Watching the election play out last week, many of us were reminded of and saddened by the deep divides that have become a defining feature of modern American politics. Many of us were left wondering what, if anything, can ever bring Americans closer together again. As specialists in the consumer economy, we at Consensus often […]
The presidential election dominated the headlines last week with coverage of the first debate mid-week and President Trump’s positive COVID-19 test on Friday. However, while voters and media monitor the final weeks of what has become another antagonistic and bitterly contested election, the biggest rivalry in retail – Walmart versus Amazon – also continued to […]
On March 16th, the day before the U.S.’s first statewide stay-at-home order was announced (in California), one Consumer industry observer expressed serious concern for the sporting goods industry in an article entitled “COVID-19 Isn’t Playing Games. Neither Is Anybody Else.” The writer noted that the share price of Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) had fallen nearly […]
Through last year and the beginning of this one, many emerging consumer companies were finding it more and more difficult to reach their once-optimistic sales and profitability projections. Much of this was due to surging digital marketing costs; by some accounts, the cost of Instagram and Facebook ads doubled year over year in 2019. This […]
As the pace and gravity of COVID-19 headlines markedly increased last week, it became clear that a number of spheres of public life in this country will be impacted in the next several weeks, and potentially longer. Daily life has begun to change in healthcare, travel, education, commerce, hospitality, entertainment, and more. Here at Consensus, […]