Whitespace: 9 Trends for 2009

Issue 44: December 2008

As an eventful year draws to a close it's time to engage in a little crystal ball gazing. Drawing on the thoughts of some of the planet's most astute futurists, Whitespace presents the following nine trends for your consideration.

The wired consumer takes hold

As its names suggests, trendwatching.com keeps an eye on those new ideas gaining traction in consumer markets. According to the organisation's 2009 briefing you can expect to see the following trends reach a tipping point in the coming year.

Feedback 3.0

Professional communicators have thrown the term transparency around a lot in 2008. And for good reason. The rise of online social media has given consumers more power to praise or punish brands than ever before.

This ability to post online reviews has been dubbed Feedback 2.0, a phenomenon that's set to be usurped by a Feedback 3.0 era in which brands enter the peer-to-peer arena by posting responses next to consumer reviews.

An example is My Starbucks Idea, which sees the company not just asking for feedback from customers but actually responding to their ideas to foster a two-way conversation.

Mapmania

Mapmania describes the growing popularity of applications that allow smartphone users to access maps showing cheap petrol, suitable hotels, good coffee, close-by friends…just to name a few possibilities.
These information rich maps won't be limited to flat pictures, many will feature vertical panoramic images (think Google Street View) so you can visualise a location before you go there.

Rough Luxury

Luxury as we know it is going out of fashion and will be replaced to some degree by rough luxury – the idea that a product or service doesn't have to be expensive to be meaningful.

trendwatching.com defines rough luxury as 'time for reflection, personal encounters with people, nature, architecture as well as food and social and cultural experiences linked to geographic locations'.

The Rough Luxe hotel offers an apt example of the trend. This hip London establishment eschews massive rooms and expensive appointments in favour of curated art and a distinctive shabby chic style.

The green revolution continues

In a recent video interview with Fast Company, clean-tech maverick Terry Tamminen identified sustainability labels, virtual meetings and zero waste as the green trends to watch in 2009.

Sustainability labels

Regardless of continued economic uncertainty green issues will still matter to consumers in 2009. As a result, the year may well see more companies voluntarily introduce sustainability labels.

Tamminen says these informational devices will outline the carbon footprint of products much like nutrition labels describe product ingredients.

For example, the labels might offer carbon footprints rating or categorise sustainability into different areas, such as quantities of recycled content or the source of raw materials.

Virtual meetings

In response to growing concern about the economic and ecological costs of corporate travel, Tamminen predicts virtual meetings will soon become a normal part of business life.

Videoconferencing has been a touch clunky in the past, but a new breed of affordable internet delivered services is emerging to make the process more seamless. And these tools don't have to cost a fortune, as any regular Skype user will tell you.

Zero Waste

The age of 'bigger is better' is over.

Tamminen says 2009 will see a growing number of manufacturers adopt a zero waste policy by eliminating any unnecessary product packaging or fillers that add to transport costs.

For example, by reducing the amount of water in its leading US washing detergent Procter & Gamble has created a concentrated product that requires less packaging and less transportation.

More technology, more of the time

A recent BusinessWeek video interview saw technologist Mark Anderson reveal a raft of predictions for 2009, including gaming market growth, ultra-mobile PCs and digital personal assistants.

Gaming takes hold

The coming year will see big screen TVs – the must-have item of 2008 – given a serious video game workout as cash strapped consumers stay at home in droves.

This may be bad news for entertainment venues, but it's happy days for game developers who will be called upon to create innovative virtual adventures that take consumers' minds off the economy.

Computers go even small

There can be little doubt the netbook computer made a big impact in 2008. Anderson predicts the smaller is better approach to personal computing will continue to gain momentum in 2009.

It's claimed manufacturers will soon release ultra-mobile netbooks the size and weight of a novel; apparently these dimensions can accommodate a screen that's still large enough for effortless reading.

Need a digital hand?

It may sound like a slightly unnerving development, but Anderson believes digital personal assistants that watch and learn from your behaviour will experience a breakthrough year.

These autonomous applications will possess an intimate understanding of your likes and dislikes based on your behavioural patterns. Armed with this knowledge, they'll be in a position to autonomously perform tasks like booking hotel rooms, gift buying or internet searching without your direct involvement.

Smarter, greener, more engaged

The world's trend spotters are confident 2009 will be another big year for innovations. Whether these new ideas include ubiquitous mapping technology, sustainability labels or digital PAs is still unclear.

However, one thing is quite certain: a new kind of consumer is emerging, a global citizen that's more green-focused, technologically enabled and empowered with information than ever before.

Whitespace is published monthly by the Australian Institute of Management - Qld & NT. Sign up to have a copy sent direct to your mailbox.