Consumer trends for 2009

Trendwatching has just released their first predictions about consumer trends for next year (yes, two weeks from now!...). Check it out in http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/halfdozentrends2009/



2009 will be an excellent year for those businesses keen on showing consumers that they really care. Much more on caring in our upcoming February 2009 briefing, which will focus on GENERATION G, but for now: offering respect and relevance (NICHETRIBUTES), listening to real-time needs and wants (FEEDBACK 3.0), helping people to save money while being green (ECONCIERGE): all of this will not be forgotten by consumers that are currently feeling the heat.
At the same time, this is a great moment to innovate: shrinking budgets and diminishing revenues from existing offerings normally bring out the best and most creative in business professionals.
But the most important side effect of more austere times is probably that consumers start questioning what truly makes them happy, which more often than not steers them towards the realization that happiness ain’t (just) about traditional consumption. Expect pockets of consumers to switch to lower-consumption models with surprising ease, and to look for different and less costly sources of happiness and thus, ultimately, status. Any way you can help them with that will be a guaranteed winner.