Mark and Brodie's Christmas Message

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We look forward to serving you in 2012 as we continue to build business, build community and build the Kingdom!

12 trends to watch in the coming year

Photo by Frank Hermers • sxc.hu

The website trendwatching.com released its free year-end Trend Briefing. The company’s head of research and analysis, Henry Mason, said, “Even with the backdrop of nations defaulting, we see more opportunities than ever for creative brands and entrepreneurs to deliver on changing consumer needs.”

Here’s a summary of the 12 trends. You can find the full report at trendwatching’s website.

1. Red Carpet
Many firms, including Hilton, Starwood and Harrods are providing tailored services for Chinese visitors. Travel from China is up 20 percent from 2010, and The World Tourism Organization estimates the total number of outbound tourists from China will reach 100 million by 2020.

2. DIY Health
Consumers are taking advantage of technology to track and manage their personal health. Apple’s App Store already offers 9,000 health apps.

3. Dealer-Chic
Deals are now about more than saving money: it’s the pursuit, the status, and the perceived smartness. Consumers are looking for more personalization and more loyalty schemes, and are putting more pressure on brands to deliver brilliance.

4. Eco-Cycology
Companies are increasingly taking back their products for recycling, and do so responsibly and innovatively. Nike, for example, recycles rubber from its shoes into artificial track surfaces.

5. Cash-Less
Coins and notes won’t disappear completely, but cashless payment systems have gone mainstream, with MasterCard and Google working on a system of payments, rewards and offers around mobile technologies.

6. Bottom of the Urban Pyramid
The majority of consumerism is urban, yet in much of the world city life is chaotic, cramped and none too pleasant. Low-income urbanites look for innovation tailored to their unique circumstances, from health issues to lack of space to the need for durability. Opportunities for brands catering to such needs are unprecedented.

7. Idle Sourcing
Making it simple for consumers to contribute will be more popular than ever in 2012. Smarter mobile device sensors will let consumers broadcast information about where and what they are doing, to help improve products and services. For example, Boston now has an app that uses smartphones’ accelerometers and GPS to detect potholes.

8. Flawsome
Consumers think brands that behave more humanly, including exposing their flaws, are awesome. Brands that are honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, and humor will win over consumers. Domino’s, for example, mounted a news scroll in Times Square showing both compliments and complaints from its customers.

9. Screen Culture
The proliferation of touchscreen devices is bringing about a culture that is not only more pervasive, but more personal and immersive than ever. Companies taking advantage of this trend range from those who make screen-friendly winter gloves to a restaurant chain that installed teleconferencing capabilities.

10. Recommerce
It’s never been easier for savvy consumers to resell or trade in past purchases, unlocking the value in their current possessions. Car dealers aren’t the only ones who can take an old product and offer credit toward a new one.

12. Point & Know
Consumers are used to being able to find out just about anything that’s online or text-based, but 2012 will see instant visual information gratification brought into the real and visual world with objects and even people. Some of these technologies, like face recognition software, are already in the market.

11. Emerging Maturialism
Yes, we’re out of order here, because this one … at the risk of editorializing, it’s hard to address to Christian businesspeople. The folks at trendwatching tell us that, “While cultural differences continue to shape consumer desires, middle-class and/or younger consumers in almost every market embrace brands that push boundaries.” If you read the trendwatching report, you’ll find some of those boundaries might have been better left alone. This idea will be harder for Christian businesses to adopt. But we’d love to hear your ideas about it.

View all 12 full trend descriptions, including examples of brands from around the world already implementing them, at www.trendwatching.com/briefing.