Forrester

There have been tough economic times before, but those were in a different era. In the 1980s, consumers only received information via television and newspapers, which meant a certain delay in getting the news and then being able to react to it.

Driven by economic changes like the rising cost of gas, social trends like work-life balance, and the proliferation of collaboration technologies, consumers are changing the way that they work. Rather than commuting to a central office every day, 9% of consumers telecommute from home for an external employer, and 22.8 million run a business out of their home.