I was fortunate to have been sent by my employer, Forsythes Recruitment, to this year’s Future of Experiences Conference in Amsterdam.
fubAnalysing trends helps us to know what customers will want next.
Here are the 10 trends discussed.
Trend 1 – Guilt Free Experiences
People want to enjoy products or experiences without the worry of their environmental footprint. Can you eliminate moments where your customers experience guilt?
Trend 2 – Wellness Engineers
Consumers are continuously trying to solve the health and wellness puzzle and are embracing new experiences to engineer wellness into their lives.
Trend 3: Atomised Experiences
Atomised experiences are so carefully considered that they attend to ultra-heightened customer expectations of complete convenience and accessibility.
Uber Eats Toronto Canada is trialling delivering food to airport gates.
Atomisation can also mean delivery. US supermarket chain, Stop & Shop, has partnered with Robomart to trial driverless home delivery so people can pick their own fresh produce and be automatically charged for what they take.
Trend 4 – Automated X
Automation can go in two directions – convenience and entertainment. Automation for convenience leads to experiences or services to make people’s tasks more efficient.
Hertz Atlanta is using facial recognition so people can rent a car without needing to speak to anyone.
Trend 5 – Automation Theatre
Automation Theatre is for delight or a theatrical purpose.
US clothing brand, Ministry of Supply, worked with MIT to enable customers to pick a design and have robots custom fit it to the consumer. The key is the fabric that shrinks when heat is applied.
Trend 6 – Culture Contracts
Consumers want brands to be open, honest and highly transparent when it comes to how their businesses are run. They no longer only care about the quality of the product and the cost, they also want to know that the business’ work culture is positive, and that staff are being treated fairly.
Marriot has trained half a million staff on how to recognise signs of human trafficking and has led to several young people being removed from compromising situations.
Trend 7 – New Power Generation
The concept looks at marginalised groups who are seeking access to experiences they’ve often been excluded from including on the basis of gender, race or age.
Visa has partnered with a US-based Female Founder Collective in a business resource and business networking program called She’s Next, Empowered by Visa.
Trend 8 – Virtual Experience Economy
Digital experiences are becoming as, if not more, meaningful and desirable than real world experiences for many people. People now have the convenience of attending and partaking in virtual world experiences without leaving their home or bedroom.
Ten million Fortnite gamers attended a live virtual concert from US DJ Marshmello inside the online video game in February 2019.
Trend 9 – Village Squared
Village Squared looks at in-person experiences that repair and contribute to the community, bringing people together and making meaningful experiences.
Hotel Ibis is creating IBIS music to bring guests together by hosting live music events.
Trend 10 – Inclusive IRL
Businesses will no longer be able to get away with offering experiences that are not accessible to the entire spectrum of consumers. Companies need to ask themselves, are all aspects of your customer experience truly inclusive?
Vacation rental company, VillaKey, is the first to become certified in autism travel.
What’s next?
Often, we think of what innovations we can bring into a workplace to address an upcoming trend.
The conference organiser, Trendwatching, focuses on how current trends can lead to innovations in the workplace by addressing basic human needs.
How do today’s innovations affect the expectations of future customers?
