Editor's Note: The following consumer trends for 2010 are directly sourced from trendwatching.com, an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. One of my favorite trend-watching Web sites, it relies on trend-forward "Spotters" around the world who report to the creators of the site, which is the brainchild of Reinier Evers...it's different, it's fresh, it's fun, and draws upon a worldwide network of analysts and spotters from its London and Amsterdam offices. Each of their newsletters offers some compelling perspective that gives pause for new thought...
Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss. More »
Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world. More »
Whatever it is you're selling or launching this year, it will be reviewed 'en masse', live, 24/7. More »
Closely tied to what constitutes status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months. More »
Online lifestyles are fueling and encouraging 'real world' meet-ups like there's no tomorrow, shattering all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future. More »
To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals this year, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it 'easy' for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives. More »
Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control. More »
This year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers. More »
With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 is a good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services. More »
2010 will be even more opinionated, risqué, outspoken, if not 'raw' than 2009; you can thank the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring? More »