Top 10 global consumer trends (part 2)
Last week we covered the first five of the top 10 Global Trends in 2019. This week we’ll finish off with the remaining five global trends (which is why the ranking starts with 6).
Conscious Consumer
The meaning of responsible business is shifting. The consumer is thoughtful, nowadays. Consumers are more conscious and feel more responsible for the effects of their behaviour. There are more vegetarians in the world and there is more attention for animal welfare. Animal welfare concerns will evolve further and extend to other industries. Demanding companies improve minimum animal welfare standards even for regular products.
Being offline
Caring about the mental wellbeing is something which is getting more a more a main topic than it ever was since the existence of the internet and the smartphone. The consumer wants to protect their mental wellbeing. The consumer wants to be more intentional with their time, to set their own boundaries and be more selective in their activities. Globally, millennials feel the need for this re-empowerment more strongly than other generations. Switching off the smartphones and the internet provides time; this time can be used to reflect on what is important in life and what people really enjoy in life. Being always connected with the people around you, your work causes stress. In the future will more people plan ‘’self-time’’ when they find joy in missing out.
Digital connection
The Internet is getting better and better; more and more people have access to high-speed connections. Calling a friend on the other side of the world is no longer a time-consuming, expensive endeavour; we can share important documents with a colleague on the other side of the world, but also holiday pictures with our family whenever we want. Everything we do, or which trends we start, every single trend will develop. Every trend creates new opportunities to make money, it is just what our economy is all about. Also in this case, the online activities lead to development of new ways to engage. As our technological capabilities and comfort using them grows, so will the potential of what can be created or experiences together, remotely.
Isolation
Despite of the fact that there is a trend happening, which states that we are getting more comfortable by sharing our lives with people around us, there is another trend happening at the moment and it will further develop in the future, is the prediction. People in the world are getting lonelier. The number of single-person households will outpace the growth of all other household sizes. Where other generations have large divorce rates, the new generation is rejecting marriage or just living together. They are setting the stage of a trend that is bound to outdate their generation. The new trend is enjoying loner living and enjoying independent lifestyles.
Ageless
Winning and retaining loyalty within a society is very important to enjoy life. To do so, the key is to develop products and services that are universally accessible. Different generations have a lot more in common than most people realise, and this needs to be better understood in the future. Acknowledge each other, despite the age of each other. In a society like this, everyone can focus on enjoying life.
Maarten Brouwer is doing an internship at AQ Services International in Kuala Lumpur. He studies Marketing Management at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, The Netherlands. The choice to do an internship in Kuala Lumpur fits the personal interest in different cultures.
