THREE TRENDS HERE TO STAY
What can we expect to see along with this 2020 and in the next decade? These are three trends here to stay.
Trends don’t happen from one day to the other; on the contrary, they are the sum of the connections of little dots that occur across industries due to political, social, economic, technological, and cultural changes that affect our society.
The latter process happens in all sectors, and retail is not isolated. Through our pop-up events, I have the privilege to observe these trends in the making and how different brands and retails interpret those same trends.
How is a trend analysed and forecasted? We look at the shifts and drivers that are influencing consumer behaviour. Understanding what consumers are expecting is imperative to remain in the game. So to be more specific, we look at:
Shifts: political, societal, and cultural changes that, as a consequence, create new desire, new needs, and new behaviours.
Drivers: emerging technologies, tools, new practices
What are the trends that are here to stay and changing retail?
1//Activism
Customers expect companies and brands to have values, care for specific issues, and act accordingly. So, corporate social responsibilities should be specific about what the company or brand cares for; but also, consumers expect, as a consequence, to walk the talk.
No matter what the topic is: gender equity, inclusion, or immigration. What matters is to reflect what you are fighting for in what you do.
How? Take the example Arkin, a mental health organisation expert in psychiatry and addiction care operating across the Netherlands. We helped them to launch a recruiting pop-up, that had a two-fold objecting: recruiting their personnel while destigmatising mental health issues. They invited famous people to share personal experiences about dealing with psychological problems; they also opened the pop-up to whoever wanted to understand more about these sorts of issues.
According to the Cone Communication CSR Study, 79% of interviewed consumers said that, when possible, they will continue looking for products that are socially or environmentally responsible.
Ask yourself: what do you care for? How can you have a positive impact on your business? Be transparent, communicate it, and act accordingly?
2//AR, Augmented reality
Accustomed to using their phone as a virtual extension of their life, altering their reality, younger generations are becoming a larger consumer group. And 55% of them think AR will make shopping fun (Good Works Labs).
So, as well as consumers use AR in their personal life, and for their entertainment, they expect to find the same diversion when it comes to retail and shopping. As technology advances, it becomes easier to apply AR to the shopping experience.
How? It is possible to implement it throughout an app to help your consumer to choose from home what is the best product for their houses: Ikea did it! Or, by launching a pop-up event, it can help you to have the minimum amount of stock in -house while allowing the consumers to have access to it via AR. You could also decide to launch a whole complete AR pop-up store: read here!
Ask yourself: how can I apply this new technology to my product?
3// New luxury
The meaning of luxury has changed over time. And more than ever nowadays, we are reinterpreting this meaning constantly as the world around us evolves. And it grows fast! Consumers want to have access to what luxury means for them, and if a brand can offer it, they are willing to spend more.
How? Identify what luxury means for your specific public. It can be time: so you might have to find ways to propose a fast shopping experience. It can be owning their data: you might have to think about the ways to be very transparent about how you manage them and find an ideal setting to educate your consumers: Facebook did it with this pop-up store.
Ask yourself: how can I create a shopping experience or a product or service that offers a unique, luxurious feeling experience to the customers?
Some people still interpret pop-ups as a trend. At the same time, more and more, it is clear they are becoming part of the mainstream system; one of the touchpoints that companies need to investigate if they want to offer unique experiences to their customers. Every trend can be implemented in a pop-up, as long as you have clear your objective.
If you need some help, you can download our Pop-up canvas, a tool to help you to walk through all the steps you need to have a clear picture of the concept of your pop-up.
