Major Business and Technology Trends Shaping the Contemporary World

CHAPTER 8

Consumers and Consumption

1. Surge in the Global Middle Class and the Shift of Consumption from West to East
2. The Growing Importance of Cities as Centers of Consumption
3. The Shortening Product Lifecycles
4. Digitization of Consumption
5. Consumers’ Attention as a Precious Commodity

Surge in the Global Middle Class and the Shift of Consumption from West to East

Behind the economic performance of the developed countries and their significant consumers’ markets are sizeable middle classes. The middle-class citizens usually enjoy a decent level of financial security, and as a result, conduct a comfortable life marked by access to stable housing, decent healthcare and educational opportunities, reasonable retirement, and discretionary income that ...