Regular readers know the score. Below, you’ll find 5 trends that need to be on the radar of every switched-on business professional in 2018:
1. A-COMMERCE
Here’s what comes after e-commerce and m-commerce.
2. ASSISTED DEVELOPMENT
Post-demographic consumers are crafting new narratives of adulthood. In 2018, they’ll look to brands to help.
3. VIRTUAL COMPANIONS
Virtual entities make the leap from assistants to companions.
4. FORGIVING BY DESIGN
Post-purchase forgiveness is 2018’s must-have feature.
5. GLASS BOX WRECKING BALLS
A revolution in transparency is just getting started.
You’re about to discover a selection of innovations that are (re)defining the expectations of customers around the world. These innovations – and the 5 big consumer trends they represent – offer you insights into what your customers will want next.
We hope this edition inspires and empowers you. Okay, and maybe also scares the 💩 out of you. But hang in there. Understand these trends, and you’ll be able to stay ahead of customer expectations and your competitors.
Read, think, discuss. Then start DOING.
Never miss a TrendWatching Quarterly Briefing!
Never miss a TrendWatching Quarterly Briefing!
Never miss a TrendWatching Quarterly Briefing!
The 5 trends featured here are important, but they represent just a small fraction of the consumer landscape.
Clients of our Premium Service have an instant global Trend Department at their fingertips. They have access to our entire Trend Framework, built around the 16 mega-trends that define modern consumerism. Beneath these sit 120+ actionable trends (the trends featured here, along with a host of others we continue to track), all illustrated with 15,000+ hand-curated, best practice innovations. If you’re serious about trends, it’s a no-brainer.
As always, we wrap up these annual Trend Briefings with a call to action…
While it‘s our job just to watch trends, ambitious business professionals should read this Briefing with only one thing in mind: how to apply these trends to create compelling new innovations that will delight your customers (and win new ones!).
If you want some tips on how to do that, then our Consumer Trend Canvas can help. It’s an easy-to-follow, one-page guide to analyzing and then applying a trend.
So, what are you waiting for? Time to make 2018 your best year yet!
Cheers! Proost! 干杯! Salud! Skål! 건배! Santé! Prost! Şerefe! Mabuhay! Saúde! Chok dee!
This Trend Briefing has many hands on it. A huge thanks to the team that pulled this together with such positivity and enthusiasm, especially: Acacia Leroy, Alida Urban, Anton Bjorklund, Francesca Coppola, Gillian Harris, Harry Metzger, Harvey Gomez, Henry Mason, James Treacher, Jonathan Herbst, Laura Varetto, Lisa Feierstein, Maxwell Luthy, Nikki Ritmeijer, Tash Cohen, Vicki Loomes and Vicky Kim. THANK YOU!