Datamonitor, the market analysis organization, has reported on 10 “mega trends” that it believes will determine the success of any new food product introduced in the foreseeable future.
These trends include:
1) Convenience, and consumers’ need to save time.
2) Health, which should drive the growth of organics, natural products, and functional foods.
3) “Age complexity,” defined as consumers’ desire to be either younger or older, which translates into a specific kind of aspirational marketing.
4) “Gender complexity,” which is described as the breaking down of traditional barriers between how men and women behave .
5) “Lifestage complexity,” which means that people tend to spend extended periods of time in specific life roles – single, married with children, empty nesters, senior citizens, etc…
6) Income complexity, which leads to the democratization of luxury in which consumers choose to acquire upmarket products.
7) Individualism, the search for self-gratification.
8) Sensory satisfaction, as shoppers seek more intense experiences from the products they buy.
9) Comfort, which is defined as consumers looking for small pleasures that assuage the pressures of everyday life.
10) Connectivity, the desire by consumers to feel an ethical “belonging” through shared values.
These trends include:
1) Convenience, and consumers’ need to save time.
2) Health, which should drive the growth of organics, natural products, and functional foods.
3) “Age complexity,” defined as consumers’ desire to be either younger or older, which translates into a specific kind of aspirational marketing.
4) “Gender complexity,” which is described as the breaking down of traditional barriers between how men and women behave .
5) “Lifestage complexity,” which means that people tend to spend extended periods of time in specific life roles – single, married with children, empty nesters, senior citizens, etc…
6) Income complexity, which leads to the democratization of luxury in which consumers choose to acquire upmarket products.
7) Individualism, the search for self-gratification.
8) Sensory satisfaction, as shoppers seek more intense experiences from the products they buy.
9) Comfort, which is defined as consumers looking for small pleasures that assuage the pressures of everyday life.
10) Connectivity, the desire by consumers to feel an ethical “belonging” through shared values.
- KC's View:
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Let us get this straight.
This report suggests that the average consumer is time constrained…wants to be healthier and a different age…is trying out new roles…will spend extra on stuff he or she really wants…likes immediate gratification…needs a release from everyday pressures, and even feels a sense of social/ethical responsibility.
And often, the shopper feels a bunch of these things at the same time.
Hmmm…
Sounds about right to us.
It is all about aspirations. And rarely about settling.
Which makes you wonder why so many retailers settle for a lowest common denominator approach to retailing when a “raise the bar” approach might actually create a differentiated offering.
