Competing in a Transparent Marketplace | Transparency, Social Networking

A new world of consumerism is rising in which we all have a lead role. Fueled by the near-limitless amount of information now available openly and globally, markets are vast, the playing field is level and consumers are empowered like never before.

In this transparent environment, the intersection of advanced technologies and accelerating lifestyle demands is revolutionizing how consumers buy, how products are sold and how social and business networks collaborate. Barriers to information about product, price, competition and people have collapsed, and informed consumers are claiming a powerful role that is shifting the retail paradigm. For those retailers and consumer product companies that harness technologies and adapt to these exploding trends, it can mean distinct market advantages; for those that do not, it can mean an inability to sustain growth.

In its new report, titled The View from the Glass House: Competing in a Transparent Marketplace, Deloitte LLP explores the emerging risks and opportunities resulting from an increasingly transparent market. We examine the impact transparency has on consumer behaviors and discuss business strategies to capture the value and mitigate the challenges of transparency going forward.

In addition to the report, the transparency topic was featured in GMA Forum magazine's 2008 Mid-Winter Issue, for which Pat Conroy, Vice Chairman and National Consumer Products Leader, Deloitte LLP authored a 10-page article entitled, "Transparency: Ready for Life in a Glass Box?”