When we last polled consumers, reflected in our June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, we found that the pandemic had spurred many respondents to become more digital, more local and more conscious of health and safety.

Fast-forward to September 2021, when we conducted our most recent research for our December 2021 Global Consumer Insights Survey. We surveyed 9,370 people in 26 territories or countries. What’s changed? With 76% of respondents reporting being at least partially vaccinated, consumers are planning to spend more, and they are seeing improvements in their lifestyle as employers allow new ways of working. Of course, some things never change: when it comes to shopping, price and convenience still matter most, even as other factors, such as sustainability, are increasingly on consumers’ minds.

Mazars, the international audit, tax and advisory firm, with research partner DataGalaxy, today announces the release of its first global study on data – The race to data maturity: Is your business as far ahead as you think? Over 1,100 business leaders from 21 countries, working in different size organisations in various industries and sectors participated in an online survey. The goal was to determine the self-assessed data maturity – or ‘fitness’ – of organisations and gauge how this self-assessment measured up to the actual programmes, processes and policies they have in place.

Cybersecurity experts from Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, foresee cybercriminals making advancements to ensure the effectiveness of ransomware, a continuation of cryptocurrency scams, heists, and crypto-mining malware. Attacks abusing companies with work from home policies in place are also anticipated.

Nearshoring of supply chains drives demand by tenants and causes a steady drop in vacancy rate. Developers responded to this situation with increased construction activity mostly tailored to the client signed before construction begins. Speculative construction does not reach a sufficient level to satisfy prime markets. The industrial market as a whole is influenced by lack of employees, shortage of various commodities like AdBlue or building materials, rising prices, and more. All these factors foretell bad times for companies without sufficient capital. Automation and other strategies to secure labor productivity will play a central role in the future.