What Insider Trends Limited does

Insider Trends Limited is a London-based retail trends consultancy founded by Cate Trotter, operating for over twelve years and positioned as a category specialist rather than a generalist management consultancy. Its offering comprises five bespoke service lines: retail safaris (guided tours of flagship retail concepts in London, New York, Paris, Seoul, and other cities), keynotes and trend presentations, bespoke sector reports, expert-led workshops, and strategic consultancy covering omnichannel audits, retail ecosystem optimization, and concept development. A sixth product, Modern Commerce Academy, extends the firm into recurring-revenue online courses for retail professionals.

The underlying technology is human expertise packaged with proprietary research methodology: twelve-plus years of systematic global retail store monitoring, an accumulated case-study library, and a network of relationships with brands, agencies, retail property companies, and technology partners. There is no software platform, API, or AI component; delivery depends on the principal experts, notably founder Cate Trotter and Director/Head of Trends Jack Stratten. The firm is part of the Avensia group, a 300-person omnichannel retail technology company, which provides implementation, CRM, clienteling, and loyalty capability that Insider Trends' strategies can be handed off to.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through professional services engagements. Pricing is project-based: services under £5,000 are paid in a single up-front payment, services over £5,001 require a 50% non-refundable deposit with balance per a client services agreement, last-minute bookings within 45 days require 100% upfront, and ongoing engagements are invoiced monthly. The Modern Commerce Academy layer introduces a subscription/recurring element. Go-to-market is sales-led, with direct outreach to C-level executives at major global brands, supplemented by thought-leadership content (blog, LinkedIn, Substack, email newsletter, webinars) and a steady cadence of industry-conference speaking engagements that drive inbound leads. Client roster includes 50-plus major global brands across retail, advertising, technology, property, and public-sector segments.

Name

Insider Trends Limited

Legal name

Insider Trends Limited

Website

https://insider-trends.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Insider Trends Limited is a London-based retail trends consultancy that helps global retail brands and major enterprises identify retail innovation through bespoke safaris, keynotes, workshops, custom reports, and strategic consultancy, serving clients such as Walmart, LVMH, and Nike.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services (CRAOAOAI)

Keywords

• Retail trends consultancy
• Retail safaris
• Retail strategy
• Retail innovation
• Retail workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Safaris and Trend Tours: Bespoke retail trend tours for top brands and retailers globally, taking them into the best retail spaces and concepts in major cities
2. Keynotes and Presentations: Retail trend presentations and keynote speeches delivered at conferences and private events for brands and retailers
3. Bespoke Reports: Custom research reports created for clients targeting specific retail sectors or topics
4. Workshops and Training: Expert-led workshops combining retail trends insights and storytelling techniques to transform businesses
5. Retail Consultancy: Strategic consultancy services including omnichannel audits, ecosystem optimisation, and concept development
6. Modern Commerce Academy: Online courses and digital educational content for retail professionals

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Insider Trends Limited is a retail trends consultancy that delivers bespoke retail safaris, keynotes, workshops, bespoke reports, and retail consultancy services to C-level executives of the world's largest retailers and brands. The firm helps top retail brands identify emerging consumer and retail trends, audit omnichannel operations, optimise retail ecosystems, and develop new concepts and innovation frameworks. Services are delivered globally across cities including London, New York, Paris, and Seoul, complemented by an online learning platform (Modern Commerce Academy).

Product overview

Insider Trends Limited is a retail trends agency operating as a services company rather than a software product company. Their offering comprises six interconnected professional services: Retail Safaris & Retail Trend Tours (bespoke guided tours of retail spaces across global cities), Retail Keynotes & Trend Presentations (speaking engagements and trend presentations), Bespoke Reports (custom research and insight reports), Workshops for Retailers and Brands (expert-led ideation sessions), Retail Consultancy (strategic ideation and inspiration services), and Modern Commerce Academy (online learning platform). The services are delivered by a team of retail trend experts and are customisable to each client's needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Safaris & Retail Trend Tours Bespoke retail trend tours for top brands and retailers, taking clients into the best retail spaces and concepts across cities such as London, New York, Paris, and Seoul to spark new thinking and drive innovation.
• Retail Keynotes & Trend Presentations Retail trend keynotes and presentations delivering clarity, insight, and inspiration on global retail and consumer trends at international conferences and private sessions for brands and retailers.
• Bespoke Reports Custom research and insight reports that mix fresh perspectives with research-backed data on retail trends, targeting specific sectors or topics to engage, inspire, and inform client prospects and customers.
• Workshops for Retailers and Brands Expert-led workshops combining retail trends insights and storytelling techniques, available both in-person and virtually, designed to help retailers and brands turn inspiration into actionable business transformation.
• Retail Consultancy Inspiration and ideation consultancy services for retailers covering new initiative and concept development, omnichannel retail audit, retail ecosystem optimisation, and customer experience improvements.
• Modern Commerce Academy Online learning platform offering courses on modern commerce topics, including video materials, recordings, documents, templates, and graphics for retail professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rated better than McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group retail safaris by former CEO of Nilson Group
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• AvensiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInsider Trends is part of Avensia, a 300-person omnichannel retail technology company. Avensia provides wider support on technology strategy, omnichannel loyalty strategy and technical setup, omnichannel CRM management, and clienteling. This partnership allows Insider Trends strategies to be executed and implemented through Avensia's implementation capabilities.
• JumpmindsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership on retail research and webinars. Jointly conducted research into digital behaviors of European shoppers, with Jumpmind publishing findings on connected shopper trends.
• ImpartaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNewsletter subscriber opt-in partnership where users signing up for the free top 50 retail experiences report can choose to receive marketing from Imparta.
• Digital and Omnichannel SpecialistssecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNetwork of implementation partners including store designers, retail landlords, property management companies, and branding agencies to help execute strategies developed through consultancy engagements.
• Tiffany Hill StudiosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on fashion industry trend reports. Jointly created Key Trends SS 2024 womenswear report that influenced Source Fashion catwalk show.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TrendWatching: Global consumer trends consultancy providing trend reports, bespoke research, and innovation workshops to brands and agencies. Highly comparable specialist positioning, with similar content-led and event-driven thought leadership model.
• The Future Laboratory: UK-based trends consultancy providing consumer insight, trend forecasting, and bespoke research for retailers and brands. Closely comparable boutique positioning, similar service mix (reports, keynotes, workshops, consultancy), and overlapping enterprise retail client base.
• Stylus: Consumer insights and trends research firm serving retail, beauty, and consumer goods brands with subscription research, reports, and consultancy. Directly comparable as a specialist trends/intelligence provider to enterprise consumer brands.
• WGSN: Global trend forecasting authority serving consumer-facing brands with trend intelligence, data, and consultancy. Directly comparable to Insider Trends as a specialized retail/consumer trends advisory serving enterprise brands, though more productized around a subscription data platform.

Broad incumbents

• Euromonitor International: Global market research firm covering retail, consumer, and industry intelligence at much greater scale. Comparable as a source of retail insights and category research for enterprise clients, though more data-platform than boutique consultancy.
• Mintel: Established global market research firm providing consumer and retail intelligence through subscription reports and consultancy. Broader, more productized incumbent that overlaps with Insider Trends' bespoke reports and consumer trend services, but serves a wider CPG/retail base.
• Circana (formerly IRI/NPD): Large-scale retail and consumer data analytics firm providing point-of-sale, shopper, and consumer insights to retailers and brands. Broader incumbent that overlaps with Insider Trends' shopper insights remit but with technology/data scale far beyond the boutique.
• Kantar: Global insights and consulting firm with a dedicated retail practice providing shopper research, retail strategy, and consumer intelligence. Directly comparable as a retail insights/strategy provider to enterprise brands, though at substantially larger scale.

Emerging players

• EDITED: Retail analytics platform providing competitive intelligence, pricing, and merchandising insights to fashion and retail brands. Adjacent technology-enabled player targeting the same enterprise retail buyer with a complementary data product to Insider Trends' qualitative trends work.
• CBX (Consumer Brand Experience): Retail branding and strategy agency serving consumer brands with concept development, store design, and retail innovation. Comparable boutique consultancy offering concept work and brand/retail strategy for enterprise clients, with overlapping service lines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insider-trends
• Instagraminstagram.com/insidertrends

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Insider Trends Limited