggesting mini serves are not replacing full-size cocktails but expanding the repertoire, offering moderation, variety and trial without sacrificing flavour or brand recognition.

Looking Ahead: Festivals

Festival season is shaping up to be a major cultural and commercial driver in 2026, with 32% of consumers planning to attend at least one festival this year. Attendance skews young, rising to 43–45% among Gen Z and Millennials, compared to just 18% of Boomers.

Crucially, festival behaviour does not exist in isolation. Major festivals such as Coachella and Summerfest top consumer plans, but they also fuel wider On-Premise engagement—before, during and after events, as consumers extend the experience into bars and restaurants.

Integrating festival calendars into On-Premise activation plans, through themed menus, limited editions, formats, allows brands to remain culturally relevant beyond the festival gates.

The 2026 landscape is defined by consistency rather than volatility, with stable visitation, strong weekend dominance and a younger consumer base driving trial. Mini cocktails offer a tangible, data-backed route to incremental growth, while festivals provide a forward-looking activation opportunity that aligns directly with core drinking occasions. Success will come from meeting consumers where they are: familiar flavors, flexible formats and well-timed activation around key cultural moments. Brands that translate these insights into practical On-Premise strategies will be best positioned to capture both footfall and share in the year ahead.

Win sales on top drink occasions

Access crucial insights into the On-Premise landscape and how your brand can capture the most profitable consumer moments.

The post US On-Premise momentum builds in 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

Webinar: RegioGraph Tips and Tricks

thomasmuranyi0924 — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:03:29 +0000

RegioGraph Tips and Tricks: Work Faster, Map Smarter

RegioGraph Tips and Tricks is a compact, hands-on webinar where we show you how to work with the geomarketing software faster and far more efficiently. Get to know RegioGraph and learn how to streamline your daily workflows, make smarter use of key features, and create clear, compelling maps in just a few clicks.

Discover practical shortcuts, often-overlooked functionalities, and proven workflows that help you save time and get professional results with minimal effort.

📅 Date: May 12, 2026
⏰ Time: 10:00–11:00 AM CEST

What you can look forward to:

Practical tips you can apply immediately in your daily work
Powerful features that are frequently overlooked but deliver significant time savings
Simple ways to create professional, meaningful maps in no time

This webinar is ideal for anyone who wants to get more out of RegioGraph and take their map creation to the next level. We look forward to your participation!

Speaker:

Nicole Lahr
+49 911 395 2617
nicole.lahr@nielseniq.com

RegioGraph

RegioGraph is a geomarketing software with a wide range of analysis tools that allows you to visualize your business data on a digital map. Combined with the included NIQ purchasing power data, you gain new insights into your customer distribution, view your sales structure from a new perspective, and uncover previously untapped market potential. Share your planning results online with colleagues and improve collaboration across your team.

Find out more

The post Webinar: RegioGraph Tips and Tricks appeared first on NIQ.

Korea On Premise Consumer Pulse Report: March 2026

kunaldiwan0227 — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:36:15 +0000

Tried and trusted within the global beverage alcohol (BevAl) industry, NIQ powered by CGA intelligence’s Monthly On Premise Consumer Pulse Reports serve as a fast turnaround ‘temperature check’ of bars, restaurants, pubs, and other On Premise channels. These reports provide beverage suppliers, manufacturers, and operators with critical data and insights derived from our best-in-class tools.

Why should you download this Report?

+ Tailor Strategies for Success: Leverage insights into On Premise consumer visitation and consumption patterns to refine your distribution channels and brand strategies, ensuring they resonate with your target audience.

+ Make Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize up-to-date sales velocity trends and performance metrics to identify areas for improvement and capitalize on emerging opportunities, positioning your business for growth.

+ Stay Ahead of Consumer Trends: Gain a competitive edge by understanding evolving consumer preferences and behaviors to adjust your marketing tactics and product offerings, maximizing engagement and loyalty.

+ Identify New Growth Opportunities: Discover fresh opportunities within the beverage and hospitality industry, enabling you to innovate and expand your market presence.

Download the Latest Pulse Report Now!

Stay updated with the latest Pulse Reports!

We regularly update our Pulse Reports to bring you the most current insights. While the page may reference a specific month, the report you download will always be the most up-to-date edition.

Looking for previous Consumer Pulse Reports? They’re available on demand. Contact us to request the specific version you need.

The post Korea On Premise Consumer Pulse Report: March 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

The Rise of Chinese Brands in Europe:

eminamaslic0415 — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:37:08 +0000

For decades, established European brands benefited from a powerful, often unspoken advantage: trust. Heritage, origin, and scale acted as shortcuts in consumers’ decision-making. Quality was assumed. Relevance was rarely questioned.

That era is ending.

Western Europe, representing 36% of FMCG and 27% of T&D total global sales, has become the largest growth engine for Chinese brands.
As Chinese brands accelerate their expansion across Europe, they are not simply increasing competition. They are reshaping how brands are perceived, evaluated, and chosen. The real disruption is not price alone. It is redefining how brand equity is built.

From inherited equity to earned relevance

Brand equity was once cumulative. Years, sometimes generations, of presence created familiarity and reassurance. Today, consumers grant far less benefit of the doubt.

NIQ insights from the Automotive sector illustrate this shift clearly. In 2024, Chinese OEMs were no longer testing Europe quietly. At the Paris Motor Show, China was the most represented country, with a wave of brands from established names to new EV challengers, signaling long-term commitment to the European market. This visibility matters: it reframes Chinese brands from outsiders to credible alternatives.

And this shift isn’t limited to automotive. Across Tech & Durables, Chinese brands are already reshaping competitive dynamics. In Consumer Electronics, Chinese players have moved beyond entry-level positioning to compete on feature performance and ecosystem integration. In Major Domestic Appliances, Chinese brands are gaining share by offering well-designed, energy efficient products at accessible price points.

If value-led disruption can successfully rewrite brand hierarchies in these high consideration T&D categories, then FMCG may well be the next frontier.

The implication for established European brands is stark. Heritage still matters, but it no longer closes the sale. Brand relevance must now be demonstrated at the point of purchase.

Where perception breaks: promise versus experience

Many European brands continue to rely on narratives of craftsmanship, tradition, and engineering excellence. Yet consumers increasingly anchor brand perception in lived experience: usability, performance, and perceived value for money.

Across both Automotive and Major Domestic Appliances, NIQ data shows that Chinese brands are closing, the experience gap. In Auto, earlier concerns around quality and reliability remain, but once consumers engage with the product, skepticism fades. In MDA, certain Chinese brands demonstrate a similar pattern: brand consideration grows when experience consistently meets consumers’ expectations.

When experience outpaces expectation, brand perception shifts quickly and brands that rely too heavily on storytelling without experiential proof risk losing credibility.

Confidence is re-earned, not inherited

Want to learn more?

Many established brands benefit from deep reservoirs of consumer confidence built over decades. Familiarity reduces risk, and legacy historically acted as a shortcut for quality. Today, that advantage is no longer guaranteed. Confidence has become more fluid and more conditional.

Chinese brands are not competing on heritage. Instead, they are earning consumer confidence through speed: faster innovation cycles, rapid market entry, and visible, frequent upgrades. In Automotive, the pace of EV rollout and feature iteration has made responsiveness itself a signal of relevance. In MDA and consumer electronics, energy efficiency, smart connectivity, and AI enabled features are resetting expectations just as quickly: shifting attention away from what a brand has been, toward how well it keeps up.

This shift is reinforced by more value literate consumers, growing awareness of global supply chains, and the scale Chinese brands enjoy in their domestic markets, allowing them to prioritize activation and relevance before fully building equity. Outcomes are already tangible: a Chinese brand takeover of a leading Japanese brand TV operations shows how quickly leadership can change when speed and value alignment outpace legacy. As familiarity with global tastes grows and consumers become more open to trying new benefits, the question is whether CPG could be next.

A shift in who holds the power

As adoption barriers (e.g. increased physical availability and online search) fall, discovery is easier and consumers are less constrained in their choice of brands. They compare more, switch more easily, and question price premiums more directly.

Automotive shows how quickly this can happen once switching feels “safe enough.” What begins as curiosity becomes normalization. Loyalty becomes conditional.

For European brands across industries, this marks a fundamental shift: brand power no longer sits with the brand alone, but with the consumer’s ability to validate value instantly.

Reading brand signals in a changing competitive landscape

The rise of Chinese brands does not signal the decline of European brands. But it does re-create the rules of how brand equity is built.

Familiar brands are questioned rather than assumed, and these signals often emerge well before any visible impact on sales. This is where brand tracking plays a different role.

Rather than acting as a retrospective scorecard, brand tracking becomes a way to observe how brand meaning evolves in real time: how trust is built or eroded, how relevance is gained or lost, and how the competitive frame itself is changing. It helps leaders see who consumers are starting to compare them with, and why.

The organizations best equipped to respond are not those that react fastest to headline threats, but those that notice the subtle changes early, understand what they mean, and adjust before those changes harden into lost relevance.

In a market where consumers no longer buy brands for who they used to be, the brands that win will be those that prove their value.

Brand equity is no longer inherited. It is earned every day.

The post The Rise of Chinese Brands in Europe: appeared first on NIQ.

High fibre, high sales: How to attract fibre-conscious consumers

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:53:45 +0000

NIQ’s new Food Insights 2026 report, packed with analysis of the latest trends in out-of-home eating to help suppliers and venues grow sales, shows nine in ten (91%) consumers are now aware of the benefits of high-fibre foods. But with interest soaring, all On-Premise operators need to understand the latest preferences and adapt menus and promotions accordingly.

Content

What’s the opportunity?

Fibre’s appeal makes a material difference to consumers’ lifestyles. More than a quarter say they already follow a high-fibre diet, and their awareness is impacting the way they assess menus.

There are sizeable opportunities to capture even more fibre-conscious consumers. Nearly three in four consumers are interested to try this kind of diet in the future, while only 8% are unaware of the advantages.

But there’s a lot of work to be done to turn these curious consumers into purchasers. Currently, just 4% say they opt for fibre-rich menu items every time or most times, while two thirds do so either occasionally (50%), rarely (15%) or never (2%). For now at least, fibre is a secondary consideration in menu selection rather than a priority.

The challenge of educating consumers

For suppliers and venues who want to drive more people towards fibrous items, the first step is education. That means improving general understanding of what actually constitutes a high-fibre ingredient—which is usually accepted to be fibre content of 6g or more per 100g.

Currently, there is good awareness that items like oats, chia seeds and broccoli meet this high-fibre threshold. But far fewer consumers are aware that avocados and raspberries can be good sources too.

With understanding so variable, clear communications about the nutritional values of ingredients are essential to increasing adoption of them. Brands that can lead on this educational task can differentiate themselves and earn a competitive edge on rivals.

How to win in fibre

Alongside education, there are more levers to pull in order to draw people towards high-fibre items. Visibility is vital, so it’s important to make these dishes easy for guests to discover. Attractive menu descriptions are important, and accessible social media content that explains more about the benefits of fibre is another option. Training staff can boost guests’ awareness as well. In these areas and more, foodservice suppliers have a key role to play in helping venues make the most of the mounting interest in fibre.

Ready to win in out-of-home eating?

NIQ’s Food Insights 2026 report provides a comprehensive guide to key trends in out-of-home eating, it includes insights into consumers’ latest preferences, and deep dives into hot topics including technology, sustainability, plant-based eating and more. The report is packed with robust data and expert analysis to help businesses refine strategies and future-proof food propositions. To learn more, get in touch.

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The ‘where’ and ‘when’ of the high tempo occasion in 2026

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:28:35 +0000

Lifestyle changes, rising costs, moderation, new venue types and many more factors have dramatically reshaped out-of-home habits. But with the number of consumers who typically enjoy high tempo occasions rising by 2 percentage points year-on-year, these visits are still vital contributors to trading for pubs, bars, nightclubs and suppliers. Understanding where and when people are going for these occasions is the first step to capturing their attention, and the High Tempo Report is packed with insights for securing a competitive advantage.

Content

The return of the club?

Those insights include expert analysis of people’s venue selections. Nightclubs, for many years a core part of the high tempo occasion, have struggled for footfall in recent years, and NIQ’s Hospitality Market Monitor shows their numbers have halved since the end of 2019. But could they be coming back into favour? More than a third (37%) of consumers say they use clubs for high tempo occasions now, which is 8 percentage points more than a year ago. Meanwhile, numbers visiting bars or late-night bars for these occasions have risen by 4 percentage points to 37%.

However, while clubs and bars are attracting more consumers, some of those visitors are spending less time there. Only 30% say they are visiting nightclubs for high tempo occasions more often than they were a year ago, but venues including sports and social clubs and student bars have seen their frequency rise—perhaps because prices tend to be lower here.

Changing dayparts

Quieter venues are particularly popular because of a steady shift towards earlier high tempo occasions. Nearly a third (32%) of consumers are going out earlier for big nights out than they were a year ago—double the number (15%) who are going out later. The differential between the two (17 percentage points) is also high for visits like competitive socialising (18), pub or bar crawls (16) and events like quizzes or karaoke (12).

This has had a major impact on trading patterns in the On-Premise. The share of sales earned by the early evening slot of 5pm to 7pm has increased by 0.8 percentage points to 25.1% in the last two years, which means it has overtaken the late evening period of 7pm to 10pm (down by 1.3 percentage points to 24.3%) as the most valuable part of the day.

How to meet the new needs

Operators and suppliers need to adapt to these and other rapid changes in high tempo occasions to stay relevant. The High Tempo Report shows one of the top priorities is atmosphere, as a quarter (25%) of consumers say they would go out earlier and stay out longer if this was improved. Promotions and discounts can help as well, by attracting people for whom cost is an issue.

Other likely incentives include a greater variety of activities or entertainment, which can boost footfall in quieter midweek periods in particular. Venues also need to make it easy for guests to reserve tables and order drinks in advance, as a third (33%) say they typically pre-book before a high tempo occasion. Positive social media content is another factor, and it’s slightly more important than it was a year ago.

Ready to win the high-tempo occasions?

NIQ’s 2026 High Tempo Report delivers much more analysis of key consumer behaviours on high tempo occasions, breaking down visits by type, channel, category consumption and much more, with expert takeaways for influencing venue choices and purchases.

The report offers a clear, detailed roadmap for On-Premise businesses seeking to win in an increasingly complex high tempo landscape.

The post The ‘where’ and ‘when’ of the high tempo occasion in 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

Bigger days, better sales: How to win on the key On-Premise dates

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:12:36 +0000

Content

Three key occasions

Three national days in the first four months of the year—Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and St Patrick’s Day—have proved the reach of big events. According to NIQ’s latest On Premise Consumer Pulse Report, two in five (40%) consumers planned to visit pubs, bars, restaurants or similar venues for Mother’s Day, while well over a quarter (29%) intended to go out for St Patrick’s Day. These two occasions followed Valentine’s Day, when 17% of consumers said they visited the On-Premise.

The Pulse research shows why it’s more important than ever for operators and suppliers to capitalise on big days. Three in five consumers are either severely affected (19%) or moderately affected (42%) by rising costs, and average On-Premise spend fell month-on-month in February. With consumer spending and operating costs under such heavy pressure, it’s crucial to attract people when they have a treat and celebratory mindset.

What consumers want on big days

Understanding exactly what consumers want from these big occasions, and where they are going, is key to winning their spend. Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest days of the year for restaurants, and they welcomed nearly half (45%) of those who went out to celebrate. Nearly half (46%) of couples chose the early evening slot (5pm to 8pm) for their meals.

Celebrations on Mother’s Day also tend to be led by food. Around three in ten of those who planned to go out said they would choose casual dining restaurants (32%) or pubs with a food focus (31%). With many of those visits taking place in earlier dayparts, more than a third (37%) planned to drink soft or hot drinks, making it the top category ahead of wine (35%).

Drinks trends are very different on St Patrick’s Day. Beer is the most popular choice, with close to half (45%) of those going out for the occasion planning to buy it—not surprising given Ireland’s close association with stout. Cocktails (30%) are another common option. Venue-wise, it is drink-led pubs that benefit most from St Patrick’s Day. Nearly a third (31%) planned to visit them, with food-led pubs (29%) and bars or late-night bars (23%) the next most popular.

The need to stay relevant

All this interest in big occasions can translate into strong sales. NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker reveals average drinks sales in managed venues on St Patrick’s Day (Tuesday 17 March) were 52% higher than the same Tuesday in 2025 and value ROS on the day was 46.8% higher than in 2025, as consumers packed out pubs and bars for Irish-themed celebrations.

However, extra spend is far from guaranteed. While sales on Mother’s Day in 2026 were 70% more than the average Sunday in the first quarter, value ROS on the day was 2.4% lower than in 2025. In restaurants, spending on drinks and main courses was down year-on-year, though it was up on starters and desserts.

A slightly weaker Mother’s Day is a reminder of the heavy competition for footfall on big occasions. Consumers are likely to remain hesitant about spending for some time to come, so it’s vital to adapt to the new ‘fewer but bigger’ approach to eating and drinking out occasions. Brands and venues that do so have some great opportunities to win brand trial and trade-up and secure loyalty—not just on the big days but throughout the year.

Get in touch

NIQ provides a best-in-class suite of research to help On-Premise stakeholders understand the latest sales trends and consumer engagement in the market, delivering in-depth analysis of channels, occasions, segments, pricing and much more, with bespoke brand level views for supporting individual strategies.

To discover how your brand is performing across the top 20 UK dates, and how NIQ’s On-Premise sales measurement and consumer insights can support your winning strategies into 2026, contact us today!

The post Bigger days, better sales: How to win on the key On-Premise dates appeared first on NIQ.

Foodservice Price Index February 2026

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:30:14 +0000

Food and drink prices in the hospitality sector recorded a minor month-on-month decline of -0.2% in February, bringing the Foodservice Price Index (FPI) to 152.6. This slight easing builds upon the stabilisation seen in January, providing further short-term relief to operators following the intense inflationary spikes of late 2025.

The exclusive Foodservice Price Index is produced by Prestige Purchasing and NIQ, using foodservice data drawn from 10.7m transactions per month. It contains myriad insights and information pertinent to the foodservice sector and is essential reading for anyone seeking to keep ahead of price trends and understand why they occur. More information on specific categories is available on a subscription basis.

For further information, contact Prestige Purchasing on 01908 222678 or stuart.read@prestige-purchasing.com.

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Mother’s Day Confectionery Trends: What Drives Growth and Gifting Decisions

andresxportilla — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:03:02 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This one-pager reveals how emotional certainty, assortment clarity, and premium execution sustain confectionery growth despite pricing pressure.

Mother’s Day spend is concentrating now on brands that simplify choice and elevate meaning, which will outperform competitors.

Why it matters

Mother’s Day shows how CPG brands can protect premium growth by delivering emotional clarity, not more choice.

Download The Perspective

Emotion drives conversion

Chocolate remains the safest, most trusted gift, offering emotional certainty shoppers are willing to pay for.

Premium is shifting channels

Club and ecommerce are gaining share by making premium feel accessible, curated, and confidently chosen.

Simpler assortments sell more

Clear, gift‑coded selections reduce choice anxiety and outperform broad, price‑led displays at retail.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“Mother’s Day exposes a hard truth for the industry: consumers haven’t stopped spending-they’ve stopped tolerating anything that feels generic. Demand is concentrating around moments that deliver emotional certainty, rewarding brands and retailers that simplify choice and elevate meaning rather than chase volume. Those that align around clarity, curation, and experience will capture more predictable—and more durable-seasonal performance.“

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

The post Mother’s Day Confectionery Trends: What Drives Growth and Gifting Decisions appeared first on NIQ.

Winning Flavours: What’s Driving Snacking Innovation in India

andresxportilla — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:04:50 +0000

Winning Flavours: What’s Driving Snacking Innovation in India

Which flavours are actually driving consumer preference—and what should you launch next?

This report decodes how India’s snacking landscape is evolving, based on detailed analysis of flavour preferences across consumer cohorts and product formats.

Inside, you’ll discover:

The top-performing flavours across categories—and how preferences differ by Gen Z and Millennials

Why local favourites like Chaat Masala and Tikka Masala continue to anchor growth

How global and fusion flavours (e.g. Peri Peri, Mexican, Korean) are gaining traction

The rise of bold, experimental taste profiles driven by younger consumers

How nostalgia and innovation are combining to shape new product formats

Emerging signals around heat, citrus, and umami as the next wave of flavour innovation

Built for marketing, innovation, and category teams, this report provides a clear view of how to align product development, positioning, and portfolio strategy with evolving consumer tastes.

Download the report to identify the flavours and formats most likely to win in India’s next wave of snacking growth.

The post Winning Flavours: What’s Driving Snacking Innovation in India appeared first on NIQ.

Getting the Recipe Right for the On-Premise Cocktail Opportunity

kunaldiwan0227 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:56:20 +0000

While the On Premise is undeniably facing challenging trading conditions, there are pockets of growth that are helping businesses across the sector navigate the current climate more successfully. Cocktails, in particular, are demonstrating notable resilience in the face of these headwinds, supporting venue revenues and enabling spirits brands to retain – and in some cases even grow – market share. Given the category’s rising strategic importance, NIQ has invested significant resources in analysing the category’s performance across multiple markets. This range of complementary data sources allows us to build a holistic view of the global and local cocktail landscape which can in turn help businesses develop more focused, evidence-based cocktail strategies.

In France, our tracking of consumption patterns indicates that the cocktail market has reached a steady state, with one in three consumers now ordering them when out. But there are also encouraging signs of further growth, as nearly one in four reports increasing their cocktail consumption. Importantly, these tend to be loyal consumers. One in two orders a cocktail every time, or almost every time, they go out. This demonstrates that once a brand or venue wins them over, this audience is highly likely to represent valuable repeat business.

We notice a similar trend in Britain, with cocktail drinkers representing a highly valuable group to target, particularly the younger cohort, whose frequency of consumption is rising sharply. Among 18-34-year-olds, one in three engages with the category once or twice a week, up 9 percentage points (pp) from last year; 18% are enjoying them up to five times a week (up 11pp); and a striking 4% are having them daily, an increase of 4pp from last year. The picture is even more positive in the US. Around 38% of younger and middle-aged consumers choose cocktails, and notably, one in four of those aged 55 and over.

Cocktail’s perception

The popularity of the category doesn’t mean that drinks sell themselves. The financial pressures which have characterised the past few years continue to influence consumer behaviour, making it crucial to genuinely meet their needs in order to succeed. In France, for example, cocktails are popular, gaining penetration over 2025, and champions of aesthetic, but need to boost their ‘value for money’ and innovative features, which highlights consumers remain price- and quality-conscious. If they continue to order them, it is because they see them as a treat, and across more dayparts.

In Britain, the emphasis on quality is similar, with consumers judging cocktails based on the calibre of ingredients – from spirits and mixers to garnishes – as well as presentation. Here, “Instagrammability” plays an important role too, but what’s truly critical is execution: a poorly made cocktail can put off more than one in three from returning to a particular venue, and two in five from the category as a whole. Meanwhile, in the US market, quality perception remains an important factor for around half of consumers when choosing a drink. Yet, branded ingredients play a more central role in purchasing decisions: 53% of users are willing to pay a premium for a cocktail that features clearly named, branded spirits.

Classic serves…

To capture consumers’ attention and keep them engaged, businesses need to pay close attention to the specific drinks that people seek. The Aperol Spritz is the undisputed favourite in Britain, chosen by nearly 14% of On-Premise drinkers. It is also a popular choice in France, alongside the Kir Royale. It’s perhaps unsurprising that two sparkling wine-based drinks feature in the top ten in the homeland of Champagne: this signals a clear opportunity for sparkling wine brands. The Aperol Spritz is less dominant in the US, but the Mimosa ranks as the second most popular cocktail there, so fizzy wine still has significant potential within the North American On-Premise.

The undisputed king of cocktails in the US is, however, the Margarita, loved not only by younger consumers (44%) but also by those aged 35–54 (48%) and 55+ (57%). This popularity is likely linked to the broader appeal of Tequila, which 45% of On-Premise users cite as their favourite cocktail base. Rum, by contrast, is chosen as a base by only one in four, yet its presence in trendy cocktails remains strong: the Daiquiri, Piña Colada, and Mojito all feature among the top five favourites. This may seem contradictory, but it’s in fact not that surprising: we shouldn’t assume that consumers always know exactly what goes into their cocktails (in France, nearly one in five admit they don’t). While they may have a preferred spirit if asked, they are often more attached to specific recipes, regardless of the ingredients.

…or signature drinks?

Businesses shouldn’t rely solely on these well-known services. Data from France shows that even the top choices are gradually losing ground, reflecting a broader evolution in consumer preferences observed across other markets as well. Younger users, in particular, are increasingly drawn to flavour experimentation and are more willing to try new and innovative cocktails. Signature serves (drinks unique to a specific venue) present an excellent opportunity to attract younger British consumers, for instance, as more than half of this group favour these exclusive creations over standard offerings. For this strategy to succeed, brands and operators need to collaborate closely on recipe design, combining popular base spirits with trending flavours or flavour profiles. Citrus, for instance, ranks among the top three preferred cocktail flavours in France, so bars there can bet on the likes of limes, lemons, and yuzus to develop successful recipes.

That said, simply identifying trending classic cocktails or popular flavour and taste profiles isn’t enough to create an offering that truly engages consumers. Businesses and brands need to dig deeper into consumer preferences to understand precisely when and where people want these flavours and experiences.

In the US, 60% of On-Premise consumers prefer fruity and sweet cocktails in the summer. Yet, relying on the same drinks in winter might lead to lost revenues, as the appeal for that profile halves. During the colder months, operators are better off focusing on coffee-based cocktails (chosen by 47% of drinkers), hot cocktails (42%), and indulgent, boozy, creamy creations (37%). On-Premise consumers in Britain are similarly influenced by seasonality. Overall, the split between those who adjust the type of cocktail they consume based on the time of year and those who don’t is almost even (53% vs 47%). Yet, that 47% who do vary their choices might require some extra effort from brands and operators aiming to capture the widest audience: 48% of consumers adjust the flavours they seek, 44% vary the type of serve, and an intriguing 32% even switch their preferred base spirit.

The how and when

Equally important to adjusting the type of offering is understanding what drives people to a venue in the first place, and when they are most likely to visit. In this regard, analysis of the French market provides particularly valuable insight, as it shows strong evidence of how online information influences consumers’ decisions on where to go. For the average French consumer, activities such as checking the menu online, reviewing prices, and looking at photos to gauge a venue’s ambience and vibe are even more influential than recommendations from friends and family. This is particularly true for cocktail consumers: 44% regularly consult reviews before visiting, 41% check the drinks menu, and one in three browse the venue’s social media pages.

Meanwhile, looking at the “when”, analysis of the US market shows that Friday and Saturday are, overall, the most valuable occasions for cocktail consumption in the region (largely because higher volumes are sold on those days). But that doesn’t mean every cocktail performs best at the weekend peak. The Mimosa – the country’s second best-performing recipe – achieves its strongest results on Sundays, unlike most other leading cocktails, which over-index on Fridays and Saturdays. Similarly, the Bloody Mary and the Paloma generate the highest average returns per outlet on a Sunday. By contrast, the velocity of other drinks, such as Sangria, tends to remain relatively consistent across the weekend. When properly promoted in-venue, these more stable performers can serve as a reliable lever for revenue forecasting and smoothing sales across the week.

Classic recipes, signature serves, trending flavours, seasonality, online presence: no single element alone can define a successful On-Premise strategy. The real key lies in developing a holistic understanding of region-, time- and audience-specific trends, supported by granular data that uncovers the why, how, when and where behind consumer behaviour. Only then can venues and brands build strategies that are truly tailored to their individual needs.

Win in the On-Premise

NIQ offers a comprehensive suite of tools to make informed decisions and drive success across the global On-Premise.

Providing insights into category, channel, and occasions, aiding in sales and marketing strategy optimisation, offering valuable in-market insights and benchmarking for targeted consumer outreach.

The post Getting the Recipe Right for the On-Premise Cocktail Opportunity appeared first on NIQ.

Webinar: A Perspective on Wellness

andresxportilla — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:26:49 +0000

A Perspective on Wellness

On-Demand Webinar

Webinar description

Consumers continue to redefine what wellness means to them and how they prioritize it, increasingly changing expectations for brands and retailers. As economic pressures, new technologies, and shifting regulations reshape wellness, the marketplace is entering a new era of transformation.

Join NIQ’ Sherry Frey for an insight-rich session that uncovers how today’s wellness consumers are (and aren’t) managing their own health, navigating the evolving retail landscape, and making more conscious, values-driven choices. Using NIQ’s Full View™, this session will break down the trends influencing demand across wellness categories and the implications for brands and retailers planning their next moves.

Whether you’re in CPG, retail, ecommerce, or innovation, this session provides a consumer-first perspective on the future of wellness—and the actionable insights you need to unlock value in a rapidly evolving market.

Featured Speaker:

Sherry Frey

Vice President, Total Wellness

As Vice President of Total Wellness at NielsenIQ (NIQ), Sherry Frey brings more than three decades of industry experience, helping clients across the fresh, CPG, and wellness industries navigate evolving consumer behaviors and market dynamics. She combines forward-thinking insights with practical strategies, empowering brands to stay ahead in an increasingly wellness-conscious world.

With a background in market research, innovation, and consulting, Sherry is a sought-after speaker at national and international industry events. She is frequently called upon by media and analysts as an expert on consumer health, wellness, and environmental trends. Her perspective extends beyond personal well-being to include the interconnected health of people, communities, and the planet.

The post Webinar: A Perspective on Wellness appeared first on NIQ.

Turning Up the Volume Online

diegoalvarado — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:43:45 +0000

Where is online volume growth coming from – and how can you capture it?

This report breaks down the key drivers shaping digital growth across categories, with a focus on:

Which channels are driving volume gains in metro markets

Where incremental growth is coming from across online platforms

How new product launches are contributing to online performance

The key trends shaping innovation and the 2026 outlook

Designed for commercial and category teams, this report helps you prioritize the right channels, optimize launch strategies, and align decisions to accelerate online growth.

The post Turning Up the Volume Online appeared first on NIQ.

Introducing Temperature State: An Omni Lens for Food

diegoalvarado — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 22:05:53 +0000

Introducing Temperature State: An Omni Lens for Food

Shoppers choose food by temperature state—Fresh, Frozen, Refrigerated, or Shelf Stable—across in-store and online channels, and those decisions shape broader consumer behavior trends across U.S. retailers. Until now, there has not been a single, comparable way to measure those choices consistently across banners, fulfillment models, and retail environments. NIQ Expanded Omnishopper’s Temperature State closes that gap with an omni-consistent view of shopper insights that helps retailers and manufacturers quantify missions, substitution, and cross-channel movement. In practice, Temperature State reveals who is buying, what they are switching to and from, and where dollars are leaking—so teams can make better decisions on assortment, space, pricing, promotion, and activation.

First in a series: Temperature State raises new questions—so we’re publishing a short series on the most debated topics in U.S. food retail. This launch article focuses on Grocery Center Store (Shelf Stable)—separating facts from assumptions about what’s driving sales. Coming next: Article 2: Amazon same-day delivery update.

How Temperature State Works

Temperature State groups Grocery Food purchases into four easy-to-read temperature forms—Shelf Stable, Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen—using a single, consistent approach across in-store and online transactions (including both UPC-coded and random-weight items).

Three Center Store Myths Temperature State Finally Busts

Myth 1 — “Center Store is a drag on Grocery Food sales.“

Reality: Grocery Center Store (AKA Shelf Stable) remains foundational to Grocery Food and contributes meaningfully to growth. When you view the latest 52 weeks of data by temperature state, Shelf Stable’s contribution is proportional to its size within Grocery rather than underperforming.

Implication: Treat Shelf Stable like a growth platform—not a down lever—by protecting availability and promo where it’s driving gains.

Myth 2 — “The Grocery perimeter is stealing Center Store sales.”

Reality: Temperature State shows that while Grocery Shelf Stable is growing overall, some Shelf Stable dollars are shifting—and that net movement is not to Fresh, Refrigerated, or Frozen items within Grocery. Instead, the shift is largely cross‑channel, with Shelf Stable sales moving to Shelf Stable formats outside Grocery, rather than to the Grocery perimeter.

This indicates that competitive pressure is coming from where shoppers are buying Shelf Stable items, not from increased substitution within the store.

Implication: To sustain Shelf Stable growth within Grocery, prioritize strengthening Shelf Stable competitiveness outside Grocery—including pricing, availability, pack architecture, and channel presence—before focusing on perimeter adjacencies that may not address the true source of sales shifting.

Myth 3 — “Grocery Center Store growth is driven only by price inflation.”

Reality: While price plays a role, Grocery Center Store growth is not driven by price alone. Temperature State shows that changes in buyers and occasions also contribute meaningfully to performance. By separating growth into its core drivers, teams can see whether Shelf Stable gains are coming from more shoppers, more trips, or pricing effects, rather than assuming inflation is the sole factor.

This creates a more complete and accurate picture of what’s actually powering category performance—and challenges the idea that Shelf Stable growth is merely a price story.

Implication: Use the NIQ Expanded Omnishopper driver view to identify the right growth lever—win more buyers, increase shopping occasions, or optimize pricing and pack architecture—because each requires a different commercial strategy.

Explore Temperature State for Your Business

Bring the Temperature State lens to your retailer, channel, category or brand questions—and pinpoint where shoppers are switching, where dollars are leaking, and what’s driving growth across Shelf Stable, Fresh, Refrigerated, and Frozen. Contact your NIQ representative to schedule a walkthrough and identify the highest-impact opportunities for your business.

The post Introducing Temperature State: An Omni Lens for Food appeared first on NIQ.

Pulse of the Impulse – Unwrapping APAC Snacking Momentum

andresxportilla — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 21:47:51 +0000

APAC’s Snacking & Confectionery Growth is Dependent on Innovation

Snacks and Confectionery growth across APAC has stalled as overall consumption declines. Yet beneath the surface, momentum hasn’t disappeared—it has shifted.

In 2025, 100% of category growth came from insurgent brands, many less than two years old. Thousands of launches enter the market each year, but only those that move fast, feel relevant, and deliver something meaningfully different are winning.

Innovation is no longer optional. It is the engine of category growth.

Notably, all of the industry’s 1.2% growth came from insurgent brands – half from brands launched in 2025, and the rest from launches introduced in 2024.

Importance of The Snacking Formula: Taste, Texture and Identity

When choosing a snack, 34% of consumers say taste and enjoyment matter most. Taste still rules—but what “great taste” means is evolving.

Consumers across APAC are rewarding brands that:

Champion local flavours and regional pride

Layer bold textures for multi‑sensory impact

Offer snacks that feel expressive, not generic

A powerful East‑to‑East flavour movement is reshaping innovation across Asia, replacing the old West‑to‑East playbook. Paired with unexpected textures, everyday snacks are becoming memorable moments.

The right taste and texture strategy doesn’t just win attention. It unlocks incremental growth.

Learn how the right Innovation and snacking formula can unlock sustainable growth

Find out more about our APAC State of Snacking report 2026

From Viral Spark to Scaled Success

Today’s breakout snacks go viral before they go national. Social platforms, creators, and e-commerce now shape discovery, making visual impact and shareability as critical as product quality.

38% of APAC consumers order FMCG products from online pure players for home delivery.
10% of Snacks & Confectionery sales are sourced from online platforms, growing at 5%.

But hype fades fast. The real winners are those that convert early buzz into sustained scale – long after launch.

The Future of Snacking Is Already Taking Shape

Here’s what shaping the next wave of growth:

Millennials and Gen Z will dominate spending
AI assistants may soon influence shopping decisions

Category boundaries are rapidly blurring

Staying competitive means zooming out beyond today’s trends to anticipate what’s next. Pulse of the Impulse explores the signals shaping the future of snacking.

Partner with Us to Navigate the Evolving Snacking Landscape in APAC

Request a private consultation with our experts and turn insights into action.

The post Pulse of the Impulse – Unwrapping APAC Snacking Momentum appeared first on NIQ.

A new era for vision correction: Lessons from the global optics market

andresxportilla — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:54:00 +0000

As the optics market enters a new era defined by innovation and shifting consumer needs, it is clear that personal health remains at the forefront of purchasing decisions.

Brendan Dowd, from consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ (NIQ), writes that global market data for 2025 provides insight into what to expect in 2026.

This article was featured in the April issue of mivision. This edition brings together the latest clinical insights, industry developments, and expert perspectives from across optometry and ophthalmology, helping readers stay informed on the innovations shaping eye care today. Visit here

Even as global economic headwinds intensify, consumers continue to prioritise personal wellness, NIQ data shows. Globally, 30% of consumers say they feel better off financially than a year ago, yet 32% still feel worse – creating a cautious but stable environment for health-related purchases.

Global gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts for 2025 heading into 2026 were relatively stable, though heightened trade tensions and policy uncertainty have led to weaker consumer confidence globally in 2025. Within this climate, integrated analytics from NIQ and global market research company GfK provide a stabilising lens, offering the world’s most comprehensive views of consumer behaviour. For optics specifically, NIQ’s global lens tracking serves as a critical benchmark for understanding how the category is evolving under these pressures.

A Shifting Global Backdrop

Despite macroeconomic turbulence, the optics sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience. While consumer confidence in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) markets weakened in 2025, essential categories, such as vision correction, were less price elastic.

This is evident in global contact lens sales, which grew 5.5% in value in 2024 and were tracking at +4.1% growth in 2025 per NIQ’s global optics sales reporting. Daily disposable lenses have increased their share of global value to 61%, up from 57% in 2022, illustrating the strength of premiumization, even in constrained economic conditions. Meanwhile, online contact lens sales rose by 7% globally year‑on‑year, contributing to a total online share of 29%.

Australia in the Global Landscape

Australia mirrors many of these global trends while exhibiting its own distinct behaviours. Screen exposure continues to rise: studies in the US show that 50% of teenagers spend four hours or more on screens daily, and 70% of adults report symptoms of digital eye strain (source: Zablotsky B, Ph.D., Arockiaraj B, M.P.H., Haile G, M.P.H., and Ng AE, Ph.D., M.P.H. CDC: National Center for Health Statistics NCHS Data Brief No. 513, October 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db513.htm). Similar patterns in Australia are driving more frequent prescription updates, particularly among younger adults. However, eye exam frequency still lags ideal levels; globally, only 47% of people had an eye examination in the past 12 months, with Germany as low as 31%.

At the same time, Australia’s ageing population fuels demand for presbyopia solutions. The UN World Population forecasts that by 2050 more than 25% of the population in advanced economies will be aged 65 or older (source: Ritchie H, Roser M. Age Structure, Our World In Data (Internet). Age Structure – Our World in Data), increasing reliance on both progressive spectacle lenses and multifocal contact lenses. This shift in demographics will help drive future momentum for the optics market.

“Australia’s ageing population fuels demand for presbyopia solution “

Myopia Management: From Niche to Mainstream

Few segments illustrate the evolution of eye care as clearly as myopia management. Across key Asia Pacific (APAC) markets such as Japan, China, and South Korea, NIQ sales tracking shows myopia management lenses have grown fourfold between 2021 and 2024. In some East Asian markets, up to 80–90% of teenagers and young adults are now myopic, according to the Academy of Ophthalmology, prompting significant investment from families seeking preventative solutions.

Globally, myopia prevalence is expected to reach 50% of the population by 2050, with 40% of children and teenagers affected (source: Holden BA, Fricke TR, Resnikoff S, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016 May;123(5):1036-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.01.006.). This has elevated demand for clinically proven interventions such as MiSight 1 Day, Acuvue Abiliti, HOYA MiyoSmart, and Essilor Stellest. In Australia, uptake is accelerating quickly as awareness increases among parents and practitioners. This shift is reinforced by changing clinical recommendations: from a 2025 NIQ study of eye care providers, 79% of European optometrists reported regularly fitting contact lenses, and 55% now offer myopia management.

Smart Glasses and the Rise of Intelligent Eyewear

Smart glasses have undergone a dramatic transformation from early prototypes to credible consumer products. EssilorLuxottica’s Ray‑Ban Meta, one of the first successful artificial intelligence (AI)‑enabled eyewear launches, recorded extraordinary growth – up 203% in top European markets from 2023 to 2024 and up 158% year‑to‑date in 2025 (NIQ Market Intelligence EU5 in Value). These adoption levels demonstrate consumer readiness for eyewear that integrates communication, productivity, and lifestyle features.

New entrants reinforce this trajectory. Google’s Android XR smart glasses, powered by Gemini AI, and Apple’s planned 2026 smart glasses signal rapid expansion. EssilorLuxottica has now entered the audio-vision space with United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‑approved prescription glasses incorporating hearing enhancement technology, underscoring the convergence of eyewear, health tech and AI.

For optical retailers, the opportunity lies in service. Smart glasses often require fitting, adjustments, and ongoing support – areas where optometrists are uniquely positioned to differentiate.

“Premiumisation continues to propel value growth across optical categories”

Premiumisation as a Defining Force

Premiumisation continues to propel value growth across optical categories. Globally, contact lens prices have grown faster than CPI inflation in several major markets, particularly the US and Europe. Specialty lenses – daily toric, daily multifocal, and cosmetic – are outperforming more traditional segments. In APAC market sales tracking, silicone hydrogel lenses have grown 37% in volume since 2020, while traditional hydrogel lenses have declined 33%.

Across eyewear, progressive spectacle lenses remain the strongest value contributor, with NIQ European sales data showing unit share rising steadily from 23.8% in 2022 to 28.2% in 2025. Sunglasses also skew toward premium retail, with strong uptake of fashion‑led and “quiet luxury” designs. Even value-conscious consumers increasingly choose higher‑quality products when benefits – comfort, clarity, durability – are clear.

The Acceleration of Online and Subscription Models

Online purchasing behaviours are reshaping the global optics ecosystem. Japan’s online share has reached 38% in 2025, while China’s online and social commerce channels now represent the vast majority of total contact lens sales. In Japan, online prices average 20% lower than in bricks‑and‑mortar stores, influencing consumer channel choice.

Australia is following a similar path, with hybrid purchasing emerging as a typical behaviour. Some consumers book eye exams in practice, then reorder lenses online via subscription or direct‑to‑consumer channels. However, eye care providers are still the leading driver for the brand or product a consumer purchases when choosing a lens, with consumers turning to their eye health professional to help guide their decision-making process.

Looking Ahead: What the Next Chapter Holds

The optics market in 2025 was characterised by resilience, innovation, and shifting consumer behaviour. Australia’s digitally enabled, health‑conscious consumers place the market at the forefront of global transformation – from smart eyewear and premium contact lenses to preventative myopia care. Even amid economic headwinds, demand continues to grow on the strength of essential health needs and rising expectations for personalised, technology‑enhanced vision solutions.

The next chapter of the optics sector will be shaped by several intersecting forces. Myopia management will continue expanding as prevalence rises and new clinical evidence strengthens. Smart eyewear will transition from niche to mainstream as AI integration matures. Ageing demographics will increase demand for presbyopia correction, while sustainability concerns will influence both packaging and product design.

Economic uncertainty may continue into 2026, but essential health categories, such as optics, have demonstrated strong and structural resilience. The future of optics lies not only in clearer sight but in smarter, more proactive, and more connected approaches to eye health – and the momentum behind this evolution is unmistakably accelerating.

Get a clear view of the optics marketplace

Bring your market into focus with data & insights from the GfK Optics Panel

The post A new era for vision correction: Lessons from the global optics market appeared first on NIQ.

The new financial reality: How Filipino Consumers are spending, saving, and banking in 2026

andresxportilla — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 22:13:17 +0000

Key Takeaways

Filipino consumers are cautious but still spending – intentionally

Economic volatility, slower GDP growth (4.4% in FY2025), and corruption-driven uncertainty are pushing households to prioritize essentials, grow savings, and demand value, convenience, and security from banks.

Digital adoption is near-universal, but usage is shallow

99% of Filipinos shopped online in the past six months, yet only 52% actively use mobile banking apps, 29% use Internet Banking. Consumers want digital services that are fast, easy, secure, and human-supported.

Value now means “worth it,” not just cheap

Low prices still matter, but value-for-money, convenience, and personalized experiences increasingly drive choice—especially in banking and payments.

What is shaping the new Filipino financial mindset?

Filipino consumer confidence is fragile because macro uncertainty feels personal

GDP growth slowed to 4.4% in FY2025, driven mainly by a sharp pullback in government capital formation and weaker government consumption.

Let’s break it down. Corruption scandals in 2025 stalled infrastructure projects. This reduced jobs, delayed income flows, and weakened business confidence.

As a result, consumer confidence indices turned negative in Q4’25, with concerns centered on corruption, inflation, and lower household income.

Why does inflation still feel painful—even when it’s slowing?

Inflation is lower, but prices are still high.

Philippine inflation eased to 1.7% in 2025, the lowest since 2022, but the Consumer Price Index continues to rise.

Here’s the short version. Inflation measures speed, not relief.

Prices for essentials like red onions (+79% YoY) remain elevated.

How are consumers adjusting their spending behavior?

Spending in 2026 is intentional—every purchase must earn its place

Consumers are adapting, not retreating. Spending caution is now built into household economics.

Common consumer behaviors you’ll recognize:

· Buying smaller packs or buying in bulk on payday

· Switching brands or channels for better value

· Waiting for promotions

· Prioritizing essentials over big-ticket items

At the same time, consumers will still spend on experiences—if the value feels justified.

What does “value” mean to Filipino consumers today?

Value means usefulness, control, and peace of mind—not just low prices.

In the Philippines, “low price” remains the top shopping driver, versus “value for money” in APAC overall.

But value is evolving. Consumers now seek:

· Convenience and time savings

· Relevant offers and personalization

· Trust and transparency

This shift explains why brand switching is common and loyalty must be continually earned.

How digital is the Filipino consumer—really?

Digital access is universal; digital depth is not.

The numbers are clear:

· 99% shopped online in the past six months

· 71% use e-wallets

· Only 52% use mobile banking apps

· 29% use internet banking

Usage today is functional, not strategic. Top digital banking activities remain basic:

· Paying bills

· Transferring money

· Checking balances

What defines “good” digital banking today?

Digital convenience means fast, easy, flexible—and secure.

Consumers define good digital experiences as:

· FAST: transactions done in seconds, 24/7

· EASY: intuitive, low-effort, error-free

· FLEXIBLE: seamless online–offline integration

But one factor overrides all others.

Security is the #1 driver of bank choice.

A “good mobile app” matters—but only after trust is established.

What should banks do differently now?

Banks win by combining digital speed with human reassurance.

Winning banks:

· Deliver consistent experiences across all touchpoints

· Use data to personalize meaningfully, not aggressively

· Integrate with daily-life apps and routines

· Make security visible, not assumed

Understanding how Filipino consumers are recalibrating spending, saving, and digital expectations is now critical to staying relevant in financial services.

Learn how NIQ can help you to turn caution into growth

Request a private briefing with our experts and turn insights into action.

The post The new financial reality: How Filipino Consumers are spending, saving, and banking in 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

Beauty in 2026: Global shifts. Local realities. Real growth

andresxportilla — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:09:31 +0000

Report

Beauty in 2026: Global shifts. Local realities. Real growth

Global Beauty Views 2026: Data-Driven Trends & Local Success Drivers

Global Beauty Views 2026 brings together expert insights from 20 key beauty markets, offering a data-led view of how consumer preferences, routines, and buying behaviour are evolving across the world. The report captures how global pressures—such as inflation, digital acceleration, and shifting cultural values—are reshaping beauty, while highlighting the local nuance that defines success in each market.

Key report highlights include:

Coverage of 20 influential beauty markets, including the US, China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, and the UK

Deep analysis of how economic pressure and inflation are reshaping beauty routines globally

The growing global influence of K-Beauty as a benchmark for efficacy and formulation

Strong acceleration of e-commerce and digital-first discovery, with global beauty e-commerce value sales growing +18% in 2025, far outpacing offline growth

Ready to explore more global beauty insights?

Learn More

Beauty in 2026 is shaped by global forces but defined locally. Success will come to brands that move beyond chasing trends and truly understand people—how they live, what they value, and how those values drive purchase decisions.

Tara James Taylor, Global Beauty Vertical Lead, NielsenIQ

Shaping the future of beauty: key insights from around the world

Beauty is changing. Here’s what’s really driving it.

Beauty is not being transformed by a single defining trend. Instead, a series of interconnected shifts are reshaping how consumers discover, choose, and experience beauty – often in very different ways across markets.

Simpler routines, higher expectations

Consumers are streamlining their routines while expecting more impact from every product. Efficacy, ingredient credibility, and multifunctional formats are increasingly determining what stays in the routine and what is traded out.

Beyond trend: the K-Beauty effect

K-Beauty has moved beyond trend status to become a benchmark for skin-first routines and ingredient-led formulation. Its influence is shaping expectations for performance, innovation, and affordability well beyond Korea.

Digital first beauty decisions

Discovery and evaluation now happen primarily online, with social platforms, marketplaces, and beauty apps driving comparison and validation. These digital touchpoints are increasingly influencing decisions long before shoppers reach the shelf.

Premium and value, side by side

Rather than trading out of beauty, shoppers are becoming more selective about where they invest. Premium continues to win on efficacy and experience, while accessible brands compete on performance-led value.

Global trends. Local reality checks.

While many beauty themes are global, how they play out varies sharply by market. Economic pressure, culture, regulation, and channel dynamics shape very different consumer choices across regions.

Global Beauty Views 2026 brings these signals together through expert perspectives from 20 key markets, revealing how global patterns meet local realities — and where the next opportunities are taking shape.

Webinar

Spaceman: Evolving to Unlock Value through Cloud & AI/ML 

Analysis

K‑Beauty in Canada: From Niche Trend to Strategic Growth Engine

Webinar

Ciclo de vida del planograma – Crea el futuro que quieres 

Report

Beauty, Recalibrated: Inside Asian American Beauty Behavior

The post Beauty in 2026: Global shifts. Local realities. Real growth appeared first on NIQ.

From Stores to Ecosystems: The Next Frontier in Beverage Alcohol Growth

emilyparenti27 — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:43:25 +0000

In an increasingly fragmented regulatory environment, state‑by‑state alcohol‑by‑volume (ABV) rules are shaping what beverage alcohol products can be sold—and where. For fast‑growing categories like ready‑to‑drink (RTD) cocktails, low‑proof spirits, and moderated beer and wine, imprecision at the store level can mean missed opportunities, compliance risk, or costly missteps.

Store‑Level ABV Intelligence for Smarter, Compliant Growth

NIQ’s TDLinx ABV Table delivers the industry’s first store‑level ABV threshold intelligence, embedded directly within TDLinx’s universal retail and on‑premise location database. Covering grocery, liquor, convenience, drug, wholesale clubs, and mass merchandisers across 15 key states, the ABV Table maps exact beer, wine, and spirits ABV limits at the individual outlet level—paired with regulatory context and channel‑specific guidance.

Whether you’re a supplier ensuring compliant shipments, a distributor navigating Utah’s strict beer caps or Pennsylvania’s expanded RTD allowances, or a brand identifying white space for innovation in Texas grocery or Florida mass channels, the ABV Table transforms regulatory complexity into a competitive advantage.

Gain store-level insights with TDLinx to boost store performance, improve retail execution, and support smarter location-based strategies.

Learn more

Turning Regulatory Complexity Into Growth Intelligence

The surge in RTD and low‑ABV innovation has exposed a major gap in traditional regulatory planning. State‑level summaries often fail to capture how alcohol laws are applied at the format, license, and individual store level—where execution actually happens.

The TDLinx ABV Table closes this gap by linking precise ABV thresholds directly to individual locations. Integrated with NIQ’s industry‑leading location intelligence, it gives BevAl teams a clear, actionable view of what products can be sold, where, and through which channels. The result: faster decision‑making, lower risk, and more confident expansion into regulated but high‑growth opportunities.

Key Benefits: Why Store‑Level ABV Intelligence Matters

Store‑Level Compliance Confidence: Match product ABV to exact outlet thresholds to reduce risk, avoid non‑compliant shipments, and minimize costly disruptions.
Faster RTD & Low‑Proof Expansion: Identify which stores and channels can support spirits‑based RTDs and low‑proof innovations without manual regulatory analysis.
Smarter Route & Allocation Planning: Optimize distribution by focusing sales and delivery on eligible outlets, improving efficiency and coverage.
Agility as Regulations Change: Quickly adapt to evolving laws—without re‑engineering workflows—so teams can move at market speed.
Clear Visibility Into White Space: Reveal underdeveloped opportunities across grocery, convenience, mass, and on‑premise formats.

The downloadable TDLinx Relationship Table Report includes concrete examples of how leading teams:

Redesign sales routes and partnerships across interconnected, multi‑format locations
Unlock cross‑promotion and white‑space opportunities within high‑traffic retail ecosystems
Activate coordinated, ecosystem‑wide strategies that drive incremental revenue

Download the Report

Get the complete TDLinx ABV Relationship Table Report to see real‑world examples, frameworks, and best practices for ecosystem‑level planning.

The post From Stores to Ecosystems: The Next Frontier in Beverage Alcohol Growth appeared first on NIQ.

Mapping interconnected retail ecosystems for growth

emilyparenti27 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 23:10:37 +0000

Today’s retail and on‑premise environments are no longer standalone stores. They are complex, interconnected ecosystems—where a single airport, casino, hotel, or supercenter can seamlessly connect grocery, liquor, dining, lodging, and convenience within one high‑traffic footprint.

What is the TDLinx Relationship Table?

NIQ’s new TDLinx Relationship Table brings these hidden connections to light for the first time. By mapping relationships across trade classes and formats, it reveals how locations truly operate in the real world—whether that’s a grocery store with an attached liquor outlet, a casino with embedded bars and retail, or a hotel serving as the hub for multiple dining, nightlife, and convenience venues.

Gain store-level insights with TDLinx to boost store performance, improve retail execution, and support smarter location-based strategies.

Learn more

Unlocking New Growth Through Connected Location Intelligence

This powerful enhancement to NIQ’s industry‑leading TDLinx location database enables FMCG/CPG and BevAl brands, retailers, brokers, and marketers to move beyond single‑store thinking. With relationship intelligence, teams can uncover cross‑promotion opportunities, optimize multi‑format sales routes, identify white space within complex ecosystems, and activate coordinated, ecosystem‑wide strategies that drive incremental distribution, larger baskets, and increased revenue.

Read the full article to see real‑world examples of how leading teams are using relationship intelligence to redesign routes, negotiate smarter partnerships, execute synchronized promotions, and transform fragmented locations into unified growth engines.

Key Benefits: Why Relationship Intelligence Changes the Game

Reveal Hidden Location Ecosystems: Uncover how grocery, liquor, dining, lodging, and on‑premise venues are connected within the same physical footprint—insight that traditional store‑level views miss
Unlock Incremental Revenue Opportunities: Identify cross‑promotion, adjacencies, and multi‑format selling opportunities that increase basket size and total ecosystem value.
Optimize Routes and Coverage: Design smarter sales and service routes across interconnected locations to improve efficiency, coverage, and ROI.
See White Space Faster: Spot underdeveloped or unserved formats within complex venues like airports, casinos, and hotels to guide expansion and prioritization.
Plan Holistically, Not Store‑by‑Store: Move from fragmented location planning to coordinated, ecosystem‑wide strategies aligned to how shoppers actually navigate these environments.

The downloadable TDLinx Relationship Table Report includes concrete examples of how leading teams:

Redesign routes across complex, multi‑format environments
Coordinate on/off‑premise campaigns for higher ROI
Quantify white space and negotiate ecosystem‑wide partnerships
Turn fragmented locations into unified growth engines

Download the Report

Get the complete TDLinx Relationship Table Report to see real‑world examples, frameworks, and best practices for ecosystem‑level planning.

The post Mapping interconnected retail ecosystems for growth appeared first on NIQ.

Wellness is no longer a category. It is the architecture of modern living

andresxportilla — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:30:54 +0000

Wellness has crossed a threshold. What was once niche, aspirational, or corrective has become structural. Today, wellness defines how consumers evaluate products, retailers, systems, and brands. It is no longer about what is removed. It is about what works.

This shift is not philosophical nor aspirational, but quite observable across consumer behavior, spending, and technology. And it is accelerating.

From Avoidance to Optimization

Wellness used to mean less. Less sugar. Less fat. Less indulgence. That era is ending.

Consumers now pursue addition and impact. More protein, fiber, adaptogens, cognitive support. They expect every bite, sip, and daily ritual to contribute to physical resilience, mental performance, and quality of life.

Measurement is evolving with that expectation. Wellness is no longer judged by absence or compliance, but by effectiveness.

What does this product help me achieve today?
How does it support my health span?
Does it work?

This redefinition is reshaping food, beverage, beauty, household, and personal care simultaneously. The boundaries between them are dissolving because consumer goals are shared across categories.

Design Your Wellness Strategy for What Comes Next

Connect with an NIQ wellness expert to understand consumer behavior and where growth is pooling across categories and channels

The Consumer Is Now the System

Consumers increasingly act as CEOs of their own health. They track their bodies in real time. They test, adjust, and personalize. They decide when to escalate, when to self-manage, and when to outsource care.

Wearables illustrate this shift clearly. While nutrition may not be a stated reason for adoption, behavior changes follow. More protein. More hydration. Fewer indulgences. More cooking at home. Technology is more than just tracking health but directing it.

Health care access mirrors the same logic. Urgent care, telehealth, at home testing, and personalized recommendations are replacing linear, provider-driven pathways. Control is moving upstream. Prevention is becoming consumer-led.

The Convergence Effect Across Retail

As wellness becomes outcome driven, categories blur. Supplements appear in beauty. Beauty claims move into personal care and food. Functional ingredients scale across aisles. Retail responds by reorganizing around consumer need states rather than departments.

This may appear as assortment expansion, but not quite. It is value, reframed.

Protein growth across nearly every department illustrates the point. Functional beverages exceed meaningful scale. Peptides, adaptogens, and nootropics stretch across food, beauty, and pet. Wellness is no longer housed in one place because consumers do not experience health that way.

Turn Wellness Complexity Into Competitive Advantage.

From access and affordability to convergence and trust, our experts can help you translate today’s wellness shifts into actionable go-to-market decisions.

The Real Barrier Is Not Interest. It Is Access.

Cost remains the greatest barrier to healthier choices. You would think it’s motivation, awareness or desire. But it’s not.

The data is clear. Access, affordability, and time shape outcomes far more than intent. Lower-income households are not less wellness-oriented. They face different constraints.

This creates both responsibility and opportunity. Brands that treat wellness only as a premium tier will miss growth. Value engineered wellness is the next frontier. Smaller changes, right sized formats, functional density, and trust-based simplicity can meaningfully improve outcomes at scale.

The Bottom Line

Wellness has become the operating system of modern life. Consumers do not want brands selling promises. They want systems that support how they live, eat, recover, and age.

Design for needs, not categories. Optimize for impact, not claims. And engineer value, not exclusion.

Wellness is no longer where consumers shop. It is how they decide.

Download A Perspective on Wellness

Catch the webinar on-demand here

The post Wellness is no longer a category. It is the architecture of modern living appeared first on NIQ.

Time to notice Gen X: The generation still pouring on the BevAl basket

andresxportilla — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:40:21 +0000

For a category searching for its next cork-popping growth, the answer may already be on the shelf.

While industry conversation continues to swirl around what younger legal age consumers might do next, Gen X is already doing the work. Quietly. Reliably. And at a meaningful scale.

This is not a future-facing cohort. It is today’s transaction.

Follow the Money (Then Pour the Occasion)

Globally, Gen X drove an estimated $15.2 trillion in total spending in 2025. Within Beverage Alcohol, they account for 26 percent of total alcohol dollars worldwide and an even larger 27 percent of global wine spend.

That is not fad behavior or trial-led curiosity. That is consistent, repeat purchasing from a cohort that understands value and knows when it is worth paying for.

And that context matters, because alcohol is not growing its way out of this moment.

No Rising Tide, Just Smarter Sailing

Across regions, Beverage Alcohol remains under pressure. Off-premise declines persist in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, while on-premise performance varies by occasion and geography. The days of broad-based recovery are behind us.

The game now is not volume at all costs. It is winning the right buyers, in the right places, for the right occasions.

Gen X is already there.

Turn Gen X insight into action

Book a consultation with our BevAl experts and uncork where the real wins are hiding

A Classic Repertoire Never Goes Out of Style

When Gen X goes out, their drink choices skew timeless, far from trendy. Beer, wine, and spirits form the core, with wine playing an outsized role.

In on-premise settings, wine over-indexes for Gen X versus total consumers and acts as a dependable trade when they move away from their usual. One in four Gen X consumers switch to wine when choosing something different, reinforcing wine’s role as the category equivalent of a well-worn corkscrew: familiar, trusted, and always useful.

Flashy element is not required, but reliability is rewarded.

Value Is Not Cheap. It’s Earned

For Gen X, value is not about shaving dollars. It is about justification.

Forty percent define value for money in luxury drinks as the quality of ingredients. Craftsmanship matters. Consistency matters. This is why wine is the number one category Gen X consumers are willing to pay more for when staying at a hotel.

Wine signals quality without requiring a sales pitch. It delivers “worth it” without overexplaining.

Occasions Are the Real Growth Engine

In Europe, consumers aged 50 to 64 purchase still wine more frequently and spend more per buyer, averaging 16 shopping occasions per year. Sparkling wine plays a different role. Fewer occasions, lower spend per buyer, but unmistakably tied to celebration.

Still wine owns the everyday pour. Sparkling cues the pop. Both earn their place when brands design for occasions rather than SKUs.

Moderation, With Intention

Forty-four percent of Gen X consumers globally plan to spend the same or more on alcohol in the coming year. A reflection on intention, not excess.

But the say-do gap matters. In an inflationary environment, financially secure consumers are more likely to follow through, while less affluent consumers face greater risk of being priced out. The takeaway for brands is clear: make value visible. Ambiguity costs sales.

It’s not a ‘Last Call’ for Gen Xers.

Schedule a session with us and start building smarter, occasion‑led wins.

The Simple Playbook That Still Wins [The Cork]

Looking ahead, the Gen X alcohol market is expected to grow to 1.2x its current size over the next five years, with wine delivering the strongest absolute dollar growth.

Winning does not require complexity:

Lead with value-plus cues. Make quality legible.

Simplify choice. For Gen X, clarity feels premium.

Build around moments like Tuesday dinners, weekend hosting, and celebrations.

Anchor trust through consistency, and where relevant, local cues.

Let channels play their roles: retail for repeat and exploration with guardrails, on-premise for experience and food pairing.

Last Call to Notice Gen X

Gen X, far from nostalgic, is pragmatic.

They are still filling the glass, still carrying the basket, and still fueling meaningful growth. Brands that recognize this are moving past chasing relevance and are, instead, protecting and expanding it.

It is time to notice Gen X.

Not as a legacy consumer, but as the generation still driving the pour.

Download the report here

The post Time to notice Gen X: The generation still pouring on the BevAl basket appeared first on NIQ.

Who You Test With Can Make or Break Innovation Decisions

eminamaslic0415 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:36:50 +0000

In innovation testing, one question comes up consistently: Should we test with our target segment, or with a broader audience?

On the surface, the answer feels obvious. After all, innovations are designed with someone in mind. Surely, testing with the “right” consumer target sharpens insights and reduces noise.

Yet, decades of innovation evidence suggest the opposite. When testing focuses on a narrow target, it does not refine results; it often distorts them.

The Hidden Risk of Testing Among ‘Targets’

Target audiences are, by definition, familiar. They already buy your category; most have your brand in their repertoire; they understand and respond well to your marketing language. That familiarity can inflate appeal, overstate potential, and mask real barriers to adoption.

Successful innovation, however, does not generate growth by playing within a finite pool of target consumers. The evidence-based tenets of marketing science show that innovations often derive significant portions of volume outside their target by reaching lighter buyers, occasional users, considering future entrants, and unexpected usage occasions. When testing is confined to a predefined target, that expansion potential disappears from both the analysis and innovation planning – leaving money on the table.

Why Broad Samples Are More Predictive of In Market Potential

Want to learn more?

Testing innovations with a total representative universe of consumers allows innovators to witness what actually happens when a new idea hits the market.

Broad samples always capture those who involved in the purchase decision including:

Consumers who are not yet category buyers, but could enter the category due to changing habits ( a portioned premium chocolate praline – could appeal to premium chocolate buyers of course, but it could also appeal to non-buyers, if they’re current GLP-1 users or considerers, conscious about their wellness, mindful of portion control, attempting to spend less on certain high inflation categories… in a nutshell, anyone with purchasing power)
Occasional and situational purchasers who drive incremental volume (if we focus on portioned premium chocolate praline buyers today, we ignore those who manage to stave off cravings unless it is a particularly stressful period, they’re on vacation, or it’s the holidays)

This matters because innovation success is rarely driven by targets alone. In many categories, half of sales volume comes from consumers who were never part of the original “core” audience. Ignoring them at the testing stage means underestimating both opportunity and risk.

That risk is further exacerbated by the leaky bucket concept – innovation research demonstrates brands must continuously generate substantial new buyer trial—often up to 80% as much in year two as in year one—to offset natural buyer attrition and sustain franchise growth.

Innovation Isn’t Static. Testing Shouldn’t Be Either

Categories and markets evolve faster than target definitions. A “core consumer” today may not exist in the same form tomorrow. Broad-based testing future-proofs innovation decisions by anchoring them in behaviour, not assumptions.

It also enables comparability. When all initiatives are tested on the same broad foundation that reflects market specific purchasing power, innovation teams can reliably prioritise across countries, brands, portfolios, categories. The question shifts from “Who liked this most?” to “What role can this play in driving growth?”

That distinction is subtle, but critical.

Targets Still Matter – Just Not Where You Think

None of this suggests that target audiences are irrelevant. Quite the opposite.

Targets are essential as an analytical lens, not as a sampling shortcut. Once an innovation is tested broadly, target group analysis helps answer sharper questions:

Which groups drive early adoption versus sustained volume?
How to move from targeted to broad messaging ?

In other words, targets help optimise how an innovation is brought to market—not determine whether it deserves to be there.

The Real Risk in Innovation Testing Isn’t Failure. It’s False Confidence

Innovation testing isn’t about proving that an idea works in a carefully curated and static vacuum. It’s about understanding how it will survive and scale in the real world, where consumers are dynamic, diverse, and distracted.

It would be inadvisable to go to a single retailer, isolate the full-time working millennials living in proximity, those whose current attitudinal and behavioural characteristics slot them into Segment 5 of your Typing Tool and expose only them to your NPD, ignoring all other potential purchasers today and tomorrow. Yet too often, that’s exactly how many test.

Testing that truly reflects the market’s full and evolving complexity leads to innovation decisions that are more predictive, more robust, and built to endure.

The post Who You Test With Can Make or Break Innovation Decisions appeared first on NIQ.

Free compendium: NIQ Purchasing Power for Food and Related Items

thomasmuranyi0924 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:20:56 +0000

Download our free compendium with 17 illustrative maps and find out how purchasing power for food and related items is regionally distributed.

The international NIQ Purchasing Power for Retail Product Lines dataset reveals the regional purchasing power potential for many individual product lines:

1. Food and related items
- 1.1 food
- 1.2 alcohol-free beverages
- 1.3 alcoholic beverages
- 1.4 tobacco products
2. Health and hygiene products
3. Clothing
4. Shoes, leathergoods
5. Furnishings
6. Household products, glass, porcelain
7. Electrical household appliances
8.-11. Consumer electronics, information technology and photography
12. Watches, jewelry
13. Books, stationery
14.-15. Sporting goods, hobbies and recreation
16. Home improvement items

Knowing about the regional distribution of spending potential for your product line allows you to tailor your sales and marketing endeavors according to the consumer preferences of particular regions. The resulting insights give you a decisive competitive advantage for all location-related decisions. Whether planning or evaluating locations, optimizing your direct marketing or managing your sales, NIQ Purchasing Power for Retail Product Lines comprises a value basis for your decisions in many countries across the world.

Feel free to contact us for more information or a personalized consultation.

T +49 911 395 2600
geomarketing.gfk@smb.nielseniq.com

The post Free compendium: NIQ Purchasing Power for Food and Related Items appeared first on NIQ.

Business Confidence Survey

emilybuckley0522 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:00:00 +0000

The exclusive poll reveals 51% of leaders feel confident about prospects for their business over the next 12 months. This is a steady recovery from a five-year low of 26% in October 2025, and reflects solid December trading as well as greater economic certainty.

The number of leaders feeling optimistic about the future of hospitality in general also bounced back, from 13% in late 2025 to 31% in the latest poll. Both confidence metrics are now at their highest points since mid-2024, but they remain well below pre-COVID levels. .

Download the report to read more.

The post Business Confidence Survey appeared first on NIQ.

Client Academy: Growth Beyond the Core

eminamaslic0415 — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:44:09 +0000

If growth feels harder than ever, it’s because many brands are chasing it in the same places, with the same levers, and expecting different results. Loyalty, frequency and portfolio optimisation can only go so far when categories themselves are under pressure.

The brands that are still winning are doing something different: they’re redefining where demand comes from.

What will you learn?

In this webinar, we challenge some of the most common assumptions about growth and explore:

Why many well‑researched growth strategies still fail to deliver
What actually drives sustainable growth across categories today
Why expanding participation matters more than squeezing existing buyers
How leading brands are creating relevance beyond traditional category boundaries

Drawing on data, proven frameworks and real‑world examples, we’ll show how brands are identifying new occasions, entry points and reasons to buy, and turning category expansion into measurable growth.

This session is for marketers who want to move beyond incremental gains, rethink where future demand will come from, and make more confident growth bets in an increasingly constrained environment.

Webinar overview:

Date: May 13th, 2026 , 11AM CET

Presented by: Kellie Woodall and Gillian O’Sullivan, NIQ Consumer Behavior and Insights

The post Client Academy: Growth Beyond the Core appeared first on NIQ.

NIQ Perspective: How TikTok Shop Is Reshaping Beauty eCommerce in the U.S.

andresxportilla — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:44:40 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This perspective reveals how TikTok Shop became the #4 U.S. Health and Beauty eCommerce retailer, driven by discovery-led shopping behaviors.

With sales surpassing $4.4B and household penetration nearing 10%, brands must act now to capture this fast-scaling demand channel.

Why it matters

Health and Beauty brands are facing a fundamental shift as social commerce moves from experimentation to material revenue impact.

Download The Perspective

TikTok Shop Health and Beauty sales grew 84% year over year

Making it the platform’s largest and fastest-growing category

Nearly 10% of U.S. households shop TikTok Shop

Spending $118 annually and purchasing 3 to 4 times per year.

Vitamins, skin care, and fragrance dominate sales

Redefining where and how beauty discovery converts to purchase.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“TikTok Shop continues its unrelenting growth, now ranking as the #4 US ecommerce retailer across health and beauty. What’s most impressive is that it took them less than 3 years to achieve this. This growth represents a real shift in how shoppers discover, engage with, and ultimately purchase, their beauty and wellness products. What’s showing up in our feeds is becoming just as important as what sits on the store, shelves, and tomorrow’s winners will be the ones who adjust to this new reality.”

–Anna Mayo

Vice President, Beauty & Personal Care Thought Leadership

Why meet with NIQ?

The post NIQ Perspective: How TikTok Shop Is Reshaping Beauty eCommerce in the U.S. appeared first on NIQ.

Winning the Australian Omnichannel Liquor Shopper: Purchasing & Consumption Trends for 2026

andresxportilla — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:24:23 +0000

Liquor purchasing is the most omnichannel it has ever been. Consumers now flow across traditional on-premise, off-premise retail, digital platforms, and experience-led spaces more seamlessly than ever.

This creates huge opportunity but also intense fragmentation for suppliers trying to understand where their category is winning or losing, and critically, where to invest next.

For brands, the challenge is not to “be everywhere” but rather to show up in the right places to meet the needs and motivations of their current and future consumers.

Winning in today’s landscape requires:

continuously tracking where consumers are buying, drinking, and consuming

understanding how channels compete, complement, and reinforce each other

developing a channel strategy that adapts as occasions shift

The consumer evidence behind this is compelling, NIQ’s OPUS report tells us:

60% of Australians say they seek out brands they try in on-premise venues when later shopping in retail stores.

43% say they have purchased a drink in retail or on-premise directly because they saw it on social media or online.

Discovery, trial, and replenishment are now interconnected, and channel strategy must reflect this.

Retail Remains The Cornerstone, But Faces Continued Pressure

Retail still anchors the liquor category, but engagement is softening. NIQ’s Omni shopper data highlights:

69.4% of households purchased alcohol at least from retail stores across the whole of 2025, down from 71.5% in 2024.

In the most recent 12 weeks, this dropped again to 51.0%, down from 54.1% the same period a year earlier.

Purchase frequency is also down 4.9%, though higher spend per occasion has softened the blow.

With fewer shoppers entering the channel and those who do buying less often, the traditional volume engine for liquor is under structural pressure. Brands relying solely on Off Premise retail risk future share loss unless they activate new touchpoints.

Want to see how these trends impact your portfolio?

Request a private briefing with our BevAl experts and turn insights into action.

On-Premise Sees Contrasting Fortunes

The On Premise continues to be a barometer for category health, but performance is diverging sharply. NIQ’s On-Premise Measurement (OPM) spotlights:

Beer has delivered strong value growth, up +11.1% YoY.

Glass spirits have declined -4.0% YoY.

RTDs delivered the fastest growth rate, up +15.8% YoY. (Draught RTD being the driver, up +18% vs YA)

Subchannel breakdown shows pubs as the standout performer for all categories:

Beer in pubs: +14.1% vs +9.3% in restaurants

Spirits in pubs: +1.2% vs +5.0% in restaurants

RTDs in pubs: +26.5% vs +16.2% in restaurants

However, value perceptions remain a universal challenge. When ranking visit attributes by satisfaction, “overall value for money” scores lowest, and consumers rate spirits, cocktails, and RTDs as the least satisfying categories on value.

What this means:

Beer must continue leveraging momentum through value cues and session able occasions.

Spirits need to relearn value perceptions through elevated serves, mixology, price clarity, and experience led premiumization.

Despite value for money perceptions, some RTDs are clearly winning this battle, with draught in particular driving the growth of RTDs.

Online Retail Grows Strongly Off a Small Base

Digital continues its surge, albeit from a smaller starting point.

Ecommerce liquor sales through bottle shop websites grew +16.2% in the last year.

The number of shoppers buying liquor online increased +14.1%.

Yet the headroom is striking:

Only 8.3% of households purchased liquor online in the last year.

In comparison, 24% of households bought nonliquor products online from Woolworths and Coles.

And online is disproportionately valuable:

The average online liquor basket is 2.4× higher than an instore basket.

Cracking the online code is a major growth unlock, especially for gift giving, planned occasions, event hosting, ultra-convenience and premium shoppers.

Experience-led channels offer a Powerful Brand Building Platform

As consumers increasingly seek more than just a drink, experience-led on-premise venues are quickly becoming high-impact brand discovery hubs.

In Australia:

14% of consumers attend festivals

13% visit stadiums

10% visit arenas

10% visit game-based experience bars

These channels are not peripheral. They are recruitment engines that enable brands to leverage partnerships, sampling, rituals, and immersive activations.

Consumers choose these venues because they offer:

Something fun (49%)

An engaging activity with friends or family (41%)

Interactive entertainment (34%)

An exciting experience (34%)

This reinforces a crucial point: people are not going out for a drink. They are going out for an experience.

For brands, this means activations must enhance the look, feel, and energy of the venue, not sit alongside it. The brands that win here create experiences that consumers take with them into retail, online, and everyday drinking occasions.

So What? A Clear Call to Action for Brands

The consumer journey is now nonlinear. A brand discovered in an arena may be bought online, reposted on social media, gifted to a friend, and replenished from a bottle shop.

To win in this omnichannel world, brands must:

1.Map their consumer’s channel journey

Understand where discovery, trial, and repeat happen.

2.Invest in the channels that shape behaviour

Not only those that capture volume. Experience led venues and digital can drive first or premium interactions.

3.Break down channel silos internally

Brand, category, and digital teams should work from the same omnichannel plan.

4. Make On Premise and Online work harder as discovery engines

These channels can disproportionately influence retail sales if used strategically.

5.Measure what matters

Penetration, cross channel conversion, and frequency are now more telling than pure sales.

The brands that thrive will be those that treat every channel as part of a connected system, not a standalone battleground.

Industry Momentum: A New Thought Leadership Program Begins

To help the industry stay ahead of these shifts, we are launching a new insight-sharing thought leadership calendar partnership between NIQ and the Drinks Association. The first theme in this series focuses on omnichannel behaviour and its growing influence on discovery, trial, and purchase. Throughout the theme period, we will release targeted insights and practical frameworks, culminating in a live webinar that brings the industry together to unpack the findings and explore how to activate omnichannel strategies with confidence.

Ready to turn insights into action?

Connect with our experts and learn how to transform data into real‑world impact.

The post Winning the Australian Omnichannel Liquor Shopper: Purchasing & Consumption Trends for 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

From Risk to Reward: Trust, Choice, and Growth in an Allergen-Aware Market

andresxportilla — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:44:44 +0000

Food allergies and intolerances now influence how millions of households shop, spend, and choose brands. These shoppers are not niche. They buy more food and beverage overall and consistently lean toward products they trust to meet their needs. Yet for many, the shopping experience still feels risky, confusing, and limiting.

The next generation of food shopping is allergen-aware

The findings in this report show where gaps exist today and where brands can act to win loyalty with a fast-growing, high-value shopper group by making it easier to shop with confidence.

Younger consumers are at the center of this shift. Gen Z reports the highest rates of common allergies and intolerances and is already shaping demand through their purchasing behavior. They expect clarity, transparency, and confidence on the shelf and online. As their spending power grows, these expectations will increasingly define what winning assortments look like.

Ready to act on these insights?

Connect with one of our experts to identify where you can win with allergen‑aware shoppers.

A market that is not keeping pace

Allergen-free options are harder to find than they were just a few years ago, even as interest remains strong. Price premiums remain a real barrier, and many shoppers feel overwhelmed trying to decode labels or confirm product safety. These incidences of friction often stop a purchase before it happens.

This creates a clear opportunity for brands and retailers. Simplifying how products are labeled, making allergen attributes easier to spot, and ensuring the right items are consistently available can remove anxiety and unlock growth. Shoppers are willing to pay for solutions that feel safe and trustworthy.

Read the full report

The findings in this report show where gaps exist today and where brands can act to win loyalty with a fast-growing, high-value shopper group by making it easier to shop with confidence.

Download the Full Report

The post From Risk to Reward: Trust, Choice, and Growth in an Allergen-Aware Market appeared first on NIQ.

The Whiskey Playbook: From Highlands to Highballs

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:25:46 +0000

The Asia Pacific On-Premise is steadily resetting the stage for whiskey and not in a one-size-fits-all way. Across South Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Singapore, Australia, and China, consumers and bartenders are reshaping the category through distinct serve preferences, new premium cues, and format innovation.

For brand owners, the opportunity is twofold: show up where the drink is actually consumed (and recommended) and tailor the story to how each market signals value.

Stay ahead in Whiskey – align your brand with the trends shaping the future of the category. Download our latest infographic to discover the opportunities and nuances across Asia-pacific markets.

The post The Whiskey Playbook: From Highlands to Highballs appeared first on NIQ.

Sunshine and St Patrick help drinks sales spring back to life

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:08:34 +0000

NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker shows average sales in managed venues in the week to Saturday 21 March were 6.4% ahead of the same period in 2025. This made it the best performing week of 2026 so far.

Trading was boosted by sunny weather in many parts of the country, with sales up by 22.8% on Wednesday 18 March. Higher temperatures then gave operators and suppliers their strongest weekend since Christmas by a long way, as average revenue rose 4.8% and 9.4% on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 March respectively.

Sunshine also enhanced St Patrick’s Day, which has grown in popularity as a celebratory occasion in recent years. Sales on Tuesday 17 March soared 51.5% above the same Tuesday in 2025, as consumers flocked to pubs and bars for Irish-themed celebrations. It contributed to growth for nearly all drinks categories across the week, with wine (up 12.4%), soft drinks (up 13.7%), beer (up 5.3%) and cider (up 9.9%) all comfortably outpacing inflation.

The bumper week is a welcome return to growth for drinks sales after negative comparisons in seven of the first ten weeks of this year. The previous week, to Saturday 14 March, had seen sales drop 2.7% behind the equivalent period in 2025, as wet and grey weather continued. This also dampened down modest uplifts to sales provided by Mother’s Day, when sales were 3.5% behind the same occasion in 2025, and by the final round of fixtures in rugby’s Six Nations.

Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK & Ireland, said: “The long wait for better weather finally ended in mid-March, and it immediately created an upswing in sales for many operators and suppliers. It was also perfectly timed for St Patrick’s Day, which is an ever more important trading opportunity for venues. It’s very apparent that consumers remain eager to drink out when the sun shines and when big public occasions give them the chance to celebrate and socialise. Fingers will now be firmly crossed for more good weather over the Easter holiday weekend.”

Unlock essential On-Premise insights

Discover more about brand rate of sales performance and access the latest intelligence on drinks Understand the trends and opportunities to win across this crucial channel.

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The ever-changing pub

kunaldiwan0227 — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:03:49 +0000

The pub is one of Britain’s great institutions. It’s where consumers go to socialise, relax and celebrate, and where memories are made. And despite relentless challenges to both spending and costs in recent years, pubs remain a core component of hospitality. NIQ’s Hospitality Market Monitor reveals there were 35,214 community, high street and food pubs around Britain at the end of 2025, which means they make up well over a third of the country’s licensed premises.

A sturdy sector

Contrary to some opinions, pubs have been a relatively resilient sector in recent years. NIQ’s data shows channels including casual dining, restaurants and nightclubs have all seen sharper falls in site numbers than pubs since COVID. While consumers’ spending has been under severe pressure, sales trends for managed pub groups have also been reasonable. The NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker shows they have outperformed restaurants for like-for-like growth for 15 months in a row.

But economic headwinds and changing consumer habits have brought significant changes to pubs. While the managed sector has been durable, thousands of community pubs have been lost, and thousands more have evolved. Traditional impressions of the pub—drink-led, community-focused, brewery-tied and historical—still apply in many cases, but they also need updating.

The changing face of the pub

For one thing, the model of pubs is changing fast. Leased and tenanted segments have been in decline for a sustained period, and more pub groups have brought sites under direct management. New formats, including where pubs are franchised or run in partnership by owner and manager, are increasingly common.

Pubs have always had to adapt because of their uniquely broad appeal. Asked about the value of different aspects of pubs, high numbers of consumers are attracted by things like music (52%), pub games (38%), live sports (41%) and dog-friendliness (40%). But while these and other factors are positives for many, they are also off-putting for others. It’s a balancing act that all pubs have to handle.

Human vs tech

What consumers want from their pubs reflects societal change too—including in the way they interact. For example, recent GO Technology research from NIQ and Zonal found that three quarters (73%) of consumers like to visit pubs spontaneously, but 27% prefer to pre-book. Two thirds (66%) want to order at the bar, but a third (34%) want to order via an app. It’s opening up a divide: between the 45% who want to keep old traditions like spontaneity and bar service alive, and the 55% who want things to evolve though more use of reservations and app service.

This demand for digital interaction, especially from younger adults, is prompting pubs to invest in technology. According to NIQ’s recent Optimizing Brand Reputation in Hospitality report with Reputation, half (48%) of consumers think businesses that fail to adapt to AI will fall behind in customer experience. But great pub experiences will always be about human engagement too. NIQ’s research consistently highlights the importance of service and all-round experience to consumers, and these are particularly significant in pubs.

New occasions

Pubs’ far-ranging appeal means they are deepening their penetration into different types of hospitality visits. One is the high tempo occasion, with two thirds (66%) of consumers likely to choose a pub over a bar for these, often because it provides a more sociable, relaxed and value-for-money experience. As consumers go out earlier, pubs are also taking greater share from earlier dayparts. NIQ’s Trading Index shows the early evening block of 5pm to 7pm now generates more sales than the late evening period of 7pm to 10pm—a landmark moment for a sector that has traditionally thrived at night.

A third growing occasion is the experience-led visit, where events and entertainment drive footfall. This has played to the advantage of themed bars, which grew in number by 33% in 2025. Hickory’s Smokehouse, the US-themed pub-restaurant brand from Greene King, is just one example of how the traditional pub is constantly reinventing itself.

What pub-goers think

Consumers interviewed by NIQ confirm the special place of the pub in British life. “It’s a gathering space for communities”… “A great place to socialise and hang out with friends and family”… “A welcoming environment where one can relax and chat”… these are just a few examples of what pubs mean to people. These and other pub qualities will endure, but how they are delivered is set for even more change in the years ahead.

NIQ’s unique suite of research solutions provides outstanding insights into sales and site trends in Britain’s pubs, as well as analysis of consumers’ latest behaviours and preferences. The services help suppliers, operators and investors to understand change and identify opportunities.

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The Future of Premium: Navigating consumer trade-offs with confidence

emilybuckley0522 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:20:14 +0000

As premiumisation is redefined, how can suppliers adapt premium portfolios and continue to win?

NIQ revealed essential insights in an exclusive webinar, ‘The Future of Premium: Navigating Consumer Trade-offs with Confidence’.

The webinar explored:

Defining “premium” today
The premium beverage landscape — performance shifts and drivers
Why premium isn’t dead — where it still outperforms
Who is the premium consumer
Planning to win — in‑outlet execution and bartender advocacy

New realities of Premiumisation

Watch the webinar, now available on-demand

Here are ten of the top takeaways from the webinar

1 Most consumers choose quality over quantity…

NIQ’s global REACH research shows how many consumers take a ‘less is more’ approach to their drinks spending. Asked about their intentions with a set amount of money, two thirds (66%) say they would buy one or two high quality or luxury drinks—2 percentage points more than in 2024—while just 9% would choose four or five cheaper ones.

2 … But premium spend has been squeezed

While consumers are eager to spend, persistently high inflation has compromised their ability to do so in recent years. In the EMEA region, more than a quarter of On-Premise visitors intended to reduce their On-Premise spend due to rising costs. Meanwhile, significant numbers switched to lower-priced alternatives in the Off-Premise, where the value of premium alcoholic beverage sales dropped fractionally in 2025.

3 Pockets of premium growth

Despite the macro challenges, some categories continue to recruit more premium consumers. For example, premium and super-premium brands increased their share of Britain’s On-Premise tequila sales by 1.3 percentage points in 2025, and there was upward movement in whiskey and brandy too. This highlights the importance of securing a category-by-category understanding of trends rather than relying on a topline view.

4 A lucrative base of buyers

NIQ confirms the value of premium consumers in the On-Premise. Three in five (58%) of them say they like to treat themselves at least weekly—12 percentage points more than the average among all consumers. REACH provides much more demographic analysis of premium drinkers, who also tend to be younger and more likely to live in city and town centres.

5 Occasions are changing

The premium market is being reshaped by occasionality in the On-Premise. Key changes include a move towards afternoon and early-evening dayparts, with 21% of premium consumers now going out earlier than they were a year ago and just 9% going out later. There have also been notable shifts away from romantic occasions and big nights out, and towards new and different experiences.

Social media can be a big influence on premium purchases. Nearly a third of luxury consumers say they would be deterred from visiting a venue if it had little or no social media presence. These consumers are also much more likely than average to perceive value in a drink that looks good enough to post online. The ‘Instagrammability’ of serves is crucial.

7 Recommendations matter

The endorsements of venues’ teams are another powerful influence on premium sales. Around a third (32%) of consumers say bar staff recommendations can affect their choice, making them the number one influence ahead of factors like friends’ choices and menus. Research for NIQ’s Global Bartender Report reinforces this point, with the average premium bartender actively influencing an estimated 10,976 drinks decisions every year. For suppliers, effective engagement with these staff can be a very powerful route to growth.

8 Premium interpretations vary around the world

When planning strategies, it’s important to remember that people’s understanding of premium and luxury varies. In France, for example, consumers over-index for the exclusivity of a product when they consider the meaning of luxury. Imported products over-index in Italy, while a unique presentation and high service standards matter more in Austria and Switzerland respectively. One-size-fits-all strategies don’t work, and brands have to adapt to place-by-place priorities.

9 People want premium cocktails

Premium opportunities are often greatest in cocktails. Two in five (41%) cocktail consumers say they mostly drink premium, high-quality cocktails, while another third (34%) will mix these and value options. Interest extends to mixers as well. Half (50%) of cocktail consumers say they are likely to pay more for a better quality mixer, and this number rises to 67% among 18 to 34 year-olds.

10 Execution is everything

While there are multiple factors behind premium purchasing decisions, in the end it comes down to execution. Spending-conscious consumers want to be sure that their drink will deliver the right balance of quality and value, and there’s no room for error on serve. By training staff in pours and presentation, suppliers have a big part to play in ensuring faultless execution of premium choices.

NIQ’s webinar was presented by George Argyropoulos, Managing Director, On-Premise – EMEA at NIQ, Graeme Loudon, Global Customer Success Lead – On-Premise at NIQ, and special guest Nidal Ramini, Advocacy Director at Brown-Forman.

Unlock your premium opportunity

Access crucial insights into premiumisation trends across channels, categories and occasions, and how your brand can seize the growth opportunities.

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2026 World Cup: How can brands drive sales based on consumer sentiment?

andresxportilla — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:58:55 +0000

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be one of the largest cultural and commercial events of the decade — bringing together millions of fans across North America and generating massive shifts in how people watch, celebrate, shop, and engage with brands. For marketers, the opportunity is huge — but so is the complexity.

Major global sporting events reshape consumer behavior in ways that aren’t always intuitive. These viewing moments vary widely depending on audience, setting, and match importance, and they often create consumption spikes that brands must be ready to capture.

To help brands navigate this landscape, NIQ has launched the World Cup Hub, a unified, evidence-based insights program built to decode the most meaningful moments of the tournament and translate them into actionable commercial strategies.

What early World Cup insights reveal — and why it matters now

The World Cup will create its own economy of attention and consumption. In our pre-event World Cup reports tracking US and Canadian audiences, we found highly social and active viewing plans:

Over 75% of viewers will plan watch parties for the World Cup (76% in the US and 80% in Canada).
Over 40% of Americans plan on watching on-premise, and nearly two-thirds plan to drink alcohol while out (compared to 50% of at-home viewers).
1-in-5 on-premise viewers will be following stats, scores, and/or betting activities on their phone throughout the tournament compared to only 14% of at-home viewers.

The top reasons to watch are patriotism and the sheer excitement of a major global event.

Sponsorship has a massive impact as well

Up to 85% of consumers indicate that a brand’s World Cup sponsorship might influence their purchasing behavior or brand engagement.

The takeaway: Engagement moments differ widely, and brands need precision to activate effectively. 

Why the World Cup will raise the stakes

 The World Cup amplifies these dynamics even further, with early indications being that there will be significantly more engagement in group settings, including the on-premise. Being able to have similar viewing/engagement/consumption information for the World Cup is critical for marketers to maximize your brand’s potential for this major sporting event.

Introducing the World Cup Hub: Your roadmap to winning the moment 

 The World Cup Hub is NIQ’s new insights program designed to help brands translate fan behavior into measurable commercial outcomes. Built from thousands of consumer inputs, it maps how viewers watch, shop, and engage across the full tournament cycle. NIQ’s World Cup Hub includes a three‑wave approach that tracks these shifts before, during, and after the event — capturing both in‑home and out‑of‑home behaviors, as well as the real impact of sponsorships and media activations:

Pre-Event (March): Fan expectations, planning behaviors, anticipated matchday habits, and category outlooks.

During Event (June):  Real-time consumption patterns, media engagement, sponsorship recall, and in-moment drivers of choice.

Post-Event (August): Lasting effects on brand perception, category adoption, and behavioral shifts.

Each wave covers U.S. and Canadian audiences across both in-home and out-of-home contexts, giving brands a complete view of how consumption evolves from anticipation through celebration and beyond.

What the World Cup Hub unlocks for marketers

 Identify high value moments 

Pinpoint which match types, teams, and settings generate spikes in food, beverage, or retail activity. 

Optimize media and creative 

Understand when viewers are most (and least) likely to be attentive — and which formats break through second screen behavior. 

Measure real sponsorship impact 

Reveal whether activations truly influence purchase intent, trial, or sentiment across different viewing environments. 

Strengthen retail and on-premise strategy 

See how in-home vs. outofhome viewing shapes category demand — and how to align packaging, promotions, and partnerships. 

Why brands can’t afford to wait 

The World Cup isn’t just a sports moment — it’s a cultural economy. The brands that win will be those that build campaigns around actual viewer behavior both on- and off-premise, not assumptions. And with so much variation in attention, consumption, and engagement across matches, categories, and audiences, precision will separate leaders from everyone else. 

That’s exactly what the NIQ World Cup Hub delivers. 

Ready to make the most of 2026?

If you’d like to learn more about how the World Cup Hub can support your category or brand, NIQ’s team is ready to help.   

**Megan Szabo is a Commercial Sales Manager on NIQ’s Consumer Behavior & Insights team. She can be reached at* megan.szabo@nielseniq.com.

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Tech convenience vs the human touch in hospitality

emilybuckley0522 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:44:11 +0000

The latest GO Technology report in partnership with Zonal, shows nearly half (48%) of consumers think human interactions are the most critical factor in their hospitality experiences, +19pp vs a similar survey in 2023. This growth may partly reflect staffing changes that many operators have had to make following the immense pressure on their labour costs in recent years, which has reminded some guests of the importance of human engagement when they eat and drink out.

But while people matter, technology is now at the core of hospitality journeys as well. Just over half (52%) say either that technology enables and enhances great experiences, or that it is a blend of the digital and human that provides the best visits. This desire for a combination of the two shows how guests want tech to slot into their experiences with no friction.

The report explores many more crucial areas into how consumers are redefining the balance between human interaction and digital touchpoints, including age and demographic preferences, hospitality payment trends, tipping methods, and improvements.

Download the full report to read more.

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NIQ Perspective: How Consumers Plan Spring 2026 Home Upgrades

priyankarokade0924 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:54:55 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This Perspective uncovers where spring upgrade demand is forming, how DIY and pro decisions split, and why outdoor projects matter now.

It equips teams to capture seasonal demand by meeting shoppers at the right project, channel, and decision moment.

Why it matters

Spring 2026 upgrades reveal where shoppers are spending, how they choose retailers, and when they rely on brands for guidance.

Download The Perspective

Outdoor projects lead spring demand

Shoppers prioritize yards, landscaping, and exterior upgrades, creating clear seasonal growth opportunities.

DIY confidence is rising, with selective pro help

Owners mix DIY and professional support, while renters lean more heavily into DIY projects.

Smart home benefits drive conversion

Energy savings, safety, and convenience are the top motivations shaping upgrade decisions.

Home improvement leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“For retailers and brands looking to connect with home upgrade shoppers, this points to an opportunity. Anchor your spring storytelling in specific projects, provide decision support when it comes to DIY help and lead with the benefits shoppers care most about.”

–Sam Michel

Director, Retail Tech & Durables, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

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NIQ Perspective: Designing for Demand During Uncertainty

priyankarokade0924 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:31:23 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

Uncover how rising uncertainty is changing shopper decision making, trip behavior, and demand stability across food and beverage.

As caution replaces impulse, brands must rethink value, execution, and retailer collaboration to protect trips and basket share.

Why it matters

Uncertainty does not eliminate demand. It compresses it, delays it, and redistributes it unevenly across categories and channels.

Download The Perspective

Shoppers are becoming more deliberate

Raising the bar for relevance, value clarity, and confidence at the shelf.

Gas prices and transportation costs are pulling dollars from the basket

Accelerating pressure on discretionary and fresh categories.

Retailer manufacturer collaboration

It is now critical infrastructure for stabilizing demand and earning shopper trust.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“When uncertainty rises, the shopper demands simpler decisions and more predictable experiences. That elevates the retailer’s role as a curator of value and stability, and it fundamentally changes the brand’s role from demand driver to execution partner. Brands that support retailers with clearer value architectures, dependable supply, and decision reducing messaging enable confidence at the shelf. That collaboration increasingly determines who earns trips and basket space during periods of stress.”

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

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NIQ Perspective: The Credibility Economy

priyankarokade0924 — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:19:22 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This perspective reveals how credibility has become a commercial driver, reshaping shopper decisions across food and beverage categories.

As scrutiny accelerates through guidelines, apps, and verification, brands without a response risk lost share and relevance.

Why it matters

Credibility is shifting from a brand attribute to an operating requirement with real financial consequences for CPG companies.

Download The Perspective

Trust now determines shelf performance

Shoppers increasingly rely on government guidance, health professionals, and third-party apps to validate product choices.

Scrutiny is expanding beyond niche concerns

Glyphosate and microplastic anxiety now cut across everyday categories, exposing unprepared portfolios to risk.

Algorithms are becoming gatekeepers

Scan apps influence purchase, putting low-scoring products back and redefining who controls credibility at shelf.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“Food is entering a credibility cycle with real financial consequences. Companies that invest now in transparency, defensible data, and claim discipline will shape relevance as scrutiny accelerates through the decade. Those decisions will determine who leads the market and who ends up responding to standards set by someone else. This is risk management that also happens to be the next growth strategy.”

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

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From Aisle to Algorithms: International consumer in the age of Agentic AI

andresxportilla — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:36:14 +0000

Tech & Durables (T&D) is entering a new phase defined by intentional consumers and accelerated digital transformation. After years of economic and supply‑chain disruptions, shoppers have become more value‑driven, selective, and digitally empowered across every step of the journey.
Between FY 2025, global T&D turnover climbed to 857 Bil (+5% YOY), signaling not just recovery but a shift toward smarter, research‑led purchasing powered by AI and omnichannel discovery. As consumers adopt agentic AI tools and demand clarity, trust, and convenience, brands must evolve to meet expectations shaped by data, transparency, and seamless digital engagement.

The Rise of the Intentional, Value‑Centric Consumer

Consumers are no longer passive participants in the purchase journey. They are informed, empowered, and strategic.

Since 2019, average T&D prices have risen +26.2%, shaped by supply volatility and premiumization trends. Yet consumers are not chasing the lowest price, they are seeking trust, durability, convenience, and long-term value.

35% of annual TCG revenue in key categories comes from top 7 promotional events held across 15 weeks.

Consumers want clarity, confidence, and convenience throughout their journey. Omnichannel research, verified reviews, warranties, and post‑purchase support increasingly define trust.

Value seeking goes mainstream, consumer choosing refurbish products over new products

“Consumers’ intentions are shaped by whoever provides the simplest, clearest, most credible path to decision‑making.”

Nevin Francis, Senior Director Global CS Thought Leadership Team

Agentic AI and the New Multi‑Touchpoint Journey

The path from “I want” to “I own” is now fast, fluid, and deeply digital. AI is transforming research, comparison, and purchasing experiences. Consumers expect personalized, time-saving guidance, often automated.

Retailers leverage AI for dynamic pricing, promotions, inventory optimization, and personalized engagement. Meeting these diverse demands at scale requires a robust foundation of technology and data. AI is moving beyond buzzword to become a core enabler of transformation in retail and manufacturing.

As agentic AI becomes mainstream, brands must design experiences that appeal not only to consumers but to algorithms acting on their behalf.

Turn insights into action

Connect with our experts and discover how to transform data into real impact

“AI is transforming the consumer journey from discovery to loyalty – delivering personalized, timesaving experiences.”

Nevin Francis, Senior Director Global CS Thought Leadership Team

Challenger Brands, Fragmented Demand & Retail Shifts

Competitive pressure continues to intensify, particularly in China’s brand-driven segments.

Challenger brands capture 22% of Telecom and 11% of Major Domestic Appliances due to cost advantages. In Small Domestic Appliances, innovation and speed of change gives challengers 8% market share.

Retail ecosystems too are becoming more fragmented; marketplaces, D2C, social commerce, and quick commerce increasingly shape discovery and influence purchase decisions.

Generational nuances amplify complexity: Gen Z relies more on social recommendations (+8.2% more vs. total population’s average) while Baby Boomers remain strongly brand‑driven.
Personalization at scale is now a competitive advantage; AI is a key enabler.

Outlook for 2026

Success in 2026 depends on aligning product, pricing, and experience strategies to intentional consumers and AI‑driven purchase journeys. Geopolitical uncertainty can result in rising inflation for certain types of products and service. Plateauing growth in China will test tech and durables resilience, while extended Windows 10 support and sporting events could inject demand into computing and entertainment categories (especially TVs) respectively. Post pandemic demand could also kick-in for some kitchen categories across SDA & MDA. Innovation will remain in the lifeblood of Tech & Durables, but novelty alone won’t guarantee success.

Consumers, shaped by years of inflation, have become intentional and uncompromisingly value-centric. In 2026, Consumers will reward brands that pair breakthrough technology with clarity, convenience, and confidence.

Ready to adapt your growth strategy to intentional consumers and AI-driven expectations?

Schedule a meeting with our experts to dive deeper into the forces shaping consumer intentionality, AI-driven journeys, and the evolving T&D ecosystem.

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Pet Care 2026: Still on the Leash, Not on the Chopping Block

andresxportilla — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:05:25 +0000

Pet parents are heading into 2026 with vigilance, not retreat. Essentials remain protected, even as households tighten elsewhere. Value is being redefined through intentional strategies that preserve care standards, while the marketplace fragments by channel role, species mix, and tier. Growth is concentrating, and it is rewarding brands and retailers that remove friction and deliver confidence, fast.

Paws Before Wallets: How Pet Parents Are Rewriting Value

Across categories, consumers show restraint. In pet care, commitment holds. Pet parents continue to signal that they will sacrifice for themselves before compromising their pets’ needs. They are buying in bulk, delaying non-essentials, seeking deals more often, and cutting back selectively on services, while remaining loyal to trusted brands.

But deal seeking comes at a cost. Fatigue from constant price checking is growing, and time pressure is intensifying. Simplicity, clarity, and reliability are no longer nice to have. They are value drivers.

Turn pet parent intent into smarter strategy

Where the Tail Is Wagging: Growth Is Getting More Selective

Total Pet Care reached $91.8B, with online growth far outpacing in-store performance. While nearly two-thirds of Pet Food still sells in-store, share continues to shift online across food, supplies, and treatments.

Momentum is not evenly distributed. Premium and super premium food tiers are outperforming value and moderate segments, particularly in cat. Species mix and quality are doing the heavy lifting, reinforcing that growth is being earned, not inherited.

Fetch Everywhere: Omni Is the Default, Not the Differentiator

Omnichannel pet parents now account for the majority of buyers and the overwhelming share of dollars. The implication is clear. Brands must show up wherever the journey begins and ends.

Online growth is driven by ease of ordering and free or low-cost shipping. Instore remains critical for immediacy and reassurance, even as trip frequency declines. Winning no longer depends on choosing a channel. It depends on connecting them seamlessly.

Every Channel Has a Job to Do

Channel roles are clarifying. Amazon continues to gain through shipping advantages and convenience. Warehouse clubs expand with growing pet assortments. Mass and value win on price and proximity. National pet retail holds relevance through assortment and brand depth, though price perception remains a barrier for some pet parents.

Neighborhood pet retail serves a smaller, service-oriented audience anchored in trust and community, but constrained by pricing perceptions. Across all channels, loyalty is conditional and recalculated with every trip.

“As we move into 2026, pet care continues to prove its resilience. Pet parents may be more cautious, but their commitment has not wavered. What’s changing is how they define value, where they shop, and what they expect in return.”

–Andrea Binder

Vice President, Pet Industry Thought Leader, NielsenIQ.

Private Label Has Its Place, But Not the Whole Bowl

Private label performs unevenly. It leads in supplies, finds selective success in food, and remains minimal in treatments. National brands continue to drive growth in supplies and treatments, reinforcing that value is increasingly judged by outcomes, trust, and perceived expertise, not just price.

See where growth is concentrating and how to win it

From Treats to Tests: Wellness Goes All In

Health and wellness priorities shaping human behavior are extending into pet care. Pet parents cite challenges in understanding their pet’s health and show openness to technology that improves care.

Growth across supplements, OTC medicine, testing kits, and skin and paw treatments confirms that proactive health is a resilient spend. Wellness is no longer adjacent to pet care. It is central to it.

2026 Outlook: Modest Growth, Sharply Focused Opportunity

Pet Care is expected to reach $95.3B in 2026, with growth remaining positive but measured. Online continues to take share as buyer counts and trips rise, even as basket sizes soften. In-store declines should ease as budgets tighten and essential trips persist.

The upside is concentrated. Cat ownership, premium food, and wellness driven adjacencies will disproportionately fuel growth.

Sit, Stay, Win: What Matters Most in 2026

Design for seamless commerce, because omni pet parents are the most valuable and the least patient.

Premium must earn its keep, especially in cat, through clear benefits and trust signals.

Compete on convenience, not just price, by reducing friction across ordering, fulfillment, and replenishment.

Simplify wellness, giving pet parents clearer cues and greater confidence in care decisions.

Pet parents are price tired, time tired, and information tired. In 2026, the winners will be those who make it easier to buy, easier to trust, and easier to feel good about every decision they make for the pets they love.

Get the full Pet Industry Outlook for 2026.
Download the report

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The Future of Premium webinar

emilybuckley0522 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:32:40 +0000

Navigating consumer trade-offs with confidence

Premium brands have been a vital driver of drinks sales for years, but dynamics are changing fast. While consumers remain willing to trade up for elevated experiences, economic challenges have dented their disposable incomes and confidence. With their spend and choices becoming more considered and intentional, the premium segment faces mounting competition from more mainstream brands.

As premiumisation is redefined, how can suppliers adapt premium portfolios and continue to win?

NIQ reveals essential insights in an exclusive webinar, ‘The Future of Premium: Navigating Consumer Trade-offs with Confidence’.

What we’ll discuss:

Defining ‘premium’ today
The premium beverage landscape – performance shifts and drivers
Why premium isn’t dead – where it still outperforms
Who is the premium consumer
Planning to win – in-outlet execution and bartender advocacy

Access the on-demand webinar

The post The Future of Premium webinar appeared first on NIQ.

Why Consumers Say One Thing and Do Another

eminamaslic0415 — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:55:24 +0000

Ask consumers what they plan to buy, how they will behave, or which brands they prefer, and you will almost always get a confident answer. Watch what actually happens in market, and the story often looks very different. And we are not even touching on the frequency of purchase.

This disconnect, commonly labelled the “say–do gap”, has become one of the most debated challenges in FMCG. It is frequently cited as proof that consumer research is unreliable, that stated intent can’t be trusted, or that traditional insights are no longer fit for purpose.

But that conclusion misses the point.

The say–do gap is not a flaw in consumers. It is a signal about how decisions are really made and about how data needs to be designed, interpreted, and connected to reality.

The myth of the “honest consumer”

Consumers are not lying when they tell us what they intend to do. In fact, most are answering honestly, based on the information, emotions, and context available to them at that moment.

The problem is that real-world purchasing rarely happens at that same moment, or under those same conditions.

Price changes. Promotions intervene. Availability shifts. Habits override intentions. Social context matters. Cognitive shortcuts take over. What felt certain in a survey becomes negotiable at the moment of truth.
The gap emerges not because consumers are unreliable, but because human decision-making is situational. Asking people what they will do captures one layer of truth. Observing what they actually do captures another. Neither is wrong, but neither is sufficient on its own.

Why more data doesn’t automatically mean better decisions

In response to the say–do gap, many organizations have doubled down on collecting more data: more surveys, more signals, more AI, more dashboards. Yet in many cases, decision confidence hasn’t improved, only complexity has. According to NIQ’s CMO Outlook Report, 54% of CMOs say they are having difficulty connecting the data across different sources – a fascinating 23% increase vs year prior.

That’s because the issue isn’t volume of data. It’s how data connects to outcomes.

When intent data lives in isolation from behavioral data, it can easily mislead. When behavioral data lacks context, it explains what happened but not why. And when analytics systems don’t learn from real-world results, the same biases repeat cycle after cycle.

Bridging the say–do gap requires a different mindset: not choosing between what people say and what they do, but designing systems that continuously learn from both.

From snapshots to learning systems

This is where closed‑loop data systems matter, but not in the way the term is often used.

A true closed‑loop system is not about automation for its own sake, or about pushing insights faster into activation. It is about building feedback mechanisms that improve prediction over time.

In practice, this means linking stated consumer responses to what happens next in market and using that learning to recalibrate future decisions. Overstatement is corrected. Execution effects are accounted for. Models evolve as categories, channels, and behaviors change.

Instead of treating each launch, campaign, or innovation as a one‑off bet, closed‑loop systems turn them into inputs for smarter future choices. The result is not perfect foresight but progressively more accurate foresight.

Why the Say–Do Gap Is Growing, Not Shrinking

The FMCG environment has rarely been more volatile. Inflation, premiumization trade‑offs, private label pressure, health and sustainability tensions, and rapid channel shifts have fundamentally changed how consumers prioritize and choose.

In this context, relying on static assumptions or on intent data without behavioral grounding is risky. But dismissing consumer voice altogether is equally dangerous.

What’s needed is the ability to model through uncertainty: to understand where intent is likely to hold, where it is likely to break, and why.

That capability doesn’t come from a single dataset or methodology. It comes from integrated systems that respect the complexity of human behavior while remaining anchored in reality, that is actual behavioral data.

Reframing the say–do gap

The say–do gap is often framed as a problem to be eliminated. In reality, it is a source of insight.

It tells us where consumers feel tension. Where aspiration collides with constraint. Where brands win by making choices easier—or lose by misreading what matters in the moment of truth.

Organizations that learn to work with this gap, rather than ignore or oversimplify it, are better equipped to design innovations, set pricing, allocate investment, and activate brands with confidence.

The future of FMCG decision-making doesn’t belong to those with the most data. It belongs to those who can connect what people say, what they do, and what happens to drive growth—again and again.

The post Why Consumers Say One Thing and Do Another appeared first on NIQ.

Ask Arthur on-demand webinar

diegoalvarado — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:26:41 +0000

Delivering the power of AI in a platform you can trust

Premium Value That Converts at Shelf

Unlock the full power of Ask Arthur with our comprehensive on‑demand webinar designed for teams who want to streamline their processes and maximize productivity. Whether you’re new to Arthur or looking to advance your skills, this session walks you step‑by‑step through the key features that elevate your workflow experience.

Get an inside look at how Ask Arthur streamlines your workflows from start to finish. In this short on‑demand webinar, we walk through the essentials so you can get the most out of every feature.

What we’ll discuss:

Introduction to Arthur
Using Arthur on Templates
Arthur’s Signals and Choosing One to Continue
Your Workflows Context Carry to New Templates
Concluding and Summarizing Workflows
Defining the Beta‑Phase Period

Access the on-demand webinar

The post Ask Arthur on-demand webinar appeared first on NIQ.

NIQ Perspective: How Women Are Reshaping Food and Beverage Growth

andresxportilla — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:00:34 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This Perspective reveals how women are redefining value, trip behavior, and health priorities across food and beverage.

As inflation reshapes routines, brands must adapt now to win repeat trips, justify price, and sustain growth.

Why it matters

Women now control the growth levers in food and beverage, forcing CPG brands to rethink value, health, and channel strategy.

Download The Perspective

Women are prioritizing value

that is clear, credible, and immediately justified, raising the bar for pricing and premium.

Higher trip frequency among women

creates more chances to win, shifting growth from big baskets to everyday relevance.

Health and protein are becoming routine needs,

expanding opportunity for brands that integrate function into daily consumption.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“Women are raising the bar for what earns a place in the basket. As spend concentrates around offerings that deliver immediate justification and everyday relevance, especially in health, the growth model shifts toward consistency over spikes. Repeatability, clarity, and usefulness now matter more than momentary excitement. The strategic advantage lies in deeply understanding what women expect at each level of the system: the retailer, the brand, and the product.”

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

The post NIQ Perspective: How Women Are Reshaping Food and Beverage Growth appeared first on NIQ.

From Stadium to Sofa: How Immersive Product Content Builds Brand Loyalty During the World Cup 2026

juancarlostarazonaperez0910 — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:46:58 +0000

Why richer digital shopping experiences help CPG and Tech & Durables brands win shoppers during major sporting moments like the World Cup in 2026.

Every major sporting event brings the same familiar rituals: snacks on the table, friends around the TV, anticipatory tension rising as kickoff nears. But before fans settle into their sofas, a different kind of preparation is taking place: they’re researching, comparing and purchasing a variety of products online.

In these moments, brands aren’t just competing on price or availability. They’re competing for shoppers’ confidence. And confidence is built through one thing: high‑quality, immersive product content that is prepared for the future; including AI and agentic shopping.

For the first time, the FIFA World Cup is moving to North America, and that shift brings new opportunities for brands across the globe, but particularly in Canada, Mexico and the United States. With 16 host cities, and 48 different national teams competing, this brings not only a chance to spotlight North American food, beverages and products on the international stage, but also brings opportunities for world flavors to proliferate in American grocery stores.

As the summer approaches, both CPG and Tech & Durables brands have a unique opportunity to turn passive browsers into loyal, repeat customers. The secret lies in elevating the digital product experience.

What Fans Want from the 2026 World Cup Experience- the Living Room Stadium

The World Cup transforms homes into mini‑stadiums. Shoppers upgrade TV setups, restock kitchens, and look for products that make viewing parties easier, tastier, and bring a sense of fun.

NIQ data shows us, that for nearly one‑in‑three households planning to watch the tournament this year, these moments aren’t spontaneous; they’re intentional and eagerly prepared well in advance. And for this group of shoppers, that planning starts early. 33% of shoppers say they’ll shop 1 or 2 weeks before the matches begin, perhaps organizing for parties or larger gatherings.

Another 32% of viewers complete their shopping a few days before and 7% opting to pick up their selections the day-of. That means retailers, brands and even rapid-delivery apps must adapt their product content to meet fans across a broad variety of shopping experiences, both for the planners, and the last-minute pre-game quick-trips and spontaneous mid-game deliveries.

“Major sporting events like the World Cup are powerful demand catalysts for FMCG—but growth is not automatic. What separates winning retailers and brands is their ability to remove friction and anticipate demand before it hits. With one‑third of World Cup viewers planning to shop a week or more in advance, readiness ahead of marquee matchups becomes critical. The most intense rivalries don’t just draw the biggest audiences—they drive the largest spikes in food and beverage demand.“

—–Chris Costagli, Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

What Are People Eating?

Major sporting events typically conjure up thoughts of grazing on specific food groups, particularly snacks like chips, popcorn, dips etc, and larger premade food items like Pizza, chicken wings or burgers. However, in 2026, global priorities in health and wellness might just see a shift in the categories shoppers will be choosing for their at-home stadium experiences.

Homemade food is expected to play an even bigger role in 2026. NIQ data highlights a rising shift toward at‑home preparation, driven by economic pressure and a desire for more intentional, curated gatherings. There appears to be growth in ingredients, components, and complementary categories as hosts put their own signature on viewing‑party spreads.

For CPG brands, that means the opportunity is no longer just found in finished, prepared goods, it’s in enabling fans to build the perfect spread for their party that meets their evolving health and wellness priorities too.

Beverage preferences are diversifying too. Alcohol remains a staple, but fans are leaning further into functional drinks, enhanced waters, and non‑alcoholic options, with Gen Z nearly twice as likely to serve alcohol‑free spirits and mocktails in 2026.

Beyond the food and drink, at-home tech upgrades are becoming part of the ritual. Bigger screens, crisper audio, and better connectivity help replicate the stadium atmosphere at home, and as fans invest more in enhancing these experiences, they rely heavily on digital product content that can give them confidence they’re choosing the right setup, from clear dimensions and compatibility details to immersive visuals and AR tools that help them “try before they buy.

Ultimately, the living‑room stadium is built long before the match begins. The experience starts online, in search results, product detail pages, comparison pages, and even AI‑assisted queries. Every image, spec, angle, and description plays a role in helping fans craft the perfect viewing moment, and now, every brand has a chance to influence how that moment feels.

Winning CPG

As the Summer approaches, major CPG brands are already activating large‑scale campaigns designed to capture pre‑match excitement, deepen loyalty, and meet fans in the moments that matter. From world flavor inspired innovation to immersive promotions and city‑specific activations, brands are building momentum for kick-offs months in advance.

Global Sponsorships Are Turning Into Shopper‑First Activations

Similarly, Lay’s, now an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 26™, is leveraging its global footprint and flavor‑driven brand identity to create tournament‑themed packaging and culturally tailored limited editions. World Cup snacks have become part of the experience, and brands like Lay’s know that the right seasonal SKU can elevate a watch party as much as a favorite team scoring in stoppage time.

Fresh Collaborations Are Expanding Category Reach

CPG partnerships for 2026 are more diverse than ever. Unilever has teamed up with U.S. soccer legend Clint Dempsey to promote an entire suite of personal‑care products, recognizing that hosting and attending viewing parties is as much about feeling “match‑ready” as stocking the fridge. These campaigns tap into cultural identity, nostalgia, and national pride.

@Meanwhile, DoorDash’s support of the 2026 Men’s and 2027 Women’s World Cups positions delivery as a natural complement to at‑home viewing. With homemade food playing an increasingly important role for hosts, on‑demand delivery fills the gaps for last‑minute snacks, missed ingredients, forgotten ice, or fresh produce for a crowd‑pleasing dish.

And in beverage categories, Budweiser and Diageo continue to cement their presence as core drinking‑occasion brands, each using sponsorship status to anchor premium positioning and themed on‑shelf experiences.

Across the board, these partnerships show brands leaning into what World Cup hosts value most: ease, excitement, and relevance.

World Cup Packaging Continues to Drive Basket Conversion, but It Needs an Omnichannel Consistency To Truly Win.

The World Cup remains one of the few moments where packaging itself becomes a collector’s item. Brands are leaning into bold, team‑centric designs, interactive elements, QR codes, and limited editions, transforming everyday goods like soda cans and beer bottles into souvenirs and collectables.

As these items become available to purchase and collect, it’s important to ensure that product content is up to date across platforms, from social media where these items are discovered, to the digital shelf and on rapid delivery platforms.

Today’s shoppers don’t follow one path. They may spot a limited‑edition Lay’s pack on TikTok, search for it through an AI assistant, tap into a retailer app to check stock, and buy it in‑store during a last‑minute run. If the packaging looks different at any point in that journey, from a mismatched color, outdated design, missing special‑edition callout, incorrect size, or inconsistent claims, trust breaks instantly.

We also know that consumers are gravitating toward ingredient‑based and homemade food options, meaning brands that offer kits, bases, or meal components can use packaging to guide hosts toward recipes, serving ideas, and smart pairings that simplify entertaining.

But if packaging is updated to include these elements, it’s essential that this inspiration also lives on the product page, not just on the physical pack. As we’ve seen, fans increasingly begin their planning online, and often weeks in advance, making the PDP a key point of discovery where recipe ideas, assembly tips, and flavor pairings can directly influence basket composition. When this information only appears on the physical pack, brands miss the moment when shoppers are researching, comparing, and building their lists digitally.

Ensuring that recipes, usage suggestions, serving sizes, and cross‑category pairing ideas are mirrored on the PDP allows AI search, retailer filters, and quick‑commerce platforms to surface products in more meaningful contexts. A product becomes not just an item, but part of a solution — an ingredient in a “taco night for the Mexico match,” a base for a “simple shared appetizer for eleven people,” or the perfect pairing for “alcohol‑free hosting.

For CPG brands looking to win both the tournament moment and long‑term loyalty, omnichannel consistency isn’t a back‑end task; it’s a strategic growth lever. It ensures that whether a shopper is stocking up two weeks before, running into a store last‑minute, or asking an AI assistant what they need for a viewing party, the brand shows up the same way every time: accurate, aligned, and confidence‑building.

Winning in Tech and Durables: How the World Cup Drives Electronics Sales

When the World Cup kicks off, fans want their home setups to rise to the occasion. Major tournaments ignite a surge in big‑screen upgrades, as households look to elevate picture quality, create more immersive viewing zones, and bring the magic into their own space. In fact, global TV shipments are projected to surpass 210 million units in 2026 (Informa), driven largely by aggressive promotional activity tied to the tournament. Brands are pushing larger screens, enhanced lighting setups, and making next‑generation viewing tech more accessible than ever.

Smart Home & Appliances

As fans prepare for their watch parties, gatherings, and elevated at‑home experiences, the broader household appliance sector is also gaining momentum. According to NielsenIQ’s Home Appliance Outlook 2026, consumers aren’t necessarily buying more T&D goods than before, but they are spending more per item where they see meaningful value. Convenience, efficiency, and smart functionality are increasingly driving that value perception. In the United States alone, this category represents over $58 billion, underscoring continued consumer investment in products that streamline hosting and entertainment routines.

The trend toward convenience and durability is particularly relevant during major sporting events, where fans juggle food prep, clean‑up, and crowd flow without missing key moments. Smart appliances and multifunctional devices help households stay game‑ready. Smart refrigerators, automated kitchen tools, voice‑activated fixtures, and energy‑efficient devices are increasingly seen not just as conveniences but as essential components of a well‑run hosting environment. Consumers also continue to prioritize durability and efficiency when selecting new appliances — a trend perfectly aligned with the needs of fans preparing for multiple match days, frequent gatherings, and high‑traffic kitchen use.

AI’s role in appliances is still emerging. While shoppers remain cautious due to limited understanding, real‑world use cases illustrate its value: robot vacuums that navigate more accurately, washing machines that optimize energy consumption through pattern recognition, or sustainability dashboards that help reduce waste. These are exactly the benefits consumers say matter most, suggesting that demand for smart, AI‑enabled devices will climb as awareness grows (NielsenIQ Home Appliance Outlook).

Digital Fan Behavior

Today’s World Cup fans multitask across screens, platforms, and shopping channels. Research shows that fans simultaneously stream, scroll, game, and shop, creating a dynamic engagement loop that amplifies commercial potential for tech and durable goods brands.

For the 2026 tournament, technology will elevate the experience more than ever before. In‑stadium attendees will enter a world of IoT‑powered smart venues, biometric entry, AR overlays, and personalized in‑seat services, while remote viewers will enjoy AI‑powered analytics, predictive insights, and instant highlight generation, making every moment more interactive.

Digital engagement doesn’t stop at match time. 58% expect to play soccer‑themed video games, and 56% anticipate increasing their in‑game spending — clear signs that digital consumption peaks alongside the global surge in football fever (Paysafe).

Lenovo AI-Powered Tech Innovations

As FIFA’s official technology partner for the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Women’s World Cup, Lenovo has introduced a suite of AI‑powered innovations that symbolizes a leap in football AI technology. Football AI Pro is a generative AI knowledge assistant designed to give all 48 participating teams equal access to advanced pre‑ and post‑match analysis by processing hundreds of millions of FIFA-owned data points and delivering insights in text, video, graphs, and 3D visualizations.

The tournament will also feature AI‑enabled 3D player avatars, created through rapid digital body scans that enhance the accuracy and transparency of semi‑automated offside decisions while providing clearer, more engaging broadcast visuals for fans. Additionally, FIFA is rolling out an upgraded Referee View, using AI‑powered stabilization to deliver smoother, more watchable first-person footage from officials. Together, these innovations reflect FIFA’s push to modernize the sport, democratize analytics, and elevate the fan experience both inside the stadium and around the world.

The AI Opportunity

The 2026 World Cup will be the first major global sporting event since AI‑assisted and agentic shopping has become mainstream. Fans won’t just type queries or search generic products and categories anymore; they’ll ask natural‑language questions, searching for products that are unique and specific to their needs. At this point, product content stops being a static reference and becomes the fuel that powers every AI decision, recommendation, and comparison.

As viewers plan earlier, with one‑third beginning their shopping a week or more before the tournament starts, AI becomes their shortcut to faster, more confident choices. Fans aren’t asking, “What snacks should I buy?”, they’re asking.

Each of these queries requires more than just basic product data, it requires rich, structured, accurate content that AI can parse, trust, and transform into relevant recommendations.

“What should I serve for a mixed group of adults, kids, and non‑drinkers?”
“Show me healthier snack options that still feel indulgent for game day.”
“Which 65-inch TV is best for a bright living room?”
“Build me a shopping list for a World Cup watch party for 10 people.”
“What global flavors should I try for Argentina vs. Mexico?”

AI Will Expect, and Reward, Complete, Structured Product Content

As search becomes a conversation, the gaps in product content become more visible. Missing ingredients lists, inconsistent specs, outdated images, or vague marketing claims won’t just frustrate shoppers; they’ll prevent AI from recommending a product at all.

In a World Cup defined by precision and intentional shopping, where consumption surges dramatically around marquee matchups, brands that anticipate these moments will win the lion’s share of demand.

For CPG brands, this means:

Clear and complete ingredient lists
Usage suggestions and recipe ideas
Pack size comparisons
Nutritional information
Allergen visibility
Supporting images and videos

For Tech & Durables brands, it means:

Accurate dimensions
Compatibility details
AR‑ready imagery
Performance specs
Comparison‑friendly data
Real‑life use cases (e.g., “ideal for sports viewing,” “best for bright rooms”)

When fans make rapid decisions in the hours before a game, AI will elevate the products with the cleanest, most reliable content.

Agentic Shopping: AI That Completes the Journey for Fans

This World Cup won’t just introduce conversational search, it will accelerate agentic shopping, where AI doesn’t just recommend products but builds carts, compares prices, checks stock levels, and completes purchases automatically based on user preferences.

Imagine the new experience:

Fan: “Plan my World Cup opener party for eight people. One vegetarian, no sugary drinks.”
AI: Curates a selection of snacks, beverages, fresh foods, and even themed packaging — pulling from brands whose product data includes dietary attributes, pack sizes, serving suggestions, and flavour profiles.

Or:

Fan: “Help me upgrade my home setup for the quarter-finals.”
AI: Selects TVs, soundbars, and accessories based on room dimensions, viewing distance, brightness levels, and compatibility — only visible if the underlying product content is complete.

Where product content is incomplete, AI simply won’t choose the product.

A Future Where Content Determines the Winner

When a fan tells an AI assistant, “Find me the best snacks for tonight,” the AI will not look at brand equity, retailer promotions, or advertising investment first. It will look at:

The richness of product attributes
The clarity of packaging information
The consistency across the omnichannel
The depth of sensory descriptors
The trustworthiness of the data

In other words, product content becomes the competitive edge.

Brands that invest in high-quality, structured, AI‑ready data will become the default choice not by shouting the loudest, but by being the most precise, complete, and easy for AI to understand.

The World Cup Is a Moment, But the Loyalty Lasts

The World Cup may be brief, but the behaviors it amplifies are long‑term. Fans plan earlier, compare more options online, and rely heavily on clear, complete product information to make confident decisions. With one‑third of viewers preparing their shopping a week or more before the event, brands that provide consistent, enriched, and AI‑ready content across every channel earn trust at critical decision points.

The impact reaches beyond the tournament itself. When shoppers can find reliable product details, helpful inspiration, and consistent packaging both online and in‑store, they are more likely to return to those brands after the final match. A seamless World Cup shopping experience becomes the foundation for lasting loyalty, positioning brands not only to win during the event but to remain top of mind for future occasions throughout the year.

Get started with smarter product content today:

Learn more about how NIQ Brandbank is the perfect partner for helping you create, manage and syndicate your digital product content. With over 1,250 FMCG attributes and 50,000 Tech attributes available, our expert teams help power your product content, optimizing it for the future of ecommerce across the digital shelf.

The post From Stadium to Sofa: How Immersive Product Content Builds Brand Loyalty During the World Cup 2026 appeared first on NIQ.

The Iced Drinks Opportunity: Five insights shaping demand

emilybuckley0522 — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:38:21 +0000

Content

NIQ’s Hot Beverages 2026 report, powered by CGA intelligence, is packed with essential intelligence on consumers’ habits and preferences that can fuel successful strategies across iced categories. It reveals accelerating take-up, with nearly a third of consumers now drinking iced coffee out-of-home—a 5 percentage point increase in just 12 months. There is similar momentum in iced tea, where consumption levels have jumped 6 percentage points year-on-year to 25%. Here are five insights to help businesses gain even more traction in 2026.

1. A young and high-spending market

NIQ’s demographic data shows iced drinks consumers are among the On-Premise’s most valuable guests. Those who buy iced tea spend an average of £175 per month on eating and drinking out, compared to £130 among all consumers. 53% of them are aged 18 to 34, which is an over-indexing of 19 percentage points. Iced drink buyers are also more likely than average to be city residents and parents.

2. A thirst for innovation

Iced drink consumers are ready to switch up their choices. They are partly influenced by the weather, as more than two thirds of iced coffee drinkers say their selections change depending on the season. There’s strong appetite for innovation too, with well over a third of all consumers agreeing they more likely to experiment with flavours in iced coffees or teas. Venues need to be ready to satisfy this thirst for different offerings, and there is room to work with partners on flavours that grab the attention and appeal on social media.

3. Fruity flavours to the fore

The Hot Beverages 2026 report shows classic flavours like chocolate, vanilla and caramel remain the most popular profiles in hot and iced beverages, but fruitier flavours are catching up. The number of consumers typically choosing summer-friendly flavours like apple, lime, strawberry and raspberry has increased by at least 3 percentage points year-on-year. There’s an opportunity to grow interest in these syrups even further as the weather hots up.

4. Branding is vital

NIQ’s research highlights the power of branding. 32% of consumers agree they would be more likely to buy a hot or iced beverage if they recognised the brand of syrup that was included. This flags the importance of brand collaboration and the need for suppliers to align their brands with the right venues and audiences.

5. More growth to come

Iced drinks are already among the fastest rising categories in the On Premise, and there’s more growth to come in 2026. Around a third of iced tea consumers expect to buy it more frequently this year, while only 9% will drink it less, and the trend is similar in iced coffee. These numbers make a powerful case for the inclusion of iced beverages on menus, but with more operators and brands moving into the market, competition is going to be intense. Staying on top of the latest trends and needs will be vital if businesses are to grow sales and share in 2026 and beyond.

Explore the trends

Discover the latest hot and cold beverage trends and access the new Hot Beverages 2026 report.

The post The Iced Drinks Opportunity: Five insights shaping demand appeared first on NIQ.

Fewer Occasions, Higher Expectations:

eminamaslic0415 — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:53:38 +0000

GLP‑1 medicines are forcing FMCG leaders to confront a fundamental question: what happens to growth when appetite can no longer be assumed? While early debate has focused on which categories are “most at risk,” there has been a more profound shift: not in what consumers buy, but in how deliberately they choose.
As appetite becomes regulated, fewer decisions happen on autopilot. The pattern cuts across categories, but the logic is consistent- fewer occasions, higher expectations.

Frequency is under pressure; meaning is not

Many FMCG categories have historically relied on frequency: daily snacks, routine treats, default drinks. GLP‑1 challenges this model by disrupting automatic consumption and increasing “moment scrutiny.”

There is a recurring behavioral pattern:

Products bought “by habit” face greater scrutiny
Default choices lose ground to considered ones
Consumers ask (often subconsciously): Do I really want this right now?

This shows up differently by category, for example:

Snacks must justify the moment, not just the craving
Confectionery must earn its treat status rather than rely on routine
Alcohol must anchor itself in occasion, experience or moderation cues

The pressure point is not relevance; it is repeatability without purpose.

The innovation shift: from “more newness” to “more value per occasion”

One of the most underestimated impacts of GLP‑1 is what it does to innovation. When consumption occasions shrink, innovation must work harder per occasion, delivering clearer benefits, stronger satisfaction, and more obvious “why now” cues.

In practice, many manufacturers are already reframing innovation around:

Nutrient density and functional upgrades (not just “less”)
Satisfaction per mouthful (value per bite, not volume per pack)
Formats designed for intention (portioning that feels right, not reduced)

This is where “innovation” stops being a pipeline activity and becomes a growth strategy. NIQ BASES research shows that manufacturers growing innovation sales were 2.0x more likely to grow overall sales than those with stagnant/declining innovation sales — a reminder that the winners won’t be the brands that simply shrink; they’ll be the ones that redesign relevance.

Indulgence doesn’t disappear, it becomes permission‑based

Perhaps the most misunderstood effect of GLP‑1 is on indulgence itself.

Pleasure is not eliminated, it is negotiated. Consumers become more conscious of the emotional and personal tradeoffs attached to indulgent choices.

This is visible across categories:

A snack must feel worth the pause
A confectionery treat must feel intentional, not automatic
An alcoholic drink must justify its place in the occasion

In this context, overt health or restriction messaging often underperforms. What resonates instead are subtle cues such as design, portioning, quality signals that allow consumers to grant themselves permission without friction

When consumption becomes intentional, innovation must work harder

GLP-1 is not just changing FMCG categories; it’s challenging traditional consumption-based innovation research. When appetite becomes regulated, ideas designed to win on novelty, permissibility, or frequency behave differently; while concepts built around balance, sufficiency, and quality can be undervalued if tested against legacy assumptions.

As a result, leading manufacturers are rethinking what “success” looks like: moving beyond volume‑led metrics, stress‑testing concepts against more intentional consumption mindsets, and recognizing that what wins is no longer habit, but clear justification per occasion.

The categories most at risk depend on routine and value determined by volume. Brands that remain successful clearly define their purpose within a more purposeful way of living, creating products that feel sufficient rather than excessive and match current consumer preferences.

The real question is not “Is my category at risk?”. The more useful question is: “Why should consumers pick us now that their cravings aren’t automatic?”

In a GLP‑1 world, FMCG growth does not disappear, it focuses around meaning, clarity and purpose. For manufacturers and retailers willing to rethink how value is created and earned, this shift is not just a challenge. It is a filter that separates products that are simply consumed from those intentionally selected

The post Fewer Occasions, Higher Expectations: appeared first on NIQ.

prajwalki — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:14:39 +0000

Аналитика, охватывающая весь мир

Практические данные об омниканальности. Изобретательные специалисты, которые меняют мир. Футуристические технологии, умножающие силу данных. И все это благодаря 100-летнему опыту.

The post appeared first on NIQ.

prajwalki — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:09:39 +0000

Аналитика, охватывающая весь мир

The post appeared first on NIQ.

NIQ Perspective: Good for you, built for the planet.

andresxportilla — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:51:12 +0000

Book a Strategy Call

This Perspective reveals how converging wellness and sustainability preferences are shifting category performance, pack claims, and pricing dynamics in Food & Beverage.

With budgets tight and scrutiny high, brands must prove functional benefits and planet‑positive value to defend share and margins.

Why it matters

For CPG leaders, the “good for me, good for the planet” promise now decides who wins at shelf and search.

Download The Perspective

Claims that convert

Pair personal wellness benefits with sustainability cues to lift consideration and defend premium. Keep benefits obvious and verifiable.

Value without compromise

Offer affordable “better-for-you” formats as shoppers balance health goals and price sensitivity across grocery, snacks, and beverages.

Proof over posture

Translate purpose into proof with simple labels, credible certifications, and pack storytelling that performs instore and online.

CPG leaders who understand these shifts early gain a competitive edge.

Discuss what this means for your business

Insights From NIQ Thought Leaders

Our market and consumer experts unpack the data behind the Perspective—highlighting what’s changing, why it matters, and where companies should focus next.

“Regenerative agriculture is rapidly becoming a growth and risk story at the same time—premiumization when it’s proven, vulnerability when it’s vague. What’s being underestimated is how fast consumers are collapsing sustainability, food quality, and chemical exposure into a single judgment of trust. If the industry treats regen as a marketing layer instead of an operating standard, it will quickly become a source of skepticism rather than differentiation.”

–Chris Costagli

Vice President, Thought Leadership F&B Insights Lead, NielsenIQ

Why meet with NIQ?

The post NIQ Perspective: Good for you, built for the planet. appeared first on NIQ.

Unlocking Mixed Drinks and Spritz Potential

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:59:00 +0000

Content

After several years of steady growth, the Aperol Spritz has become Britain’s most popular cocktail. It attracted 13.6% of all cocktail spending in the third quarter of 2025—a very sharp increase of 3.7 percentage from the same period in 2024. The growth means it has overtaken both Sex on the Beach and Pornstar Martini as the nation’s biggest cocktail in volume terms.

NIQ’s new Mixed Drinks Report provides more essential insights into this dynamic part of the market, helping pinpoint opportunities and sharpen category strategies.

Here are just six of the top takeaways.

1. An affluent and loyal base

Spritz drinkers are some of the On-Premise’s most valuable users. Three in five (59%) of them visit at least weekly, and they spend an average of £121 a week in the On-Premise. They are loyal to the spritz too, with a quarter (19%) choosing one every time or most times they go out—though there remains plenty of potential to increase the frequency of more occasional drinkers.

2. A gateway for new cocktail drinkers

The spritz is a particularly appealing mixed drinks option for men and older consumers. Well over a third (38%) of drinkers are male, which is 5 percentage points more the average among all cocktail consumers. 9% of them are aged 65+, compared to 5% of all cocktail drinkers. This indicates that some drinkers are experiencing mixed drinks for the first time when they buy a spritz.

3. Brands and refreshments the key to sales

Branding is a major influence on sales. Just over half (54%) of spitz consumers say the brand in a spritz is very or somewhat important to them. Drinkers are also looking for refreshment, with 43% citing it as a reason in their purchase. A third (33%) say they are attracted by the light taste of a spritz, which can be a particularly powerful draw for health-conscious consumers who are increasingly aware of ABV.

4. A route into new dayparts

The spritz can also open doors to spirits consumption in earlier dayparts. Overall cocktail consumption peaks in the late evening, but the spritz heavily over-index for mid-afternoon purchases.

5. Opportunities beyond Aperol

It’s not just Aperol that is driving spritz sales. It’s also an opportunity for vodka, tequila and gin, with more than a quarter of all spritz consumers typically choosing these. For gin in particular, where sales have declined in recent years, this serve style gives operators and suppliers an opportunity to reignite interest.

6. Execution is everything

After stellar recent performance, the spritz has headroom for even more growth in the coming months. However, operators will have to ensure they provide consistently good spritz serves. Currently only 13% of consumers say their spritz is served well every time they buy one, with incorrect ratios, poor mixology and insufficient ice as the three most common problems. Suppliers can play a part in improving performance by providing training and other practical support.

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The post Unlocking Mixed Drinks and Spritz Potential appeared first on NIQ.

Soft start to Spring for drinks sales

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:59:00 +0000

The week to Saturday 7 March saw average sales in managed venues slip 6.4% behind the same week in 2025. Over the seven days before that, to Saturday 28 February, sales dropped 1.5% year-on-year.

Following strong Christmas trading, On-Premise sales have been more challenging in early 2026, with growth in only two of the first nine weeks of the year. Footfall has been held down by sustained periods of rain in many parts of the country, alongside hesitant spending.

Sales were down year-on-year on each of the first seven days of March. Conditions were particularly difficult at the weekend despite the benefits of Six Nations rugby fixtures, with rain pushing down comparatives to -7.9% and -12.1% on Friday and Saturday (6 and 7 March).

Long Alcoholic Drinks (LADs) have generally performed slightly better than other categories so far this year. Beer sales were down year-on-year by 1.2% and 4.8% in the weeks to 28 February and 7 March respectively, while cider dropped 1.4% and 8.2%. Soft drinks (down 1.1% and 9.8%) and wine (down 3.5% and 7.4%) were both negative as well. Spirits (down 9.8% and 12.1%) experienced the most challenging conditions of all.

Rachel Weller, NIQ’s commercial lead, UK & Ireland, said: “The wet and grey weather of early 2026 has made it hard for pubs, bars and restaurants to tempt people out of home, and it’s clear that many consumers continue to keep a very close eye on their spending. Operators and suppliers will now be hoping that the two big occasions of Mother’s Day and St Patrick’s Day can revive some spending, especially if the sun finally shines on them.”

The Daily Drinks Tracker provides analysis of sales at managed licensed premises across Britain and is part of NIQ’s suite of research services delivering in-depth data on category, supplier and brand rate of sale performance.

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What GLP-1s mean for hospitality

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:59:00 +0000

According to NIQ’s latest On-Premise User Survey (OPUS), 5% of adults in Britain are currently using weight loss drugs, while a further 9% have used them in the past year and another 5% have done so before that. In other words, nearly one in five people has engaged with GLP-1s at some time.

Usage is tilted towards older consumers. Just over half (53%) of users are aged 25 to 44, while 37% are 45 or older and only one in ten (10%) are 24 or younger. Crucially for hospitality, users also tend to be regular visitors to pubs, bars and restaurants. Well over half (57%) go out for food at least once a week – 20 percentage points more than average, and 48% drink out at the same rate.

What it means for the On- and Off-Premise

This indicates that some of hospitality’s most engaged consumers are modifying their diets. Nearly all (95%) GLP-1 users say their weight loss medicines have impacted their behaviour in some way, and 29% of them are either drinking less alcohol than before or drinking more slowly. Meanwhile, NIQ’s Consumer Panel shows households with a user are typically spending about 5% less on FMCG.

These changes have major implications for how people allocate their spending. More than a quarter of GLP-1 users say they are ordering more nutritious dishes (29%) or choosing lower-calorie options (28%) now. Nearly as many are skipping starters or desserts (28%) or ordering starters or small plates instead of a main course (27%). They are looking more closely at ingredients as well, with 26% avoiding food types like carbs or fried food, and 22% swerving ultra-processed items. In the Off-Premise, users are sharply reducing volumes of items like alcohol, crisps and confectionery.

New habits are creating winners and losers in On-Premise channels and categories. For example, around a third of users have cut their frequencies in fast food restaurants (34%) and food pubs (31%), but cafes and coffee shops have been less affected so far. Meanwhile, many say they are cutting their wine, cocktail and spirit intake, but around a quarter have increased their consumption of soft and hot drinks.

How to meet the new needs

These numbers show that while GLP-1s are creating challenges for hospitality, there are opportunities too. For venues, flexible menus are key to catering for changing habits. It’s also important to remember that users are also paying attention to wider health and wellness issues, and more than a third 35% of them strongly agree they like to keep up to date with trends, 16 percentage points more than average.

As take-up of GLP-1 medicines increases, impacts on hospitality are sure to rise. But it’s clear that while users are adapting their habits, they don’t want to stop eating and drinking out. Helping them modify their orders, through options like smaller or less calorific plates or lower alcohol drinks, is going to be essential to sustain appeal.

NIQ’s powerful combination of On- and Off-Premise research provides operators and suppliers with The Full View of vital trends including GLP-1 impacts. To learn more, contact Daisy.Yates@nielseniq.com.

Adapt with intention

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State of the North in Hospitality

emilybuckley0522 — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:59:00 +0000

Content

That was among the messages from a session led by NIQ’s Karl Chessell at the recent Northern Restaurant & Bar show in Manchester. While the confidence of leaders and consumers alike has been sapped lately, trends have often been more positive than in the South and people remain eager to eat and drink out when they can. Here are five takeaways from ‘The State of the North’ session.

1 Northern site numbers stable

NIQ’s Hospitality Market Monitor shows Northern regions of England recorded a drop of just 0.1% in licensed premises in 2025. With trading conditions so challenging, this represents a solid performance, and it’s fractionally better than the 0.2% decline for Britain as a whole last year. City centres including Liverpool (+1.5%) and Manchester (+1.1%) have even achieved growth. The headline numbers also cover rapid churn in the North, and although there were 1,026 site closures in 2025, there were also 994 new openings—a sign that entrepreneurs and investors continue to stream into hospitality.

2 Higher-than-average confidence

This resilience has prompted leaders to start 2026 with very cautious confidence. The latest Business Confidence Survey from NIQ and Sona shows just over a quarter (27%) of leaders feel optimistic about prospects for their business over the next 12 months—a historically low figure but 7 percentage points higher than Britain’s hospitality leaders as a whole.

3 Enduring appeal of big nights out

NIQ’s consumer data has shown a steady move towards early dayparts for eating and drinking out, but the picture is slightly different in the North. A third (33%) of consumers here say they are staying out later on high tempo occasions than they were a year ago—8 percentage points more than in the South. However, some of these occasions are changing. Three in five (61%) consumers say they are looking for new experiences like music and gaming, or different types of venue.

4 Central to urban regeneration

Amid tough economic times and widespread shop closures, hospitality can play a big part in the revival of city centres and high streets across the North. Stockport is an example of how restaurants, bars, pubs and markets can transform an evening economy, while the Baltic Triangle has done a similar job in Liverpool. Developments and events have made cities like Liverpool and Manchester increasingly popular tourist spots.

5 An appetite for premium

The North has been further boosted as a foodie destination by its growing number of Michelin-starred restaurants. Other upmarket venues have flourished too, with cities losing fewer premium venues than value ones in recent years. High quality casual Northern brands like Madre and Maray are confidently expanding, and Southern ones like Blacklock and the Big Mamma Group are moving in. And consumers remain eager to treat themselves to premium drinks. Asked about their plans with a set amount of money, nearly two thirds (64%) say they would buy one or two premium or super-premium drinks, while only 12% would purchase four or five value or standard ones.

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