Market Research

Zug – October 30, 2026 -- Some 87% of surveyed real estate professionals expect capital investors to withdraw from Berlin, even though only 14% consider an actual socialization of housing stock by 2031 likely. The flash survey of 414 property professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was published days after the Berlin election.

Uncertainty, not expropriation risk, drives investor hesitation

Georg Ortner, publisher of trade magazine IMMOBILIEN-PROFI and founder of Maklersprechstunde, says investors can price in a known risk but not uncertainty. Unclear political conditions complicate long-term planning, so investors do not need to expect socialization to rethink allocations. Instead, they postpone decisions or move to locations offering more planning certainty.

The legal hurdles for socialization are high, and any such measure would involve a lengthy process, according to the source.

SHERIDAN, Wyo. – October 30, 2026 -- The global graphene market is valued at USD 970 million in 2026 and will reach USD 3.94 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 32.4% over 2026-2031, according to a new study by Wissen Research. The report describes a market moving from research-led development to targeted industrial commercialization, with suppliers prioritizing scalable manufacturing and customer-specific integration over laboratory performance alone.

The report cautions that capacity expansion alone does not establish market growth or utilization. Consistent quality, competitive costs, standardized characterization and proven performance in real products will determine how quickly demand follows.

TEMPE – October 30, 2026 -- Warrensburg, Missouri, and Newark, Delaware, recorded year-over-year microbusiness growth of 16.1% and 16.0%, ranking second and third in GoDaddy's inaugural Most Entrepreneurial College Towns list, behind Stanford University.

The GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab ranked eligible college-town communities by microbusiness growth over the previous calendar year. GoDaddy defines a microbusiness as a company with fewer than 10 employees. Every town in the top 10 posted double-digit growth. The list also includes Elon, North Carolina; Martin, Tennessee; and Conway, South Carolina.

Most top-ranked towns sit outside traditional startup hubs

GoDaddy says 80% of the ranked towns lie beyond traditional startup hubs. The ranking measures business growth across the geographic area around each college, not the performance of the university or its entrepreneurship programs.

WASHINGTON – October 30, 2026 -- Fifty-seven percent of U.S. consumers report a negative consequence for merchants that do not accept their preferred payment method, according to the seventh annual Consumer Holiday Spending Study from the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) and TSG (The Strawhecker Group). The study of 1,099 U.S. consumers, conducted September 8-13, 2026, also found that 44% feel more financially stressed than last year, up from 27% in 2025.

Financial stress and holiday debt rise sharply year over year

Thirty percent of respondents report more debt than two years ago, up from 17%. Thirty-three percent say they usually take on holiday debt or likely will this year, up from 19%.

Concern rose across all eight shopping issues measured, led by inflation at 82%. Concern about gift affordability reached 64% and concern about managing a budget reached 57%, each up 17 percentage points.

PALO ALTO – October 30, 2026 -- Aragon Research predicts that by the end of 2027, half of all enterprise sales representatives will direct a team of three to four specialized AI agents handling prospecting, customized proposals and client onboarding. The forecast comes with the release of its Globe for Revenue Enablement Platforms, 2027, which evaluates 14 providers.

The report describes a shift from prompt-driven sales assistants to the autonomous "AI Sales Coworker." It says this challenges the long-running dominance of monolithic CRM interfaces. Jim Lundy, CEO and Lead Analyst, said simple assistants lacked situational awareness and fractured seller attention.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- Sparkasse is Germany's strongest bank brand with 67 points in the Markenstärke index, one point ahead of ING (66) and two ahead of Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken (65), according to the Markenradar® Banken 2026 from Berlin-based Delphi Research. The study surveyed 4,400 bank users aged 16 to 70, who rated 18 bank brands. Trade Republic is the strongest neobank in fourth place with 52 points.

Sparkasse leads Gen Z with 78 points while ING wins the 30-to-61 bracket

Sparkasse ranks first among the youngest and the oldest generations: clearly in Gen Z at 78 points, narrowly among baby boomers. ING leads among 30- to 61-year-olds.

Established direct banks reach Gen Z much less effectively. ING ranks only fifth in that group, behind Sparkasse, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, Revolut and Trade Republic.

Munich – October 29, 2026 -- Arrivals from China in Germany are forecast to rise 178% between 2026 and 2036, the steepest increase among major source markets, according to a new Accor tourism study based on Tourism Economics projections.

Other Asian markets follow closely. South Korea is expected to grow 94%, Japan 92% and India 84% over the same period.

International overnight stays in Germany to grow 29% by 2036

Demand from Asia-Pacific could climb 111%, while the Middle East is projected to rise 112%. Total tourist overnight stays in Germany are expected to increase 24%, with domestic guests contributing a 22% gain.

Spending by international guests to outpace volume with a 75% rise

Total spending by international visitors is forecast to grow 75% by 2036, well ahead of the 29% increase in their overnight stays. Category forecasts:

Palo Alto – October 29, 2026 -- Hesai Group held a 62% share of the global robotaxi lidar market in 2025, more than all other suppliers combined, according to Yole Group's Robotaxi 2026 report. The figure is up from the 61% Yole attributed to the Nasdaq- and HKEX-listed company in its previous report.

Yole projects robotaxi fleet growth from 10,000 to 331,000 vehicles by 2031

Yole Group expects the global robotaxi fleet to expand from approximately 10,000 vehicles in 2025 to 331,000 in 2031. Operators scaling at that pace will need lidar that delivers precise perception in complex environments, automotive-grade quality and reliable supply at volume, the report says.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – October 29, 2026 -- Twenty-nine percent of U.S. consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping in early to mid-December, up from 19% in 2025, while Black Friday's share fell from 25% to 17%, according to the Bank of America 2026 Holiday Spending Survey.

Fewer shoppers also plan to start early. Only 38% say they have shopped or will shop earlier this year, down from 52% in 2025. Bank of America Institute's Consumer Checkpoint nonetheless shows holiday spending increasing at a solid rate through September, so sentiment is running cooler than actual spending.

Mary Hines Droesch, Head of Consumer and Small Business Products and Analytics at Bank of America, said consumers are being "more deliberate" this year, even as the bank's spending data shows a healthy season start.

Tuscaloosa – October 29, 2026 -- U.S. construction and agricultural equipment dealers face a shortage of 10,000 technicians per year, costing them $7 billion annually in lost business and hindered growth, according to a report by Randall Reilly in partnership with the Associated Equipment Distributors Foundation.

Canadian dealers lose more than $800 million a year to a 1,200-technician gap

A companion report produced by Randall Reilly for the Canada Equipment Dealers Foundation and AED found Canadian ag and construction dealers are short more than 1,200 technicians each year. The gap costs them more than $800 million in lost revenue annually.

Majority of dealers cannot meet customer demand

Seventy-five percent of U.S. dealers and 80% of Canadian dealers rate their difficulty hiring technicians at 4 or higher on a 5-point scale. As a result, 80% of U.S. dealers and 78% of Canadian dealers say they cannot meet customer demand.