Emerging markets are critical to growth in most global industries. But such markets aren’t monolithic. Our emerging-markets consulting experts help companies identify differentiated approaches so that they can succeed in each one.
GDP growth in many emerging markets will continue to outpace that of developed markets for the foreseeable future. But while the appeal of emerging economies is great, so too are the challenges that they present to even the world’s most experienced companies.
The growth prospects, consumer behavior, social and political context, and local competitive environment differ widely from one market to another, as well as among product categories. Adding to the complexity, building businesses in emerging markets often requires operating in data-dark environments, with little insight into consumer preferences and purchasing behaviors.
Our experts have their finger on the pulse of these emerging economies, and we partner with clients to capture the opportunities that emerging markets present. We have cultivated a powerful, experienced, and well-connected presence on the ground in the world’s rising hot spots.
As a leader in emerging-markets consulting, we bring a global team of local-market experts. We mobilize this vast network to collaborate on critical topics including go-to-market strategies, digital ecosystems, joint ventures, and strategic alliances in emerging markets.
Our broad expertise in emerging-market strategy consulting is supported by the BCG Center for Customer Insight, one of the world’s richest sources of data. Covering 4 billion consumers in 35 markets, CCI provides us with a nuanced understanding of evolving behavior, sentiment, spending habits, and consumption patterns.
We conduct proprietary research that delves into the strategies and models that drive success among leading domestic and regional competitors in emerging markets. For more than a decade, we have tracked the rise and development of “global challengers” that are becoming multinationals in their own right, rising “local challengers” such as multilatinas and African Lions that are emerging as regional players, and hard-charging, up-and-coming “local dynamos.”
Four megatrends are shaping the future of emerging markets:
Population Growth. The combined population of emerging markets is projected to swell by about 1 billion over the coming decade, and in many developing countries these populations remain relatively young. Roughly half of India’s nearly 1.4 billion people are younger than 25, for example.
The Rise of the Consumer Class. Annual household private spending in emerging markets is rising nearly three times faster than in advanced markets as hundreds of millions of households enter the middle and affluent classes. And while disposable incomes remain low by world standards, our research shows that consumer optimism and aspirations are high in most key markets.
Rapid Urbanization. More than 500 million people have moved from the countryside to urban areas in emerging markets since 2007, and this trend continues. This shift is fueling surging demand for services and housing and spurring trillions of dollars in infrastructure investment.
Digital Leapfrogging. More than 2.6 billion people in developing nations use the internet, and consumers in many emerging markets are among the world’s most digitally savvy. Smartphone penetration is soaring, and many consumers are leaping directly from cash to digital payment.
Accelerating Go-to-Market Strategies. We collaborated with Celcom Axiata, one of Asia’s largest telecommunications companies, to create an e-wallet and lifestyle app called Boost. In less than two years, it became Malaysia’s leading cashless platform—a digital ecosystem of 17 banks and a growing list of more than 125,000 participating merchants.
Unleashing the Power of Consumer Insights. We conducted an end-to-end customer experience transformation for a leading cinema operator in India. The team leveraged deep consumer insights to reimagine the cinema-going journey for consumers—physically and digitally—and built a top-five loyalty program with a first-in-market personalization engine.
As 2 billion new consumers come into the global market—in China, India, Indonesia, and much of Southeast Asia—it will take a long time for the per capita incomes of emerging markets to catch up to those of consumers in the US and Europe. But consumers’ aspirations are the same around the world, explains Janmejaya Sinha, the BCG’s chairman in India.
Bangladesh is emerging as a dynamic, fast-growing market that presents an attractive investment opportunity for global VCs and multinationals.
Africa is setting its sights on a future shaped by a young population, rapid urbanization, climate change, growing digital capacity, regional cooperation, and entrepreneurial innovation.
Our detailed survey of Indian consumers investigates the country’s explosive growth in online shopping—with extensive implications for businesses, platforms, and channels.
