The market has spent years chasing growth at the extremes, trading up with affluent consumers and defending value at the bottom. But in between sits the largest, and most overlooked, opportunity: the middle. An increasingly ‘E’ shaped economy means today’s middle-income consumer isn’t collapsing, they’re cautious, selective and unpredictable. Spending hasn’t disappeared; it’s become harder to unlock. 

In this session, we’ll unpack how the E‑shaped economy is reshaping demand across categories and channels. Why the middle is becoming more cautious, more deliberate, and harder to influence and where spending is still being released—and the signals that trigger conversion.