Trends for 2009
Jan 19 2009
Retail Wrap >>

1. NICHETRIBUTES, which is about the power of making products and services relevant by incorporating ‘attributes’ and features that cater to distinct (if not niche) consumer lifestyles and situations. e.g. Estée Lauder’s 'Super Flight Creme Continuous Hydration for Face and for Eyes' for frequent flyers.
2. LUXYOURY - ‘luxury will be whatever you want it to be’. What constitutes luxury is closely related to what constitutes scarcity. And while scarcity in traditional consumer societies was for decades defined by the biggest, the best, and the most expensive 'items', the consumer arena in 2009 shows a bewildering number of 'scarcities', some of them invented purely to overcome the abundance now found in traditional sectors. E.g. Ace Hotel New York’s will include (re-upholstered) furniture from salvage shops and flea markets.
3. FEEDBACK 3.0: This notion of transparency on the web started with outraged individuals posting scathing reviews, feedback and complaints, while brands unaware and/or dismissive. Now companies have started listen, not talk back, trying to ‘learn’ from the for-all-to-see review revolution. Version 3.0 will be all about companies joining the conversation. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able (and to increasingly demand) to post their apologies and solutions, preferably directly alongside reviews from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.
4. ECONCIERGES are firms and services dedicated to helping households go green in any possible way.
5. MAPMANIA – Could 2009 be the year of unsurpassed celebration of map-based tracking, finding, knowing and connecting? Embraced by eager consumer masses who will flock to anything from friend-finders to lowest-gas-price-locators? Aided by services that already know which street users are on?
6. HAPPY ENDING – the silver lining of every downturn. 2009 will be an excellent year for those businesses keen on showing consumers that they really care. This is a great moment to innovate: shrinking budgets and diminishing revenues from existing offerings normally bring out the best and most creative in business professionals. But the most important side effect of more austere times is probably that consumers start questioning what truly makes them happy, which more often than not steers them towards the realization that happiness ain’t (just) about traditional consumption. Expect pockets of consumers to switch to lower-consumption models with surprising ease, and to look for different and less costly sources of happiness and thus, ultimately, status. Any way you can help them with that will be a guaranteed winner. 

Adapted from Source: www.trendwatching.com, 12 December 2008