13 Trends to Watch for Retailers . . . and Everyone Else
4. Alternative economies. Cash is taxable. Trading and bartering will become more popular, as will dumpster diving and the freegan movement. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the traditional retail model. Cash will still be used but will come with the expectation of a premium-level service or product.
5. Rethinking imperfections. Photoshop, cosmetic dentistry and even SAT tutors transform how we look, smile and perform on standardized tests. We live in a world where products are showcased in the retail environment and everything is perfect. But perfection is not human. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves and allowed to be more real. We see this with the Dove campaign for real beauty but apparel stores still have mannequins with unattainable figures.
6. Dads as the new moms. More men have opted out of the economy. It is a total stereotype reboot. Watch out for more daddy bloggers and companies to market to them (everyone does a bad job right now). Men want solutions; women go shopping. Try to buy breakfast at a supermarket and see how many different areas of the store you have to visit. This doesn't work for dads. You have to throw out the standard approach and streamline for these consumers.
Dads will also be creative about how they get things done around the house. Overall, there will be more gender neutrality in advertising and promotions. Dads will be at school, have part-time jobs, do job swapping and sharing, etc. Retailers have to reach them in all these different places. Plus, they have to remember that dads are different consumers than any we've seen before.
7. Constant schooling. With education now being a mere click away, we will attend school for our whole lives. Leaving college with a degree is no longer good enough. Furthermore, we can all be educators, as you will be able to sell your expertise to others looking to learn.
