Consumer

The HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show ran from 1st-5th March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. With the global economy moving towards normalcy, exhibitors were enthusiastic to participate, with over 2,500 exhibitors from 36 countries and regions.

Iconic beauty and entrepreneurship company Mary Kay Inc. recently announced the appointment of James Whatley as Chief Information Officer. In this role, Whatley will champion Mary Kay’s digital innovation efforts, such as revolutionizing Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants’ ability to unleash their full potential through tools and technology.

The latest research from ALDI Australia reveals that Australian shopper’s relaxed ‘set and forget’ approach could become more costly with those stuck in old shopping habits, and not looking at alternative supermarkets, potentially losing over $2,400 in savings. As many as 8.8 million Australians (45%) say they have inherited their parents’ grocery shopping behaviours when it comes to selecting their supermarket of choice, digging their heels in even more so than when it comes to institutions like banks (40%), and well above other brands like cars (23%) and energy companies (17%) – showing how much of an influence parents have over future generations and their shopping habits.  

Fresh data from buy now, pay later provider Zip demonstrates Aussies prioritised romance this Valentine’s Day, with overall spend up 20% on last year, despite talks of an impending recession. Spending on flowers, jewellery, lingerie and adult entertainment all increased on the most romantic day of the year this year also, in spite of rising cost of living concerns.

Pet Circle, one of Australia's largest ecommerce pet supplies store, announced its multi-million dollar investment in its last mile logistics, fulfilment centres and range to keep up with demand from the pet boom and raise the bar for customer experience in the category. It has provided a first look at its recently launched, privately owned and operated delivery fleet in Perth and its two new fulfilment centres in Perth and Brisbane, which opened over the past year. The sites have doubled Pet Circle's fulfilment centre footprint to over nine football fields, bringing its total number of operated fulfilment centres in Australia to four. 

Iconic beauty and entrepreneurship company Mary Kay Inc. has appointed Sheryl Adkins-Green as Chief Experience Officer. Adkins-Green will support the success of millions of Beauty Consultants’ businesses through a 360-degree integrated customer experience. Adkins-Green, who’s been with Mary Kay since 2009, previously served as Chief Marketing Officer. She will continue to lead the Global Brand Experience Division and the firm’s in-house creative agency that create marketing campaigns, multi-media design assets, social media content, and integrated digital communications that enable the Independent Sales Force to provide personalized beauty experiences and customized service to their clients.

apa Valley’s acclaimed Chappellet winery is excited to announce that it has been invited to become a Relais & Châteaux Preferred Partner. With this honor, Chappellet becomes the first American winery to be invited to become a Preferred Partner and joins an exclusive list of some of the world’s top wineries to be named a Relais & Châteaux Preferred Partner.

Cyara, provider of the award-winning Automated Customer Experience (CX) Assurance Platform, released a new study that shows while most Australian customers want to use chatbots for automated support, many businesses fail to deliver positive chatbot experiences even as they increasingly rely on them as primary methods of customer interactions online.

With its annual Digital 100 ranking for 2022, Similarweb is recognising 10 top-performing digital domains from 10 categories, ranked by growth. This year’s winners include a range of services from robot vacuum cleaners to designer fashion and online car dealerships. This ranking is based on traffic from Australian desktop and mobile web internet users, focusing on digital domains that were active throughout 2021 and averaged at least 100,000 monthly visits in 2022. Parallel reports for the United States, UK, Germany, France, and Japan, are also being released, and separate reports for additional countries will follow.

Global market research company Euromonitor International released its landmark “Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2023” report recently. This aims to help organisations stay ahead of disruption, predict consumer shopping motivations and fulfill unmet consumer needs.