Consumer trends for 2011

So what are the big consumer trends to watch out for next year? The trends site, trendwatching.com,  has some interesting tips about what we can expect. It’s a consultancy based in London and Amsterdam, and it’s sufficiently networked to provide some good insights.

It tells us that social networking will continue to shape our activities and set us off in new directions. According to the consultants, we can expect more group buying and GPS-driven deals, more status symbols that will define who we are, more consumers broadcasting, compiling, commenting, sharing and recommending content, products, purchases, and experiences to both their friends and wider audiences. 

They will offer unsolicited opinions to their online friends about places they visited, restaurants they ate at or products they purchased. In 2011, everyone’s going to be a critic. Also we can expect more status symbols, like luxury goods, shaping our buying patterns. We all want to be perceived as special.

And it predicts that more people will abandon the idea of buying. They will embrace the idea of owner-lessness and they will start to rent and share products and services instead. Better for the wallet, better for the environment.

The interesting part about their insights is that they offer examples of companies that are already moving in these direction. In other words, it’s a trend now taking shape and we are being told to watch this space.

The Economist says status seeking is becoming more common and that is likely to shape consumer behaviour next year. Everyone wants to be noticed. But it reminds us of other forces that will shape our world next year.

“In the long run, other trends may shape markets more. The rich world is rapidly ageing. People over 50 will account for two-thirds of all growth in consumer spending in France over the next two decades. Emerging markets are starting to look like America in the 1950s: people are obsessed with acquiring their first fridges and cars. The recession is forcing Western consumers to pay more attention to prices than they used to. But people, like peacocks, will never tire of displaying to friends and potential mates just how wonderful they are. Firms whose offerings scream “status” will never want for customers.”

Market research giant Mintel predicts massive behavioural changes flowing from the global financial crisis. Things to watch out for include consumers’ increasing unease about the recovery. People are expected to spend less and save more which is bad news for retailers. At the same time, it says stores are likely to become more creative in the way they lure back customers. Stores are more likely to become venues for advice and demonstrations, not just a shop.  We can also expect to see more life-long learning in the workplace, corporate sponsored degrees and cost-constrained companies investing in employees through education and training, rather than salary and benefits. Mintel also says we can expect to see more marketing to women, especially in sectors such as automobiles and sports, and more focus on health, beauty, vitality, energy and longevity in the marketing of food and drink.

Mintel predicts that 2011 will see a growing interest in "grow your own”. While this mainly translates into opportunities for garden centres, at the supermarket level this may mean catering to small gestures towards self-sufficiency, such as stocking herbs for window boxes and for roof top gardens.

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