10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010

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 make the most of 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 or end on 31 December. 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 to get going. If you crave more, do check out other trend firms’ Top Ten lists, or purchase our Premium service, which includes a very extensive 2010 Trend Report.
• All of the above 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, trend watching is about applying. About 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 this year, 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 this year, 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 »

This 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 is 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 »