#6 – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend Opportunities 

#1. Millennials have an average of $28,000 in debt – and the biggest sources isn’t student loans

• Source: CNBC. Article 1
• This information suggests an opportunity might exist because millennials need help managing their debt. But also shows that yes, although millennials have debt, at least they are stimulating the economy through spending. 
• The prototypical customer would be companies who assist with loan and debt repayments. But also the companies who millennials are purchasing items from. 
• I think this could be exploited easily because there are many millennials who need assistance and also should be taught the proper effects of debt. On the other hand, with spending it is very easy to target millennials, especially through digital advertising. 
• I saw this as an opportunity because as a college student, sometimes it can be challenging to sacrifice your lifestyle and hold back from swiping your credit card on items. It makes sense to me that student loans are runner up to credit card bills for this generation. 

#2. What Determines the Price of Gas? Here’s Some Crude Math

• Source: CBS News. Article 2
• This information suggests an opportunity because the increase in gas prices right now is mainly caused by the damaged Saudi Arabia facilities, providing an opportunity for other oil suppliers and reserves to be put to work. 
• The prototypical customers are those who own oil facilities and fields, and those who purchase the oil. Retailers are currently calculating how much the price of gas should be. 
• I would say this opportunity could be difficult to exploit because the cost of crude in global energy markets greatly affects the retail price of our gas in the U.S. Even with new entrants and reserves from the U.S., it would still be difficult to fully recover from this loss of oil supply. 
• I saw this opportunity because as a car owner, I have to purchase gas so it’s beneficial to know when prices are high, and also why/for how long they will continue to stay at that price. 

Regulatory Trend Opportunities

#3. New York Enacts Ban on Sale of Flavored E-cigarettes

• Source: Time Magazine. Article 3
• I believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist because people will now either reduce vaping, especially among kids, or people will find new products and companies to get nicotine from. 
• Well first and foremost, the consumers of these e-cigarettes would be affected by it, along with those who produce and sell the e-cigarettes. But it would also be an opportunity for companies like Nicorette to help youths and adults quit their nicotine addiction. Or it would spiral the wrong way and benefit other companies who offer nicotine products, such as regular cigarette companies. 
• I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit in theory because it’s aimed at benefitting the health of our society, although it will take some time to get rid of all e-cigs in the market. 
• I saw this opportunity because it’s been the news so frequently this past week and I’ve found it interesting to stay updated with how the U.S. is reacting to it. I guess it would be more of an emotional draw. For example, at the bottom of this article, it says that “the FDA has been able to ban vaping flavors since 2016 but has yet to take the step” (Time Magazine) and to me that’s pretty frustrating that it got to this point in order for it to potentially happen. 

#4. How Blockchain is Changing Digital Marketing

• Source: Forbes. Article 4
• I believe that this information suggests an opportunity because block chain is giving back customers the power of their own data, as well as providing customers with company transparency. 
• The prototypical customers are the consumers since that’s who would be benefitting from this change. 
• This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit once everything is developed, but it will take time in order to impact entire systems. 
• I saw this opportunity because as an Information Systems major, things such as AI, analytics, and blockchain really interest me. I enjoy learning about how technology continues to move forward.