'Business as Unusual': 7 Consumer Trends for 2010

Customers will call the shots and companies will be even more open and conversational with their clients, according to Netherlands-based Trendwatching's 10 consumer trends for 2010.

Here are some of its predictions:

1. It's "business as unusual". Companies will be culturally attuned, customer driven, big on openness and honesty and developing dialogues with customers. Sustainability and transparency are priorities. Company values and charitable links may determine the customers you win. Examples: The idea's not entirely new. But that means there are some good examples to follow -- Innocent Drinks, US cleaning-product innovator Method, UK sandwich chain Pret a Manger (whose sourcing policies having been pushed into the spotlight by the Sunday Telegraph's 'honest food' campaign.)
2. Go "eco-easy". Businesses thrive by wearing their values proudly and making it easy for consumers to be environmentally responsible or philanthropic. The next phase in sustainable product and service development may require "often forceful if not painful government intervention" and calls for companies to stick their necks out. Examples: Australia's town of Bundanoon has banned bottled water sales, with the community agreeing to supply empty bottles with "Bundy on Tap" labels that consumers can refill throughout the town. For every IKEA Sunnan LED solar-powered desk lamp sold, one is donated to UNICEF.
3. Real-time updates, reviews and sentiment tracking. Brand-conscious companies monitor Web sources to track consumer views, while braver ones allow customers to collaborate on design or service innovations. Examples: Twitter, Google, mobile social apps Foursquare and Loopt are some platforms. Sentiment analysis tool Rant and Rave is a service set up to help companies sift through instant feedback via SMS, email and phone calls.
4. Tracking & alerting. Time-saving, relevant information goes to the consumer and the company can winnow its offering accordingly. Examples: Again, Twitter leads the charge, but there are other example. Fitbit is a gadget and site for measuring your activity throughout the day, which can be uploaded onto a site that will then provide you with advice and a regimen to suit your activity level. WorkSnug uses an augmented reality app for mobile workers to share the gen on the best wired places to work in London.
5. Information guardians will flourish. Companies that safeguard your online reputation or trusted intermediaries or representatives will be increasingly valuable for anyone who wants to protect their personal details online. Examples: Tiger Two, ReputationDefender. or storing personal data for perpetuity, Swiss DNA Bank, which stores your DNA and family memories, or similar services such as Slightly Morbid.
6. 'Mass mingling' will be easy. All that online networking inevitably leads to people organising offline events and meetings. Hyper-local sites that tell you what's going on in your neighbourhood, along with mobile Net access, is driving people to organize get-togethers for work and play. Examples: The Big Lunch, newly launched opinion-gatherer Britain Thinks is another. (launched to remind people of the effectivness of outdoor advertising.)
7. Oh, the urbanity. City-dwellers will become the taste-makers. Last year, more than 50 per cent of the world's population lived in cities; by 2050 that figure will be closer to 70 per cent. More sophisticated urbanites will power "wired and wealthy urban communities" and make some conurbations the hotbeds of innovation. It's also making customers increasingly unshockable. If you're in the business of dispensing to the status-conscious, your 'luxury' provision will be personalised. Some still want grandness and bling, others will pay a premium for time or knowledge or exclusivity. Examples: 'Pop-up' restaurants, shops, hairdressers keep even the most jaded city-dweller on the edge. Guerlain's range of city-themed scents is available only at Harrods. Advertising offers a hint of how mainstream sophisticated marketing is becoming: dixons.co.uk's clever London Underground posters name-checked landmark stores and claimed it was the 'last place you want to go'. Renault's Twingo ad says it all: "We live in modern times". (Clip courtesy of Publicis/Fra&Italy, Ads of the World)