with family or friends. Fair splitting is a trend many millennials
seem to demand. In fact, in a study by JWTIntelligence, 45
percent of millennials in the U.S. and the U.K. said they would
like to use their mobile devices to split bills with friends.
WHO’S DOING IT NOW:
Guevara, a UK-based car
insurance company, allows customers to create trusted groups so that group
members can share insurance premium costs. As a group, insurance
premium goes into a group Protection Pool which is used to pay for any
claims during the year. Unclaimed funds in the pool are kept by the group
and can be used to cover the following year’s premium. Thus, for groups
with safe drivers, the money in the pool could mean more savings for everyone each year.
TREND 4:
INTERNET OF SHARING
THINGS
This trend is about asset sharing. As consumers seek more
collaborative, useful and spontaneous experiences, they are
also more willing to share as well as access shared assets.
There are stories of manifestations of this trend across the
globe, from a car-sharing initiative in Stockholm, Sweden (e.g.
Audi Unite, a collaborative car initiative which allows consumers to share their Audi with up to four family members or
friends) to sharing an umbrella on a rainy day with a complete stranger (e.g., Hong Kong-based Umbrella Here’s rain
tool is equipped with a Bluetooth device that signals
“umbrella-sharing” to strangers).
TREND 5:
CURRENCIES OF CHANGE
Consumers are expected to continue to embrace the wearables in 2015, but rather than focus on what to do with their
Fitbits and Nike+ devices, their focus will be more on how
these digital tools can help improve behaviors. Consumers
will respond best to rewards and incentives that will help
them reach their personal goals of wellness or learn new
knowledge and skill sets.
WHO’S DOING IT NOW:
Foodtweeks is a calorie-intake
tracker that aims to help those who want to manage their weight while
helping raise funds for local food banks. How does it work? By providing the
app meal information, users receive tips on how to reduce the calorie
content of a dish they are about to eat. Foodtweeks makes a donation to a
local food bank each time a user follows the app’s advice. As of late last year,
the app has partnered with 55 food banks in the U.S.
TREND 6:
SYMPATHETIC PRICING
Discounting will not go away. In fact, in order to compete,
businesses need to be creative on how they provide discounts
to consumers. In a trend called “Sympathetic Pricing,” consumers will respond to those who provide deals in order to
support a shared cause or help in difficult times.
WHO’S DOING IT NOW: Breather, available in New
York, San Francisco, Montreal and Ottawa, allows people to find urban
spaces that they can reserve (for as short as 30 minutes to a full day) and
use as private sanctuaries to recharge, meet with clients or simply get away
to work creatively.
WHO’S DOING IT NOW:
PareUp, a service that allows
New York-based restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores to sell unsold
food and products that would otherwise been thrown away at discounted
rates. According to PareUp, food retailers throw away an estimated US$40
billion dollars of unsold food each year. By providing this service, PareUp not
only addressed the issue of food waste, but also provide budget-conscious
consumers financial gain from the offered discounts.
NEED MORE? Go to trendwatching.com to read all the top
consumer trends for 2015.
March/April 2015
n
PULSE 55