Trends Now

Trend Spotting

Alicia Isenberg Hoglund

One key to successful marketing is knowing your target audience. Forecasting firm trendwatching.com outlines the global trends in its “12 Crucial Consumer Trends For 2012” report and recommends how to incorporate them into marketing strategies.

TREND: DIY HEALTH

This year, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset has made its way into the healthcare arena via apps and devices designed to help patients monitor their own health, including Skin Scan, a DYI program used to monitor mole growth over time.

According to the report, DIY health “will show endless innovation driven by … technology, which in turn feeds off a never-ending desire among consumers to be in control.”

TREND: DEALER-CHIC

“Deal hunting has become an integral part of daily life for millions of consumers,” says trendwatching. com. But, according to the report, it's not the deals as much as consumers' attitudes toward them that is the real trend.

These days, customers brag about the deal just as much as, if not more than, the product purchased. And with discounts via social media and moneysavers like Groupon readily available, some customers may refuse to pay full price.

TREND: ECO-CYCOLOGY

With increasing frequency, consumers want to know where their products end up after they are finished with them. To accommodate this need, many brands are taking back used products and recycling them responsibly. For example, Eco, a subsidiary of Modo Eyewear, has partnered with OneSight to collect and recycle unwanted eyewear to those in need.

TREND: CASH-LESS

Companies like MasterCard and Google are working to build paperless payment systems and rewards around new mobile technologies.

“For consumers, the initial lure will be convenience,” trendwatching.com reports, “but eventually mobile payments will create an entirely new data-driven ecosystem of rewards, purchase history, deals, and so on.”

TREND: FLAWSOME

Brands that are honest about their flaws and show empathy, generosity, and character are seen by consumers as more relatable and, well, human.

“While many trends are all about the new, it's always worth remembering that success in business in the end is more about being aligned with consumer culture than just being aware of ‘new’ techniques and technologies,” the report states.

TREND: NEW WORLDS

This year, businesses around the globe are rolling out the red carpet for elite Chinese customers. Airlines, hotels, department stores, and other industries are marketing to these customers by way of tailored services, perks, and reward programs as well as products designed to cater to their specific needs. On their coattails are Indian and Brazilian natives, who will see special treatment, too.

TREND: RECOMMERCE

In 2012, trading in is the new form of buying. Consumers will look to trade-in offers to upgrade to a newer model.

According to the report, “Novel brand buybacks, exchange schemes, online platforms, and mobile marketplaces offer smart and convenient options for consumers keen to ‘trade in to trade up,’ alleviate financial strains … and/or quell environmental and ethical concerns.”

TREND: SCREEN CULTURE

Consumers will rely even more heavily on electronic and mobile devices to deliver information. In its report, trendwatching.com says that “Screen Culture” is less of a trend in itself, but more the medium through which so many other trends will manifest themselves.

“In fact, the future for most devices will be a world where consumers will care less about them and just about the screen, or rather what's being accessed through it,” says trendwatching.com.

TREND: EMERGING MATURIALISM

Expect consumers in ‘conservative’ emerging markets to embrace brand experiences and campaigns that are frank, more uncensored, and border on risque.

“For all the many cultural differences that may exist, the global consumer class is remarkably alike in its needs and wants,” says trendwatching.com. “So if you're a Chinese or Indian or Turkish brand, or you're a Western brand selling to emerging markets, 2012 is the year that you can push things a bit further.”

TREND: POINT & KNOW

Instant gratification will be taken to a whole new level this year as apps and mobile technologies deliver information to consumers instantly. Scannable QR codes and like technologies will be available on almost everything to provide consumers with immediate access to extra information, price comparisons, product reviews, and more. EB