Latest news with #NYUStern
Fast Company
28-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Data is democratizing ethical consumption
Growing up in rural Northern California and later serving in the military, stationed in Mississippi, I experienced firsthand the stark disparities in access to quality goods. Even finding fresh, local produce often meant bypassing the grocery store for a farm stand because the desired options simply weren't stocked. In many communities I lived in and visited, the available choices were severely limited, creating a significant market gap that persists today. This isn't just a social issue I observed; it's a massive missed revenue opportunity for retailers who are overly focused on saturated urban markets while overlooking the immense potential waiting in rural and Middle America. This gap is critical as consumer packaged goods (CPG) undergoes a seismic shift. NYU Stern reports that about 33% of CPG growth now stems sustainability products, despite these representing only 18.5% of market share. This reflects a nationwide desire for products aligning with personal health, environmental consciousness, and ethical sourcing. A 2022 NielsenIQ study found that 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them. The demand isn't coastal; it's cultural, and a significant portion of it, particularly in America's Heartland, remains largely untapped. The ethical consumption gap The challenge for businesses aiming to capture this values-based shopper demographic is twofold. First is a physical distribution gap. Potential customers in underserved areas often can't find healthier, more ethical product options locally, despite attempts to seek them out. My own experiences shopping at military exchanges highlighted this. The quality difference compared to civilian stores in metro areas could be drastic, driven by the need to offer lower prices. Second is a digital discovery challenge. Even when better options are available, shoppers struggle to verify claims about manufacturing processes, ingredients, and supply chains, making them hesitant to purchase. This all contributes to the ethical consumption gap: A growing divide between what people want to buy and what they can actually access because of legacy systems in both supply and search. High-end players and e-commerce giants have made strides with programs like Amazon's Climate Pledge Friendly, where products with certifications for health and sustainability are highlighted to shoppers with a green leaf. But what about the millions of Americans relying on dollar stores, regional chains, or even local military exchanges? The real opportunity sits with these retailers serving the everyday consumer. The landscape has changed Historically, understanding complex supply chains and verifying product attributes was a costly and manual process. Today, technology allows for automated data collection and verification, enabling retailers to efficiently identify, vet, stock, and promote products that meet specific standards. This democratization of data has transformed a logistical headache into a powerful competitive advantage. Yet retailers remain tethered to old approaches and often overlook rural markets. This isn't because of lack of interest but rather outdated merchandising models that haven't adapted to the decentralized discovery journey. Consumers today don't wait for a store reset to find what they want. They search, scroll, and share. If your products aren't showing up in that journey, you're invisible. Retailers must recognize the changed consumer landscape and use data to understand their entire customer base, not just rely on assumptions about location or price sensitivity. The belief that Heartland consumers only care about price is often misguided. The reality is that many want healthier options but lack access to them. With these insights, retailers can invest in merchandising programs that highlight trustworthy products, educate their customers, and build trust. Think a dedicated section like Clean Beauty at Target or data-backed labeling like Raley's Shelf Guide. The digital shelf in particular offers a low-risk entry point as retailers can significantly expand their online assortments with verified, values-driven products without immediately overhauling physical store layouts. Analyzing online sales from specific regions can then provide the confidence needed to introduce these products into the physical stores where demand is proven. This approach directly addresses the distribution challenge while meeting consumers online, where they increasingly begin their discovery journey. Design for unmet values-based demand Fintech revolutionized access to banking for rural and underbanked populations with mobile tools and data-driven personalization. Retail has the same opportunity if it stops building its future assortment based only on past point of sale data and starts designing for unmet values-based demand. Concerns about cannibalizing sales or tight margins miss out on attracting new customer segments, especially younger, growth-driving demographics who may currently bypass these stores. It's about growing the pie and maintaining relevance as preferences evolve. Offering these products isn't just about ethics; it's smart business, tapping into a proven growth category. Retailers, especially those serving rural communities, need to embrace their role in democratizing access to better products. By leveraging data, they can bridge the information and distribution gaps, empowering people in all communities to make choices that align with their values. This isn't just about catering to an elite niche; it's about recognizing the universal desire for healthier, more responsible consumption and making it accessible at all price points and locations. By transforming product deserts into engines of growth, retailers can unlock new revenue streams and build lasting customer loyalty. More importantly, they can contribute to a more equitable and inclusive marketplace where everyone, regardless of ZIP code and income level, has the power to choose healthier products. The future of retail isn't just urban, upscale, or algorithmic. It's rural, values-driven, and ready. Whoever closes the ethical consumption gap first won't just gain loyalty—they'll redefine retail relevance for the next decade.
Business Insider
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Don't let the economy ruin your summer
You're cutting back on big nights out, so you host dinner parties at home, springing for the fancy candlesticks and serving San Pellegrino. You're skipping the flight to Europe this summer. Wandering cobblestone streets comes with too much spontaneous spending; an all-inclusive cruise is the way to go. Kelsey Laurier, a 32-year-old in Atlanta, understands this mindset. She caters her online content to people who want affordable luxury. "People are tired of being nickel-and-dimed when it comes to certain situations," Laurier said. "I think when you pay for something that's already bundled, when you pay for something that you already know this is what it costs, I think it just feels better." A little bit of financial comfort might just hit the spot in today's in-between economic moment. People are still spending, and inflation cooled in April, but both sentiment measures have fallen due to the US's erratic trade strategy and last month's stock market roller coaster. It's not a bad time to readjust your budget for more predictable spending, even if you still want that luxury feeling. The answer? Clear, upfront prices. Paul Hardart, a marketing professor at NYU Stern, pointed to an idea called perceived value — how much you perceive an item to be worth, which may or may not align with how much it's actually worth. Bundles can have a big perceived value right now because they speak to that same comfort that Laurier mentioned. "Even hotels where breakfast is included, you are paying for that, but there is a perceived value that feels good," Hardart said. All-inclusive entertainment, vacations, and dinners If the early 2020s were all about YOLO spending, 2025 is an era of intentional budgeting. It's why concerts aren't selling out anymore, but Netflix earnings are strong. Airlines are cutting flights while cruises are doing just fine. The difference? The winners have fixed prices and a lower likelihood of unexpected costs. While spending has stayed strong, Americans have less of a savings cushion than in the immediate post-lockdown years. And there are signs their confidence is starting to crack. Consumer sentiment has been dwindling, falling 32% since January and hitting lows unseen since 2022. "I definitely think we're going to see a rise in people being more mindful of where they spend, and I think there's going to be more of a focus on delayed gratification versus instant gratification," Laurier said. Cheaper store-brand groceries, as well as thrift and discount stores, are having a moment. At the same time, though, consumers — especially younger ones — have gotten a taste of luxury. Laurier has noticed that Gen Zers, who grew up with social media, are very interested in more name-brand items and designer clothing, whether they have the budget for it or not. That's where affordable luxury strategies come in. Dinners out can add up; they may or may not include drinks, appetizers, and a nightcap. The affordable luxury version of that is a dinner party, where you can set a budget in advance and still feel upscale with a few choice items — sans pricey appetizers, an upcharged bottle of wine, and tax and tip. "People, even myself, are starting to splurge on higher quality foods as a way of it being a little luxury, because it is a very affordable luxury versus buying a handbag or something," she said. "You can go to a farmers market and get all organic food and make a good meal with high-quality ingredients." That idea can be applied to the bigger-ticket luxuries, like travel and entertainment. The appeal of the cruise, as Henry Wismayer writes for BI, is that you know what you're paying for — boats are generally all-inclusive, with some add-ons offered. That's a stark financial contrast from bopping around Europe and stumbling into a pricey café, or having to pay for transit to get around. Hardart, the marketing professor, said that companies, too, want predictability, and subscriptions are the way to go. Think Disney+ offering Hulu and sports, or Amazon Prime partnering with food delivery services. Of course, an actual recession would hit spending in much more profound ways. But while that's not guaranteed at the moment, Hardart said, "If you can't really plan your future, therefore, you're going to want to save more for the uncertainty that lies ahead."
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Suzy Welch Q&A: Are you a leader or a follower? And how do you figure all that out?
There are some big, serious questions that stump some folks (me included). For instance: Where do you want to go in life? What do you want to do in today's evolving world? Do I want to be a leader or just part of the pack? Suzy Welch can help and has some answers for you in her new book, "Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.' Welch is the director of NYU Stern's Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, and co-author of the bestseller 'Winning' with her late husband, Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General Electric. Here in "Becoming You," she doles out a practical playbook for finding happiness and purpose. I asked Welch to fill me in. Edited excerpts: Kerry Hannon: The word 'purpose' is kind of buzzy these days. How do you define it? Suzy Welch: First of all, I hate the buzziness. One of the reasons I wrote the book was it was driving me out of my everlasting mind that people were exhorting young people and older people to go live their purpose. People have been talking about finding their purpose since people started talking. There's even cave drawings that seem to suggest that the earliest human beings were searching for meaning. Now we find ourselves in the post-pandemic world, and people are do I work? Why do I work? And they're trying to figure out these very big questions, which do lead to understanding your purpose. So let's hear it. What are the keys to 'becoming you'? The premise is that your purpose lies at the intersection of your values, your deeply held beliefs, your authentic self, your emotional spinal cord, and your aptitudes, which are the cognitive and emotional proclivities you have. You are uniquely wired to do with your brain and your personality to a kind of work that comes more easily and more naturally to you. Then there is your economically viable interest. What growing parts of the economy call you emotionally, or intellectually, and can afford to pay you what you want to be paid? The work is identifying each one of those, then pinpointing the overlap. Sometimes, all this does is require you to tweak your life. Other times it's starting again. Can you describe your P.I.E. theory to me? P.I.E. stands for people, ideas, and execution. Long-term success boils down to three things: The quality of your relationships with other people, the quality of your ideas, and the quality of your execution. Are you a person people want to keep on dealing with? Are you trustworthy with high integrity? Are you sociable? Are you collaborative with your ideas? Do you have them? Are you engaged? Is your brain in the game? Do you help other people's ideas come to fruition if you don't have them yourself? And do you actually get stuff done? Do you do what you say you're going to do? You have to have that data to become you. You write that you cannot count the number of times you've seen the horseman of 'economic security' haul people away from their true values. What the heck do you mean? People hear about values and they say I know my values. I'm just not living them. And then they can't pinpoint why that is. Let's take these four horsemen one by one. You could be dealing with all of them at the same time, or you could see how one of them has stolen your life away. The first one is economic security, which is that we make decisions based just on the financial implications. We take the job that we don't really want because it pays more money. We buy the house that we don't really want, or we rent the apartment we don't really want, because it costs less. Economic security (is) a value, but it can really get in the way of the life we want to live. The second is expedience. We drift away from our values and living the way that we truly want to live according to our values because it's just too hard. We take the easier road. We want an exciting life, a bustling life, a life with learning and new experiences, but we often choose a job because it's going to be easier to get to it, or it will require less upskilling. The third horseman is expectations. Our family expects this, or culture expects that, or our spouse expects this, or we have expectations of ourselves. So we don't do the things we want to do because that's not what is expected of us. The final one is events. Sometimes, a bomb drops in our life. Somebody gets sick, or a kid goes off the rails, or we get fired. And events can take us away from living by our values. These horsemen are ever present. We have to identify them so that we can push back and decide, I'm not going to let my life be galloped away with. You write about the role nerve plans play in becoming a leader. Explain. There's this gigantic halo over the word leader. Everybody's supposed to want to be one. It's especially pervasive in college and business school where I teach that everybody should be a leader. But frankly, some of us are just not wired to be leaders, and we don't want to be leaders. It isn't our natural proclivity. There are so many great jobs, so much you can do if you're an individual contributor, or a team member, if you can let go of the internal pressure to want to be a leader. The parts of nerve are radical candor, or the ability to speak honestly; edge, or the ability to make a decision, and stamina — both physical and mental. You've got to have those three things which I call 'nerve.'...for the pressures of leadership. If you're low on nerve and don't like making decisions, and you're not particularly a big fan of hard messages, then power to you. Just understand that that does not set you up for leadership. Part of the 'becoming you' process is saying, let's just take a cool-headed look at what you're good at and who you really are. Words that get a lot of attention these days in the world of work are re-skilling and relationships. Discuss. Personally, I get exhausted just thinking about reskilling. Re-skilling is real. But we've all been re-skilling our whole lives. If you would like to be a leader, or move up the ladder, having a lot of different relationships with people outside of your comfort zone is going to be a big help. The more wide your circles are the more diverse your circles, the more you are prepared for the biggest takeaway you want your readers to go home with? There are three D's with life. The first D is default. You can live by default, which is what most of us do. We live lives that are very reactive. We see what comes at us, and we react the best we can. That's how I've rolled in my life. There's no shame in it. It can be pretty exhausting, though, and it can often not get you to where your heart is yearning to go. Then sprinkle in the second D, which is deliberation. We start to say, OK, I think I know what my values are, and oh, maybe I'm kind of good at this, or I've always been interested in this. And we get our arms around it a little bit. That is important to do. A third D is living by design. We know ourselves by design gets you to a place where you're living by your purpose, where you feel exquisitely alive. It doesn't guarantee happiness. I'm not part of the happiness industrial complex because I think happiness is complicated. But it does get you to a life of meaning. Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming "Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future," "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work" and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Sign in to access your portfolio
CNBC
25-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
I wouldn't give up easily on the 'Mag 7', says NYU's Aswath Damodaran
Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern school of business, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss his valuation of the Mag 7.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scott Galloway says tech CEOs are playing what he calls 'cowardice domino'
Scott Galloway, host of The Prof G Pod, ripped into tech CEOs during his SXSW talk on Saturday. Galloway said tech leaders are playing "dominos of cowardice," each one following the other. He said he refused to normalize actions taken by Elon Musk. Since Donald Trump's victory, tech CEOs have graced the President's inauguration, Jeff Bezos overhauled The Washington Post's op-ed section, and X CEO Linda Yaccarino reportedly pressed one of the world's biggest ad groups to increase spending on Elon Musk's X. What do these seemingly disparate events have in common? Scott Galloway, NYU Stern marketing professor and host of The Prof G Pod, said business leaders — particularly tech CEOs — are complacently participating in America's "slow road to fascism." During his SXSW talk on Saturday in Austin, Galloway said tech leaders enormously influence society and that their "character matters." But so far, Galloway said, "We have seen an extraordinary kind of what I call 'cowardice domino,'" displaying a slide image of prominent tech leaders represented as said dominos, including Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Musk, Tim Cook, and Yaccarino. Spokespeople for The Washington Post, Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, Alphabet, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Galloway said examples of the "dominos of cowardice" included business leaders texting his co-host on the tech podcast Pivot, Kara Swisher, that they "hate to be at the inauguration, but I'm doing it for shareholders." He continued: "And this effectively emboldens the CEO of X to then demand that IPG advertise on her platform; otherwise, she will get her boss to block the merger. Which leads to one of the world's wealthiest men, who owns one of the most important newspapers, to say, 'We're no longer going to talk about opinion.' There is one kind of fascist domino following one after the other." Galloway appeared to be referring to a recent Wall Street Journal report that said Yaccarino and her associates had pushed Interpublic Group, a large advertising company, to advertise on X. The pressure comes as IPG seeks a deal to sell itself to its competitor Omnicom. The deal could need regulatory approval from the Trump administration, with which Musk works closely. Musk and a spokesperson for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Galloway took a moment to single out Musk and his recent gesture at Trump's inauguration, which some have interpreted as a fascist salute. "I had a running loop of Musk doing the Nazi salute, and I thought, 'I refuse to normalize this bullshit,'" he said. "Think about what money has done to us." Read the original article on Business Insider
