On January 1st, trendwatching.com released it’s briefing on the “10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010.” I found the report’s cover photo particularly interesting. It’s caption: “Opportunities aplenty in 2010 for those obsessed with satisfying consumer needs in new ways.” I’m not even going to go there.

Where I am going to go, every Tuesday for the next ten weeks, is on an exploration through these ten trends and themes to offer my own unique perception and point of view. As a public relations and marketing professional, certainly as a consumer, and as an interested observer and occasional participant in the cultural zeitgeist of the 21st century.

A Bonanza of Opportunities! First of all: It’s going to be another interesting year. Has the global recession really, officially ended? And if so, will the aftermath cause pains for years to come? Whatever the outcome, we find ourselves spotting more recession-proof opportunities than ever before. Why? Consumers, recession-stricken or not, still value innovations that are pragmatic, or exciting, or those that save them money, or entertain them…. oh well, you get the picture.Time to get busy again!

Topics for discussion:

1. Business as Unusual

Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss.

2. Urbany

Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world.

3. Real-Time Reviews

Whatever it is you’re selling or launching this year, it will be reviewed ‘en masse’, live, 24/7.

4. (F)luxury

Closely tied to what constitutes status (which is becoming more fragmented), luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months.

5. Mass Mingling

Online lifestyles are fueling and encouraging ‘real world’ meet-ups like there’s no tomorrow, shattering all cliches and predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future.

6. Eco-Easy

To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals this year, corporations and governments will have to forcefully make it ‘easy’ for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives.

7. Tracking & Alerting

Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control.

8. Embedded Generosity

This year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers

9. Profile Myning

With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 is a good year to introduce some services to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services.

10. Maturialism

2010 will be even more opinionated, risqué, outspoken, if not ‘raw’ than 2009; you can thank the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring?

Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.