GROUP HUG: THE BIGGEST TRENDS FOR 2024

I always enjoy reading New Year consumer trend predictions. Some deliver genuine, data-led trends while others simply dress up yesterday’s insights as something new. But most are worth a read.

This year I decided to put my keyboard where my mouth is and write about them.

I started last week with Four Tips for Reading Consumer Trend Reports. https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/nextbigthing_2024-trend-forecasts-post-1-four-tips-activity-7131304407970779136-diDJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop.?

This time, I offer a summary of the hottest trends from across all the consumer reports I’ve read this year.

tldr? 2024 will be all about Cocooning.

COMMON THEMES: COMFORT, COMMUNITY, CUT-PRICE

I'll start with the big themes appearing across this year's reports. Unsurprisingly, given the amount of uncertainty in the world, many 2024 consumer trends are about Comfort and Community.

As consumers welcome the support of family, friends and neighbours, they’ll find any opportunity to share food with friends. Barbeques and charcuterie serving boards will be back. Especially big will be comforting communal foods like (fruit) fondue and patisserie. Innova Market Insights suggests restaurants will offer more interactive communal dining experiences to provide consumers with something they can’t get at home. Communality will cross over to other sectors too. As GWI says, hotels will focus more on social space, co-working, bars and restaurants. And we’ll see more social-wellbeing like communal bathing, according to Accor.

Indulgent foods give us comfort in difficult times. As a result, we’ll see more cinnamon sugar, meringue, hot honey breakfast sandwiches, raclette, caramelised fruits and anything Italian. And our love of Mid Century Modern has shifted from furniture to comfort food, with Spam and condensed milk reviving wartime flavours.?

Comfort and indulgence will be big trends in Interiors as well, as Cocooning returns to shield us from the outside world. The Dopamine Design trend is all about cheering yourself up with bright colours, bold patterns and crazy combinations. ‘70s stylings will also be part of this. Comfort and indulgence will hit toys too, with young and old alike enjoying ‘90s and ‘00s nostalgia toys and self-care through play.

Food won't be all about indulgence though. Consumer diets will still balance the hearty with the healthy. The appeal of functional foods looks set to continue its growth curve, with proteins high on the agenda. I’m also pleased to see several trend reports - from 英敏特 to Axios - identifying Ultra Processed Food (UPF) as the next big health scare. It’s a trend I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to convince food manufacturers of since before lockdown. Ever since I heard one Bavarian meat manufacturer fearfully refer to sausages as “the cigarettes of the future”!?

Another food trend, according to 欧睿 , will be "dupes”(cheaper alternatives to luxury products). These have been big in the accessories and beauty markets for a while. Trend reports suggest they'll spread into food and travel as the economic crisis continues. Discount retailers and home cooks alike will be crafting knock-offs of foodie favourites. And there’ll be as much interest in lower key destinations like Paros as luxury faves like Santorini.

Other cost-cutting ideas will include toy subscriptions, more advice from financial and energy-saving Social influencers - and an appreciation of “everyday moments of happiness” as families look for cheaper ways to enjoy themselves together.??

BEING HUMAN, HEALTHY - AND READY FOR ANYTHING

Another big group of trends are based around the need to be "ready for whatever happens". A response to an increasingly uncertain world.

One element of this is a desire to be strong enough - physically and mentally - to face anything. Glamour magazine highlights how people view strength training now not just as a workout but as "part of a healthy wellness routine". They note that Google searches for "building strength" increased by 316% last year.

This chimes with other strength-related trends I've seen, like building a stronger immune system, battle ropes and "strong not skinny" and "slim thick" trends on Tik Tok. It also ties in with what several trend articles are predicting as a growth in "Recovery": from carb-rich meals to infrared saunas and massage guns..

Strength is also behind a revival of two very different but related style predictions. On one hand ‘80s Power Dressing: hard angles, firm materials, shoulder pads, “body armour in the style of Grace Jones”. On the other, what South African designer Thebe Magugu describes as “Victorian devotion, discipline and austerity”.

To me it’s all part of a growing consumer desire for self-reliance and feeling “ready for anything”: an important confidence builder in today’s increasingly uncertain world. A few trend reports, like Foresight Factory 's, also mention this self-reliance trend.

Greater strength will also drive what a couple of reports see as a longer term trend for experimentation. If tomorrow’s consumer will be stronger and more self-sufficient, they’ll likely seek more than indulgence and cocooning. For instance, nutrition company ADM suggests we'll see more experimental eating. And musician Perfume Genius believes “people will crave things that are more challenging, that maybe require more of an attention span: noise, distortion, something more experimental.”?

As consumers feel more prepared for whatever comes next, the concept of “the future” will also seem less frightening and more optimistic: and space travel and science fiction will become more attractive. As shown by this year’s “hortifuturism” garden trend from Garden Media Group .?

That's not the only new trend name coined this year. Expedia's created a nice term for another of my recent favourite trends: consumers finding new excuses for a trip. They call them “Go-ccasions”. For instance, celebrating a puppymoon (the day you first got your pet) or a first-date-iversary. Worth highlighting in any Leisure promotion - and also more evidence of consumers enjoying little treats in an economic downturn. Meanwhile Forbes draws our attention to “waterculturalists”: the growing number of travellers obsessed by water: from wild swimming to learning about oceanography.?

CONTINUING THEMES: AI, SUSTAINABILITY AND QUIET LUXURY

I'll end with a few trends that are not new but are predicted to continue to be big next year.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most frequent “trends” is AI. Last year saw the topic go overground, as experts and consumers alike put their first tentative toes into the murky waters of GenAI. Mentions of AI are found in almost every trend report, across even the most specialist sectors. And they all predict next year will see more - and more confident - usage, alongside the growth of several major mainstream AI services for both B2B and B2C use. For instance, 特恩斯市场研究咨询有限公司 predicts new software innovation, alongside personalised healthcare and hotel service levels.?

But 2024 won’t be all about greater technology adoption. Accenture and others predict an anti-Tech backlash. One way this might manifest is in a growth in what GWI calls the “human-as-premium” trend. Learning human skills like empathy and self-expression. And an appreciation for “things that feel as though they’ve been touched by another human being: quilts, lace and tapestries” as chef and artist Laila Gohar says. Maybe more wood carving and plaster casting too.?

Another continuing theme, of course, is sustainability. The most interesting new trend here is one I’ve also noticed recently: Sustainable Leisure. That is, putting pressure on gyms, music venues, nightclubs and children’s parties to provide a more sustainable service.

Meanwhile high income consumers are predicted to continue embracing last year’s Quiet Luxury trend, in both fashion and interiors. It’s a way of enjoying luxury without “showing off” to those suffering economically. Its soft, minimalist aesthetic also chimes with a growing desire for tranquillity and self care. This is part of a broader cross-income cosy interiors trend, according to House Beautiful : with the bare greys of recent times softening into warmer neutrals: earthy beiges, off-whites and blush pinks.?

Once again, many reports continue to talk of a growth in services that merge the physical and digital, but as ever provide more speculation than concrete examples. I do think we will see major growth in WebAR (aka the Augmented Web) though, which lets people interact automatically with augmented reality across the web and mobile space via web browsers, offering a limited AR function but able to display products in 3D and enable users to virtually try-on a range of products.?

TLDR: SUMMARISING THE SUMMARY

Aside from obvious trends like AI and sustainability, it looks like 2024 will be all about Cocooning.

Consumers will feel safest hunkering down with family, friends and neighbours and enjoying indulgent food and entertainment together. And learning new skills and gaining strength to ensure they're prepared for whatever comes next. Not the most exciting of trends perhaps. But completely understandable given the state of the world.

Brands that want to connect with consumers in 2024 will need to find ways to make themselves part of this big “group hug”.?