With 2018 now under way we’ve received the report from Trendwatching showing the trends for 2018 that are going to define consumption and the new ways people are going to interact with brands.
The consumption trends are new manifestations of people’s behaviour or expectations as far as basic needs and desires.
Below, 5 key trends will be explained that are going to revolutionise the way we consume:
- A-commerce: Algorithms and intelligent devices are continuously present in our day to day life, in most cases we’re not even aware of it. In 2018 buyers are going to start to become interested in delegating certain aspects of the purchasing experience to them, automating aspects such as searching for products, negotiating price, the purchase and delivery agreements. Finery is a wardrobe running on artificial intelligence that organises all the clothes you’re interested in into the same area. Furthermore, it notifies you there is a change in a product’s price, if you can find it cheaper somewhere else, or will even tell you if the return period for a product you bought is about to come to an end.
- Assisted development: Consumer behaviour is more and more diverse. People have more and more freedom to forge their own path, and along with it, the way to deal with the transition into adulthood. This, when combined with the cost of living, will make consumers look for help from brands in order to reach their personal goals and become adults. Loftium is a company helping young people buy a house to be able to become independent. How do they do it? Loftium loans you the money you need to make the deposit in exchange for renting part of the house on Airbnb until you’ve paid off the debt.
- Virtual companions: Many of us have told ourselves at one time or another that we would never have virtual assistants, but we all end up doing it, just like how we didn’t expect the exponential growth in the amount of time we spend communicating using messaging apps. It’s foreseeable that in upcoming years we’ll be speaking more with virtual assistants that with our partners. This assistance, in 2018 will become provide company giving us “virtual personalities” that will be able to entertain us, educate us, even treat us. Replika is your artificial friend that’ll always be there when you need it. Your Replika learns about you, has a personality that’s compatible with yours and will become your best friend.
Samuel Zeller
- Forgiving by design: Customer service seems limitless, outdoing itself time and time again. In the online world we’ve gotten used to an environment of constant software updates, improvements, etc. after purchasing a product, as such getting a better product than the one we bought initially, without having had to pay more. That’s why consumers will feel a connection to companies that take this practice into the offline world and adapt the products to new needs and desires in the post-purchase period. Mastercard in collaboration with Curve, lets you change the card you made the purchase with up to two weeks after, if you realise that if you had done it like that from the beginning you would have got a discount, more points or some other type of benefit.
- Glass Box Tactics: Company walls are no longer opaque like they were in the past, they’re now transparent and the whole world can see what’s happening inside. It’s important for brands to define the positive change they want to create, both inside and out. The internal culture is now a part of the brand that is on public display. Consumers increasingly want to connect only with brands that have values which are aligned with their own. In June 2017, Danone relaunched many of its brands around a new manifesto on how the future of food has to be in terms of health and sustainability, turning it into its internal mantra and inviting the rest of the food industry to join them. Danone doesn’t change the food you’re buying, but it gives you a story about what the company is and what it believes in.
Aleks Dahlberg
What do each of these trends mean for your brand? Embracing these trends will bring your brand closer to its target audiences, showing concern for their needs, expectations and is about bringing them a brand experience that is being continuously improved.
