More than a third (36%) of Christmas "Click & Collect" shoppers in the United Kingdom encountered issues with their orders, according to the second annual JDA/Centiro Christmas Customer Pulse report.

Last year was a good one in the mature car markets, though it was largely offset by a very poor showing for many of the world’s emerging markets. The net result is estimated to be a sub-par 1.5 percent growth in global auto sales – the slowest pace of growth since 2010 – once all numbers are reported and analyzed. However, sales forecasts from IHS Automotive -- part of IHS Inc. and a source of critical information and insight to the global automotive industry -- the outlook for 2016 is likely to be defined by smaller gains, but also less pain than 2015.

Although e-commerce sales accounted for more than $340bn in 2015, a recent Baymard Institute study revealed that about 69 percent of online shopping carts were still left abandoned. Why so many unfulfilled digital sales?

For roughly three decades, China's booming economy has offered consumer product companies some of the world's greatest growth opportunities. China's economic slowdown and jittery markets have raised worries that this growth story is drawing to a close. In early November 2015, for example, the government lowered its official five-year annual GDP growth target to 6.5 percent, the slowest pace since the 2008–2009 global financial crisis.