It’s already 2017! We have no idea what this year will bring, but we can figure out the upcoming trends for 2017. What are some trends for consumers this year? Read all about it:
The most important trend that 2017 will bring is the fact that the Experience Economy will gain a new dimension. That dimension is the Virtual Experience Economy. Digital experiences will quickly come to carry a status weight equal to real experiences.
But why do we want a Virtual Experience Economy? In a consumer world of material abundance, the experiences people chose to form an important part of their identities. While limited physical experiences carry even more elevated currency. The Virtual Experience Economy will shatter this logic: in an infinite and boundless virtual world, the usual physical limitations of cost, accessibility, and personal capability no longer apply to experiences, making consumers’ time the only scarcity.
Another trend will be a new angle on sustainability. Smart businesses will broaden their thinking around sustainability and turn their attention to capacity capture. What means finding and unlocking exciting new sources of value, or finding creative new ways to eliminate any wasted resource. This is a good way of thinking. People nowadays really care about living a sustainable life.
The last trend I will discuss is the fact that 2016 wasn’t a banner year. We saw economic, social and cultural impacts of globalization thrown into the dark. Also, the fear of terrorism is getting to us. We need to find a way to come together again. Purposeful brands will find renewed opportunities in helping people understand their changing relationship to home. Those opportunities will come in two ways: New Global Citizens, who will remain committed to the idea of an open and interconnected world and Nation Nurturers, who will favour a turn inwards, seeking solace in the familiar.
You can already see thins trend happening with a few brand. Starbucks, for example, launched Upstanders: a series of podcasts, stories, and videos that highlight individuals across the US that work to make a difference in their communities.
Let’s hope that 2017 will be a year where things turn around good for everyone and a year where all the amazing trends will happen.
