Latest news with #consumerinsights
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet a Little-Known Stock That's Outperforming Amazon and Tesla Since Going Public 2 Years Ago
This company is setting out to listen to consumers before designing a product, which looks like a strategy that's paying off. Profit margins are improving as the business scales, giving management more money to invest in product development to further grow the business. 10 stocks we like better than SharkNinja › Two of the most well-known and beloved stocks on the market are Amazon and Tesla. Indeed, these are two of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" -- seven of the largest enterprises in the entire world. And if you bought shares of this duo three years ago, you're doing quite well as of June 27, gaining 88% and 33%, respectively. However, a little-known spin-off is quietly crushing the S&P 500 and beating high-flyers like Amazon and Tesla since it went public less than two years ago. The stock may not have crossed the radar for many investors. But with household products in 36 categories that are sold at over 170 retailers worldwide, it's a brand name that's immediately recognizable to most U.S. consumers. I'm talking about SharkNinja (NYSE: SN), a company comprised of two multibillion-dollar household product brands. On the Shark side, there are vacuum cleaners as well as more cleaning appliances. And on the Ninja side, it has a portfolio of small kitchen appliances, such as blenders. SharkNinja was spun off from China's JS Global in July 2023. And since that spin-off, shares have more than doubled in value, as the chart below shows. Returns have already been quite good for SharkNinja shareholders during its short history as a publicly traded company. But management believes it has a winning business strategy that can create a lot of additional shareholder value over the long term. And after looking things over, I'm starting to think they may be right. Here's why. SharkNinja is on a constant mission to launch new household appliances, whether in product categories that it already addresses or in new categories altogether. But the company starts with trying to solve consumer problems in product development. According to management, SharkNinja has "Built a consumer problem-solving engine." Its plan is to "Scour ratings and reviews using proprietary software to find and understand opportunities to improve the consumer experience." In other words, the company uses software to determine what consumers like and dislike about their current products, and then designs new products based on these insights. Ordinarily, I'd be tempted to dismiss these comments as typical managerial exaggeration. But SharkNinja's results speak for themselves. The company's net sales in 2024 were 49% higher than in 2022, and it expects at least an additional 11% year-over-year growth here in 2025. One of SharkNinja's recent product launches particularly caught my eye. In 2021, the company estimated the home ice cream market to be worth $53 million. In 2022, its Ninja Creami machine generated net sales of $78 million. In short, SharkNinja launched a new product, and sales exceeded the entire prior-year size of its market niche. This level of success likely didn't happen by accident. It may well be evidence of its "consumer problem-solving engine" in action. SharkNinja has generated nearly $5.7 billion in trailing-12-month revenue. That's significant from any angle. Long-term growth could become increasingly challenging for the company. After all, consumers don't replace home appliances every year. To the contrary, they want to buy things that last. Even if the brand stays strong in consumers' minds, growth might be hard to find as it saturates the market. That said, continued growth shouldn't be impossible for SharkNinja. In 2023, management estimated its serviceable market to be worth about $40 billion and growing. Consider the fact that some of its top products enjoy 30% to 50% market share. Assuming more of its products can command similarly dominant shares of their chosen markets, SharkNinja could generate annual revenue of $10 billion or more. Investors should also consider SharkNinja's improving fundamentals. Management likes to scale products for profitability, which gives it more cash to reinvest in the development of new products. Since going public, its gross margin and its operating margin have improved as hoped. And it's spending more on research and development (as a percentage of revenue). When considering its stellar history of growth, its improving business fundamentals, and its ongoing business opportunity, I'm inclined to say that SharkNinja stock is a buy. But there are a couple of things to be mindful of. First, SharkNinja has $545 million in net debt as of the first quarter of 2025. Ideally, it would have more cash than debt, but this is the opposite situation. Second, even if the company's growth continues, it will likely slow. This is reflected in its 2025 guidance of 11% to 13% growth -- that's about 50% slower than its historical growth rate. Still, SharkNinja seems to be solving consumer problems just like it intended. And if management ever expands beyond its current market, perhaps it can invigorate its growth rate more than what investors give it credit for today. Before you buy stock in SharkNinja, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SharkNinja wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jon Quast has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends SharkNinja. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Meet a Little-Known Stock That's Outperforming Amazon and Tesla Since Going Public 2 Years Ago was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bright Mountain and consumr.ai Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance AI-Driven Research and Media Intelligence
Bright Mountain's consumer insights and analytics company, Big Village, now offers AI twins that interact with consumer cohorts in real time. Boca Raton, FL, June 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bright Mountain Media, Inc. (Bright Mountain/OTCQB: BMTM), a marketing services platform company that empowers brands, agencies and publishers to go further, faster, announced that Big Village, a leading provider of consumer insights and analytics, and the premier AI twin and intelligence platform, have entered into a strategic alliance to revolutionize how organizations access and act on consumer understanding. This partnership equally leverages Big Village's research excellence and cutting-edge AI technology, creating a seamless bridge between deep consumer insights and real-time, behavior-based digital personas. The result is that Big Village can now provide clients with a novel AI twin solution to interact with virtual consumer cohorts in real time. The partnership fuses Big Village's renowned research with proprietary platform and AI twin technology, to both parties' benefit. For the first time, millions of consumers can be accurately portrayed by individually interactable personas that can tell you exactly how best to reach them or what they want to see from your products in real-time. The dynamic, privacy-safe AI twins are built from observed, deterministic, cohort-driven media footprints that remove both sampling and guesswork. By integrating this technology with Big Village's proven methodologies in audience segmentation, the alliance with offers accelerated, agile research cycles and actionable, persona-driven strategies. 'This new service reinforces our commitment to helping marketing professionals reduce waste by better connecting the historically fragmented stages of their workflow,' said Andy Davidson, Bright Mountain's Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Managing Director of Big Village. "It's a unique opportunity for our clients to test campaigns and product features with a virtual audience that has been built using the unique traits and characteristics identified through our research – and then brought to life using groundbreaking technology.' Simultaneously, enhances its platform with Big Village's rigorous segment insights. 'Primary and secondary research cannot continue to be in siloes. It's critical that marketers get a single comprehensive view. We need quantitative to feel more like primary research, while leveraging the innate scaled observed of secondary research,' says Gautam Mehra, CEO and Co-founder of and creator of the technology. 'What I am most excited by is the coming together of millions of digital signals and primary research data to create a single fused view for brands,' he adds. This is the vision both companies in the alliance share as they chart a path forward for the research industry. About Bright Mountain Media and Big Village Bright Mountain Media (Bright Mountain) is the #1 integrated marketing services platform for brands, agencies and publishers who depend on continuous connections with their omnichannel customers to go further faster. Bright Mountain is always open, connected and committed to giving our clients flexible access to the AI, insights and services they need to know and grow. Big Village is a research and analytics business that helps brands and agencies to better understand customer behavior, intentions, and attitudes to drive effective marketing and innovation. We provide fast-track learning and human-led decision support to help brands genuinely commit to knowing their customers and succeed. With over 80 years of experience in delivering high-quality data and insights, we design, build, and manage consumer insights projects and programs that enable always-on learning and generate growth for brands. For more information, visit About is a cutting-edge consumer intelligence platform that converts observed digital behaviors (extracted from social platforms such as Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn as well as e-Commerce platforms such as Amazon, Walmart and search platforms such as Google and Bing) into actionable intelligence for research, strategy, and media. Built on ethical, privacy-first data practices, helps brands stay ahead of consumer needs through continuously updated insights from the real world. Contact / Investor Relations: Douglas Baker Email: corp@ (561) 807-6350 in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
18-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Cultural Intelligence: Building Trust And Unlocking Insights In The Global Village
Real insights are gained through authentic connection and understanding. They come from learning how to listen to the consumer markets and communities you are trying to reach. getty If you're leading a company in North America, you're likely grappling with how to effectively connect with the diverse world around us. Whether expanding into international markets or engaging with your hometown's vibrant and culturally rich diaspora communities. The traditional 'Western' way of doing business, while valuable, isn't the only perspective, and often, it's not the one that truly resonates when trying to reach non-Western audiences. To succeed today, you need more than just a good product or service; you need cultural intelligence, defined by Sternberg et al. as 'one's ability to adapt when confronted with problems arising in interactions with people or artifacts of cultures other than one's own.' At its heart, it is the ability to live, work, and collaborate across cultures. However, cultural intelligence is more than that; it is a powerful competitive advantage. It's about resisting the impulse to simply push Western notions and, instead, finding spaces where different perspectives and cultures are respected and seen. It's the key to finding genuine insights and, crucially, building authentic trust with the communities you want to serve. Real insights are gained through authentic connection and understanding. They come from learning how to listen to the consumer markets and communities you are trying to reach. This act of listening requires the ability to appreciate and celebrate diversity and cultural differences. So, how do you practically find these crucial insights and build that vital trust? It starts with a framework I've developed over years of navigating diverse markets, the EIA method (Embed, Interpret, Act). This is where you connect with the environment and its people. For an organization, it involves creating a structure where you seek to learn and become part of that community. You open yourself up to learning traditions, styles of conversation, and customs. This grassroots approach is essential for gaining consumer insights from the ground up. When you embed yourself, you embrace new experiences as opportunities to grow and see the world with a fresh perspective. This is where you begin to gather the raw information that will lead to insights. If you're the type of person who lands in a new city and decides not to take a tour but to walk the neighborhoods, ask the local people the best spots to eat, and engage with the citizens of this new-to-you place, you already possess that cultural intelligence instinct! Once you've embedded and gathered information, you must make sense of it. This step involves understanding the cultural nuances that shape behavior, preferences, and values. You combine the new information you've gathered with your existing knowledge to create a richer, more textured perspective. Cultural misunderstandings are a major risk if you skip or rush this step, potentially impeding communication and relationships. Interpreting is how you turn observations into meaningful insights that can inform your strategy. This is where you put the insights you've gained through embedding and interpreting into practice. It requires adapting your strategies and changing your behavior to connect better with others. Acting on insights is not just about developing new products or services; it's also fundamentally about building relationships. This is where the trust you've started to build during the first two steps allows your actions to resonate and succeed. As Vern Vipul, a serial entrepreneur and one of my oldest friends, noted, 'Leaders must be willing to go into that place themselves; you can't delegate the process of learning and adapting to figure out a market.' Let me share a story of how the EIA method guided a transformation in my career. I acquired Computek College on September 5, 2014. At the time, it was a struggling institution primarily focused on the Sri Lankan Tamil community. It aimed to educate newcomers for Canadian employment. I saw it as an opportunity to bridge a gap: Highly educated and skilled immigrants weren't getting the jobs they deserved, while Canadian companies were looking for talent. I knew both worlds well and believed I could help this valuable population get established. In terms of Embed, I was determined to understand the immigrant population we served. I realized success wouldn't come from boardroom strategy but from the streets of the Greater Toronto Area, where our students lived and worked. I took a hands-on approach, notably by teaching communication classes to our students. This allowed me to gain firsthand insights from right inside the classroom as students shared their perspectives, aspirations, and challenges as newcomers to Canada. My team and I also made a concerted effort to hire faculty and staff who reflected the diversity of our student body, seeking individuals with firsthand experience of the immigrant journey. As I embedded myself, I began Interpreting the information gathered. I understood the varying attitudes and expectations around education and career development among students; for some, it was tied to family honor, for others, a major stressor alongside cultural adaptation. I interpreted how cultural backgrounds impacted learning styles, seeing preferences for collaborative or independent approaches. Armed with these insights, I began to Act. My first priority was to diversify the student body. We actively recruited students and staff from different communities and worked with grassroots businesses. The shift in demographics was dramatic, growing from 50 Tamil students a year to 2,000 students from many countries and cultures by 2024. Along with other initiatives, we have created a thriving college. For North American companies and institutions, the takeaway is clear: Cultural intelligence is not optional; it's essential to find genuine insights and build the trust needed for success. Whether your sights are set globally or on connecting with the diverse communities in Western nations, embracing different perspectives, embedding yourself in the community you seek to serve, interpreting the nuances, and acting on those insights with cultural sensitivity will unlock powerful opportunities. It's about creating win-win situations where everyone benefits. As Rumi said, 'Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself.' This willingness to adapt and grow based on understanding others is the heart of cultural intelligence. It's how you build trust and find the insights that lead to meaningful, lasting success.
Khaleej Times
16-06-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Brand apathy on the rise among UAE consumers, especially Gen Z, study shows
Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of UAE's consumers and 61 per cent of the UAE's Gen Z population don't pay attention to the brands they're buying — as long as the product meets their needs, a study showed. New research by SAP Emarsys in association with Deloitte has revealed increasing brand apathy among UAE consumers. According to the study, 67 per cent of all consumers in the UAE have switched to own-label alternatives because they are more affordable. Interestingly, despite this heightened indifference to brands in general, a significant proportion of UAE consumers (68 per cent) still actively advocate for their favourite brands in public. These insights are based on a survey of more than 2,000 UAE consumers and 100 senior marketers at multinational enterprises, which examined shifting attitudes towards consumer products. According to The Global Consumer Products Engagement Report by SAP Emarsys, we have entered the 'Engagement Era,' in which brands must establish a robust data foundation across their entire business in order to thrive. Embracing AI-driven, omnichannel strategies is no longer optional; it is critical for transforming fragmented data into actionable insights, building long-term relationships, and achieving true customer loyalty and lifetime value, experts say. This message resonates in the UAE, where 72 per cent of consumer product marketers say it is becoming harder to engage meaningfully with customers, indicating that the majority are at risk of falling behind in this new engagement-driven landscape. Success in the Engagement Era depends on delivering a personalised omnichannel experience across the entire customer lifecycle, and leading brands in real-time engagement are already putting these strategies into action. 'Today's consumer landscape is shifting faster than ever, and brands must navigate this terrain with agility and insight,' said Marwan Zeineddine, Managing Director of SAP UAE. 'The research highlights a clear opportunity: while brand apathy is increasing, so too is the demand for personalised, emotionally resonant experiences. Leveraging technologies such as SAP business AI, brands can go beyond transactional relationships and deliver the kind of real-time, meaningful engagement that cuts through consumer indifference and earns lasting loyalty. This is where marketers can lead the charge; by bridging data and strategy to stay relevant and drive long-term success.' 'Consumers globally aren't just becoming less loyal to brands — they're ignoring them entirely,' said Sara Richter, CMO at SAP Emarsys. 'That's a wake-up call for marketers. Without a strong data foundation, it's impossible to deliver the real-time, personalised experiences needed to achieve that all-important 'true' loyalty.' When asked about barriers to effective customer engagement, UAE consumer product marketers cited internal complexity as the biggest challenge, with 31 per cent identifying this as a key issue. Additionally, data continues to pose significant hurdles: 53 per cent of marketers say they are unable to access or use data in real time, and 69 per cent report their organisation's data is too unstructured to use effectively. Similarly, when it comes to predicting future behaviors, only 28 per cent of marketers feel confident in their ability to predict future consumer behavior, and just 30 per cent believe they can effectively segment and analyse their audiences. As global consumer apathy toward brands increases, marketers in the UAE recognise the need to improve fragmented engagement approaches and outdated technologies. According to the report, 65 per cent of UAE marketers say they will need to overhaul their engagement strategies in 2025. Meanwhile, 69 per cent believe personalisation will be a key differentiator in the year ahead, especially important considering that 77 per cent of UAE consumers say they value highly personalised content. Where do brands stand in the Engagement Era? The report also introduces the Customer Engagement Maturity (CEM) score, which ranks consumer product brands on the strength of their customer engagement strategies. This research builds on earlier findings from Bain & Company, which point to a major industry shift toward ERP and SAP S/4HANA. This shift underscores the urgent need for consumer product brands to break down silos, accelerate operations, and engage customers more meaningfully. The CEM Index categorises brands into three maturity levels: Reactive: Still reliant on batch-and-blast marketing, sending the same message to all audiences. Proactive: Using mobile and messaging channels, but still dependent on manual processes. Predictive: Leveraging AI to anticipate needs, deliver real-time, personalised offers, and build long-term relationships. Brands in the 'Predictive' category demonstrate that to truly succeed in the Engagement Era, a robust business AI-infused ERP foundation, supported by a customer engagement platform, is essential. However, many brands still lag behind, with only 34 per cent of consumer product marketers in the UAE currently sharing customer engagement data with a dedicated ERP system. 'For those clinging to outdated strategies, investing in AI-driven, real-time engagement is no longer a luxury. This investment could be the deciding factor in whether a brand achieves its revenue targets in the Engagement Era,' a statement said.
Al Bawaba
16-06-2025
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Consumers buy the product, not the brand: 65% of UAE consumers ignore brand names when buying consumer goods
As UAE retailers and consumers start gearing up for the summer sales season, new research by SAP Emarsys in association with Deloitte has revealed increasing brand apathy among UAE consumers. When it comes to consumer products, 65% of UAE's consumers and 61% of the UAE's Gen Z population don't pay attention to the brands they're buying — as long as the product meets their needs. Furthermore, 67% of all consumers in the UAE have switched to own-label alternatives because they are more despite this heightened indifference to brands in general, a significant proportion of UAE consumers (68%) still actively advocate for their favorite brands in public. These insights are based on a survey of more than 2,000 UAE consumers and 100 senior marketers at multinational enterprises, which examined shifting attitudes towards consumer products.'Today's consumer landscape is shifting faster than ever, and brands must navigate this terrain with agility and insight,' said Marwan Zeineddine, Managing Director of SAP UAE. 'The research highlights a clear opportunity: while brand apathy is increasing, so too is the demand for personalized, emotionally resonant experiences. Leveraging technologies such as SAP business AI, brands can go beyond transactional relationships and deliver the kind of real-time, meaningful engagement that cuts through consumer indifference and earns lasting loyalty. This is where marketers can lead the charge; by bridging data and strategy to stay relevant and drive long-term success.'According to The Global Consumer Products Engagement Report by SAP Emarsys, we have entered the 'Engagement Era,' in which brands must establish a robust data foundation across their entire business in order to thrive. Embracing AI-driven, omnichannel strategies is no longer optional; it is critical for transforming fragmented data into actionable insights, building long-term relationships, and achieving true customer loyalty and lifetime message resonates in the UAE, where 72% of consumer product marketers say it is becoming harder to engage meaningfully with customers, indicating that the majority are at risk of falling behind in this new engagement-driven landscape. Success in the Engagement Era depends on delivering a personalized omnichannel experience across the entire customer lifecycle, and leading brands in real-time engagement are already putting these strategies into action.'Consumers globally aren't just becoming less loyal to brands — they're ignoring them entirely,' said Sara Richter, CMO at SAP Emarsys. 'That's a wake-up call for marketers. Without a strong data foundation, it's impossible to deliver the real-time, personalized experiences needed to achieve that all-important 'true' loyalty.'When asked about barriers to effective customer engagement, UAE consumer product marketers cited internal complexity as the biggest challenge, with 31% identifying this as a key issue. Additionally, data continues to pose significant hurdles: 53% of marketers say they are unable to access or use data in real time, and 69% report their organization's data is too unstructured to use when it comes to predicting future behaviors, only 28% of marketers feel confident in their ability to predict future consumer behavior, and just 30% believe they can effectively segment and analyze their global consumer apathy toward brands increases, marketers in the UAE recognize the need to improve fragmented engagement approaches and outdated technologies. According to the report, 65% of UAE marketers say they will need to overhaul their engagement strategies in 2025. Meanwhile, 69% believe personalization will be a key differentiator in the year ahead, especially important considering that 77% of UAE consumers say they value highly personalized Do Brands Stand in the Engagement Era?The report from SAP Emarsys in association with Deloitte also introduces the Customer Engagement Maturity (CEM) score, which ranks consumer product brands on the strength of their customer engagement strategies. This research builds on earlier findings from Bain & Company, which point to a major industry shift toward ERP and SAP S/4HANA. This shift underscores the urgent need for consumer product brands to break down silos, accelerate operations, and engage customers more CEM Index categorizes brands into three maturity levels:• Reactive: Still reliant on batch-and-blast marketing, sending the same message to all audiences.• Proactive: Using mobile and messaging channels, but still dependent on manual processes.• Predictive: Leveraging AI to anticipate needs, deliver real-time, personalized offers, and build long-term in the 'Predictive' category demonstrate that to truly succeed in the Engagement Era, a robust business AI-infused ERP foundation, supported by a customer engagement platform, is essential. However, many brands still lag behind, with only 34% of consumer product marketers in the UAE currently sharing customer engagement data with a dedicated ERP system. For those clinging to outdated strategies, investing in AI-driven, real-time engagement is no longer a luxury. This investment could be the deciding factor in whether a brand achieves its revenue targets in the Engagement Era.
