The number of global broadband users has increased from 400 million in 2000 to 3.4 billion users in 2015. Globally, 80% of the households in developed countries and 34% in developing countries had internet access by 2015. The high penetration of the internet has led to the growth of digital content streaming and downloading since 2011.

The “sharing economy” movement is maturing and citizens and corporations alike have accepted that popular business models like Uber and Airbnb seem here to stay. This has caused the traditional industries with vested interests in these markets to make adjustments to their own business models and competition strategies with the sharing economy in mind. This had often resulted in the margins in the initial stages of the sharing economy to have either shrunk or stayed the same.

Digestive health food and drinks are products designed to ease the symptoms or discomfort associated with an overburdened digestive tract. These products improve the health of the digestive tract and help prevent many digestive health disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease.

Dietary fibers are long thread-like structures that are widely present in fruits, vegetables, and grains. They are also known as roughage or bulk and include all parts of plant foods that are not digested or absorbed by the body. Though indigestible, they prove to be extremely useful in maintaining bowel regularity and preventing constipation and other bowel abnormalities.

Travel irons, as traveling gadgets, are losing their market share, primarily because most hotels and resorts offer irons as well as laundry services. Also, with the trend of carrying wrinkle-resistant clothes during travel, which do not need ironing, the need for travel irons further diminishes. Travel irons are mostly used by business professionals. However, with increasing consciousness of consumers about dressing even during leisure travel, the sales of these portable, lightweight irons will likely increase during the forecast period. As irons comprise a part of the very basic appliances, there is not much innovation taking place on this front, globally. However, in order to increase the saleability of travel irons and further entice consumers, players are introducing various features such as covetable wings, dual voltage, and compact nonstick soleplates.

The global torque sensor market is largely driven by the automotive industry, as torque sensors are widely used in various automobile components for torque measurement. Rising demand for high-performance vehicles, adoption of conditional maintenance systems, penetration of electric power assisted steering (EPAS) systems, and increasing focus on automotive safety and testing are some of the major factors that drive the growth of the global torque sensor market in the automotive industry. High-capacity torque sensors with a capacity of more than 1000 Nm will be the fastest growing capacity segment in the global torque sensor market during the forecast period. Compliance with machine safety regulations worldwide is a major challenge for torque sensor manufacturers, along with the high cost of manufacturing of these sensors. The growing technological advances across industries and increasing penetration of industrial automation and robotics have generated the need for wireless compatibility in torque sensors. Torque sensor manufacturers across the globe are focusing on the development of new and innovative products to increase their market footprint and to penetrate into newer applications across industries.

Steel tire cords are the widely used reinforcement materials in tire manufacturing.The material accounted for the largest proportion of the market share of 40% in 2015. This is attributable to their stability, safety, and higher comfort. Asia-Pacific (APAC) dominated the market for tire reinforcement materials in 2015. The region will sustain its market share and grow considerably over the forecast period. This is attributable to the economic growth and increasing disposable incomes, which are increasing the production and demand of vehicles. The growth in the global automotive industry, driven by population growth and rising disposable incomes, especially in developing regions, and the advantages of
reinforced tires over conventional tires will drive the market growth over 2016-2020.

The growing popularity of speciality stores and online retailers will attract the customers from medical stores, pharmacies, and retail stores, thereby cannibalizing these distribution channels during the forecast period. The gradual increase in the number of youth-targeted cosmetics, the expansion of male-specific products, and the reformulation of antiaging creams and offerings have given specialty stores a new array of products to attract customers. The industry concentration in skincare and beauty products has drastically increased in recent years due to the growing demand for specialty beauty retailers such as Sephora and Ulta. This trend will continue over the next five years as consumer-spending levels rise and people look toward established, trusted stores for their beauty and skincare needs.

The popularity of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy has led to a surge in demand for smartphones and tablets in the education market. This development has facilitated the emergence of many vendors that are focused on developing textto-speech technology for such devices so that the application of this software surges. As a result, the increase in usage of smartphones by students for online education is directly relating to the growth of the text-to-speech technology market.Open-source platforms and limitations of infrastructure in educational institutions are the major challenges faced by vendors in the market. However, as this software can be deployed using cloud-based technology, it should offset the open educational resources (OER) challenge to a large extent.

The packaging and labeling and printing industries are the two major end-user industries of synthetic paper. The growth of these sectors is attributed to the rapid rate of urbanization in the developing countries and the rising affluence of the middle-class population. These reasons have led to a rise in the opportunities for consumerism, such as a high demand for lifestyle services and consumer goods. The biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) segment was the largest material segment for synthetic paper due to its unique properties, such as easy printability, superior strength, versatility, and cost effectiveness. The segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6% from 2015 to 2020.Labeling is the fastest growing application of the synthetic paper market. This fastpaced growth is attributed to the increased consumption of packaged foods and beverages, which is characterized by stringent labeling regulations.Asia-Pacific (APAC) was the largest synthetic paper market, and the growth can be attributed to the rise in demand from end-use industries including chemicals, cosmetics, and food and beverage. These industries have experienced an increase in consumption as a result of the increase in purchasing power and growth in disposable income of the working middle-class population.