P.S. For those of you who need to know ALL the trends that will excite consumers over the next 12 months, don't miss out on our exclusive, full 2010 Trend Report. More info here »
Opportunities aplenty in 2010 for those obsessed with satisfying consumer needs in new ways
First of all: It’s going to be another interesting year. Has the global recession really, officially ended? And if so, will the aftermath cause pains for years to come? Whatever the outcome, we find ourselves spotting more recession-proof opportunities than ever before. Why? Consumers, recession-stricken or not, still value innovations that are pragmatic, or exciting, or those that save them money, or entertain them.... oh well, you get the picture.
As this is all about trends, and as trends still mean everything from global warming to Spring 2011 skirt lengths, we need to clarify that:
- We’re tracking consumer trends. Not macro trends. Well, actually, we do track those, but we don’t publish extensively about them. To fully prepare for 2010, best thing to do is to first dive into macro trends for the BIG picture (we like McKinsey’s Global Institute, and IMD’s “global challenges” site). After that, absorb as many consumer trends as you can.
- Obviously, trends don’t ‘start’ on 1 January 2010. Professionals craving Top Ten lists is something we gladly cater to, but all trends are constantly evolving, and all of the content below is one way or another already happening.
- We’re also not saying there are only 10 consumer trends to track in 2010: There are dozens of important consumer trends worth applying at any given time of the year. We merely bring you a selection. If you crave more, do check out all other trend firms’ Top Ten lists, or purchase our Premium service, which includes a full 2010 Trend Report.
- This means that many trends we’ve highlighted over the last years will still be as important next year as the ones we discuss in this briefing. Will STATUS STORIES (2008) still be big in 2010? You bet. Will SELLSUMERS (2009) continue to proliferate? Of course. Is CURATED CONSUMPTION (2004!) still important? Definitely. Will we see more BRAND BUTLER examples? As long as the mantra of marketing being a service survives, then yes.
- These trends don't apply to all consumers. Hardly any trend does, anyway.
- Last but not least, this is about applying. Innovations. Hands-on. Execution. Making money. Now. Forget ‘Nice to Know’ or ‘Cool Stuff’ or ‘Pie in the Sky’. For how to apply these trends straightaway, see the last section of this briefing.
Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss. More »
Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world. More »
Whatever it is you're selling or launching in 2010, it will be reviewed 'en masse', live, 24/7. More »
Closely tied to what constitutes status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months. More »
Online lifestyles are fueling and encouraging 'real world' meet-ups like there's no tomorrow, shattering all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future. More »
To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals in 2010, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it 'easy' for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives. More »
Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control. More »
Next year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers. More »
With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 will be a good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services. More »
2010 will be even more opinionated, risqué, outspoken, if not 'raw' than 2009; you can thank the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring? More »
Ruthless capitalism went out of fashion way before the crisis hit
In 2010, prepare for ‘business as unusual’. For the first time, there’s a global understanding, if not a feeling of urgency that sustainability, in every possible meaning of the word, is the only way forward. How that should or shouldn’t impact consumer societies is of course still part of a raging debate, but at least there is a debate.
Meanwhile, in mature consumer societies, companies will have to do more than just embrace the notion of being a good corporate citizen. To truly prosper, they will have to ‘move with the culture’. This may mean displaying greater transparency and honesty, or having conversations as opposed to one-way advertising, or championing collaboration instead of an us-them mentality. Or, it could be intrinsically about generosity versus greed, or being a bit edgy and daring as opposed to safe and bland.
As always, the future is unevenly distributed: one only needs to look at the Googles and the Amazons and the Zappos and the Virgins of this world to get a feel for 'business as unusual'. So not surprisingly, the trends in this briefing all touch on doing things differently, driven by changing consumer preferences and desires. Time to study and learn from those brands that you think are already mirroring today's more diverse, chaotic, networked society, and then outdo them ;-)
A defining trend for 2010, 2011, 2012, and so on: urbanization on steroids. We'll let the numbers speak for themselves:
- "Less than 5 per cent of the world’s population lived in cities a century ago. In 2008, for the first time in humanity, that figure exceeded 50 per cent. In the last two decades alone, the urban population of the developing world has grown by an average of 3 million people per week.”
- “By 2050, it will have reached 70 per cent, representing 6.4 billion people. Most of this growth will be taking place in developing regions; Asia will host 63 percent of the global urban population, or 3.3 billion people in 2050.” (Source: the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, October 2009.)
Where will this lead us? We’ve dubbed this extreme push towards urbanization ‘URBANY', representing a global consumer arena inhabited by billions of experienced and newly-minted urbanites. The significance?
A forever-growing number of more sophisticated, more
demanding, but also more try-out-prone, super-wired urban consumers are
snapping up more ‘daring’ goods, services, experiences, campaigns and
conversations.
And thanks to near-total online
transparency of the latest and greatest, those consumers opting to
remain in rural areas will be tempted to act (and shop) online like
urban consumers, too.
This of course creates fertile grounds for B2C brands keen on pushing the innovation envelope in any possible way. As Alex Steffen, editor of WorldChanging stated last year: “I’m certainly not saying that all innovation is urban, or that the suburbs are brain dead or anything. I am saying that compact, wired and wealthy urban communities seem to me to be becoming the epicenters of innovation these days, and that is going to change what innovations emerge.”
Preparing for URBANY and more sophisticated consumers is one thing, running with this trend is another. So here's a hands-on sub-trend to get you going: URBAN PRIDE.
Basically, in thriving mega-cities,
whose economic and cultural power already often surpass that of entire
nations, inhabitants’ identities will be closely tied to a city's
culture, its brand, its heritage, its 'being'. This means that for big
brands, delivering city-specific products, services and communications
that truly incorporate a city's character, will be a great, human and
fun way to pay respect to urban citizens around the world.
So, in 2010 and beyond, you basically can’t go wrong to appeal to urbanites’ pride. Some random examples:
- The Absolut Cities Series first launched in New Orleans in 2007, when the brand developed a special mango and black pepper blend inspired by the city. Later in 2007, Absolut rolled out the City Series to Los Angeles, and in August 2009, Absolut released the taste of Boston - a black tea and elderflower vodka that has a backdrop reminiscent of Fenway Park's Green Monster.
- Since August 2009, people using five Bank Machine ATMs in East London have been able to opt to have their prompts and options given to them in Cockney rhyming slang.
- Guerlain launched a series of city-themed perfumes in July 2009, exclusively available at UK department store Harrods for GBP 130. Paris - Moscow is a combination of musk, fruit and wood; Paris - New York mixes vanilla, cinnamon and cedar; and jasmine, violet and green tea combine to create Paris - Tokyo.
Live reviews from aboard the maiden flight of BA’s new all-business service between London City and JFK
Read all: trendwatching
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