Seven Changes to Watch in 2010
Dec 02
1. Consumers are researching the offer
Consumers will be putting more time and energy into finding good values, reading the labels and the service agreement and will be more informed on nutritional facts, environmental impact and ethical business practices
2. They are also looking for stability
While many economic indicators point to a light at the end of the tunnel , consumers will continue to be cautious and will be hesitant to commit when it comes to important purchases.
3. Necessity allows emerging market products to enter the developed world.
Products designed for emerging markets are increasingly becoming popular in the developed markets, where consumers are accepting them as cheaper and simpler alternatives to existing choices.
4. Green is entering our lives
As the ecological influence increases, producers will pay more attention to the environmental costs of packaging, and brands will increasingly switch to bottles, boxes and other solutions that reduce waste .The trend will be to reuse, recycle, remove and renew.
5. The disclosure trend is intensifying
Legal requirements and competitive pressures will force producers to fuller disclosure about everything from ingredients to carbon footprints and sourcing
6. Real time revolution
The Web is evolving into a constantly updating stream of real-time information, conversation, memes and images.
7. Products and communication will have an open eye for the older generation
As the world’s population grows older, we should be ready for a proliferation of products and services that cater to this demographic segment as they strugle to live independently for as long as they can. Communication will also be adapting to the habits and life style of this group.
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Dec 04 at 22:12
#3 is particularly interesting – although a couple of scandals like the “Toys from China with lead paint” and “Pet food that kills your kitty” will put a stop to that trend. If there’s more confidence in the products (see #5), then I think you’re spot-on.
But as for #7 – we’ve been hearing predictions about a massive shift in ad/marketing for the Boomers for a decade now. Still don’t see it. All the $$ keep getting chucked at the same ol’, same ol’ 18-34 demo. Is there some new set of campaigns/spending that you’re (for)seeing that would support this POV?
Dec 06 at 17:09
Love idea trend lists like this – thank you. With regard to:
1. (”Consumers are researching the offer”) – so true, my son has a phone app that instantly scans bar codes at stores and connects to the web, giving him immediate price comparisons from several sources, letting him know if it is a good deal or not. Of course, he already has researched the product, so price is not the only factor.
2. (”They are also looking for stability. While many economic indicators point to a light at the end of the tunnel , consumers will continue to be cautious and will be hesitant to commit when it comes to important purchases.”) Again so true, this is the Year of the Proposal – if that can be considered a positive benchmark, but not enough are pulling the trigger, just examining ideas and options. The whole world has become one of “researchers” not doers, I fear.
3. (”Necessity allows emerging market products to enter the developed world. Products designed for emerging markets are increasingly becoming popular in the developed markets, where consumers are accepting them as cheaper and simpler alternatives to existing choices.”) Established brands would do well to develop and push new products for this market under their brand – they are already positioned to create whole markets for fledgling products and ideas and would be rewarded for doing so.
Great ideas, thanks.
Posted by Leslie McKerns
Dec 06 at 17:09
I’m not into marketing myself but reading your 2010 predictions and the comment from Ms. McKerns I’d like to suggest to your industry the following idea: Kill the word CONSUMER…it is so dodo already. It is to green as the “N” word is to black.
We are customers, subscribers, users, citizens, associates and friends. Perhaps if your industry took this major semantic turn attitudes of and toward consumption may shift more quickly. There’s little time to left to change course and it’s Madison Avenue who got us here by selling the fiction of an endless everything…well, hello it is clearly the opposite. We have all been dehumanized to long with the consumer moniker and soon enough we’ll all be collateral damage in the resource wars that will surely come from reinforcing the consumer meme.
Ball’s in your court now.
Cheers,.
Posted by Chris Ducey
Dec 06 at 17:10
Hi,
While I thought most of the points are not really changes to watch out for but rather changes that began perhaps some years back. Consumers have always being researching the offer- they were checking prices etc from the early days but now yes they may be adding new selection criteria- Greenness, whether the company exploits Third world countries labour etc.
Also Chris we use the word consumer because it can include all the groups you mentioned and more like- lover, hater, ignorer.
BTW the words you have used are also pretty generic. I think the word can stay the same but the definition can change to suit different purposes.
Posted by Tyrone Tellis
Dec 06 at 17:11
Hi Tyrone,
Obviously you don’t get the point. We are consuming our planet to ruin like so many pigs at the trough. Radical change is needed for survival. Meme central, or Neural Net if you prefer, is where all things start in our connected world and where change can grow from. Hanging on to the term “consumer” means acceptance to the mantra and that mantra is terminal at best. Pigs will eat everything/anything… that is until swine flu comes along. Sorry lad but I choose to go a different direction with my customers.
Perhaps this may help enlighten your perspective and it just happens to be premiering tonite in Berkeley: http://www.collapsemovie.com/COLLAPSEMOVIE/
Cheers,
chris
Posted by Chris Ducey
Dec 06 at 17:12
Times, they are a-changin’. With the image deterioration of many icon brands, consumers will substitute real value for the perceived value of established brands.
Posted by Alex A. Kecskes
Dec 06 at 17:13
Good list of trends. “Researching the offer” will only grow, as social media creates more “tipping points” (Malcom Gladwell) to guide consumers to their purchasing decisions.
Posted by David Pratt