August 10, 2012
Weekly Roundup: American anxiety, retail meets high-tech and Boomer dating
Posted by: Marian Berelowitz - New York in North America
McKinsey Quarterly explores how companies can capture a slice of the $30 trillion that emerging market consumers will be spending by 2025.
Newsweek’s David Frum takes a look at why Americans have transitioned from the panic of the recession to a more longstanding ambient anxiety. (Although by contrast, senior citizens are generally optimistic and content, reports USA Today.)
We’re in a new era of “localnomics,” says Time magazine, with several factors driving a return of manufacturing to the U.S.
McKinsey Quarterly examines the behavior of Mexican consumers since the downturn, a sharp contrast with that of Americans.
With “gray divorce” more common, a growing number of Baby Boomers are learning the rituals of 21st century dating, reports The Boston Globe.
Mashable looks at several ways in which the smart grid is transforming cities and the people who live in them.
Even as consumers spend more time on their mobile devices, advertisers are “wary of the new medium,” reports The Financial Times.
Adweek argues that PR is moving to marketing’s forefront, driven by “the rise of social engagement and a greater reliance on storytelling.”
USA Today reports on how technology—smartphones, social-media data and futuristic innovations like 3-D printers—is starting to upend the retail industry.
“Going to the grocery store is becoming a lot less egalitarian,” reports The New York Times, as more retailers customize prices based on a shopper’s loyalty card data.
As Starbucks partners with mobile-wallet startup Square, USA Today takes a look at how the “pay-with-phone revolution” is coming along.
The Wall Street Journal spotlights apps that aim to reinvent discovery for TV viewers by overlaying the social graph onto the program guide.
iHealth apps are extending beyond a focus on diet and exercise to detecting and monitoring health risks, reports USA Today.
With usage of shopping apps on the rise, Nielsen publishes the top 10 such apps in the U.S., as of June.
A new study finds that 40 percent of the Interbrand 100 firms are now using Instagram, says TNW.
The Economist examines how mobile operators are attempting to both fight off over-the-top phone services and imitate them.
NGOs are increasingly linking up with businesses for “fruitful collaborations,” reports The Guardian.
The BBC looks at how mobile phones and text messages “are being used to tackle everything from food shortages to childhood HIV across Africa.”
“The era of post-PC productivity” has arrived, argues a Forrester analyst.
According to GigaOM, the Euro crisis is “shuffling the tech order,” with Portugal serving as a center for services in Brazil’s developing economy.
While the women’s apparel category is stagnant, accessories from shoes to eyewear are hot, reports The New York Times.
The Financial Times says Chinese consumers are developing a newfound interest in outdoor pursuits.
The New York Times magazine reports that with fewer parents and clinicians trying to correct atypical gender behaviors in kids, more children are being raised in a middle space between the traditional boy/girl divide.
Gay partners are suddenly facing the same questions as heterosexual couples about whether and when they’re having kids, observes The New York Times.
American college students are increasingly interested in studying agriculture, reports USA Today.
The summer camp tradition is moving beyond the U.S., according to The Economist.
Several U.S. cities are starting to regulate where food trucks can operate and for how long, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A study finds that beer production hit a new high worldwide in 2011.
NPR spotlights the rise of mobile beer canning factories, a boon to microbreweries.
