Nick Carroll

Nick Carroll

Retail Principal Strategist

Mintel


Nick is Mintel’s expert on all things retail, leading strategic thinking across global retail developments and shopper behaviour. He helps clients understand shopper needs and unlock opportunities, is regularly called upon by the media for his opinion on retail developments and works closely with Mintel’s global analyst teams to shape our research.

Speaking in:

Monday Jan 11

11:30am - 12:00pm

The forgotten middle: Winning in an E-shaped economy

The market has spent years chasing growth at the extremes, trading up with affluent consumers and defending value at the bottom. But in between sits the largest, and most overlooked, opportunity: the middle. An increasingly ‘E’ shaped economy means today’s middle-income consumer isn’t collapsing, they’re cautious, selective and unpredictable. Spending hasn’t disappeared; it’s become harder to unlock. In this session, we’ll unpack how the E‑shaped economy is reshaping demand across categories and channels. Why the middle is becoming more cautious, more deliberate, and harder to influence and where spending is still being released—and the signals that trigger conversion.