Success in tomorrow’s world will depend on how well you adapt and take advantage of change. As big data increases, understanding consumers’ needs and dreams will become a key challenge.
Meaningful Brand Performance
The Meaningful Brand Index found that currently only 20% of brands have a notable positive impact on our wellbeing and quality of life and most people wouldn’t care if 70% of brands disappeared – so it’s clearly time to rethink business models and business values. To deliver Meaningful Brand Performance – true value in all areas of life – we must connect and engage with our consumers. For far too long we have banked on left-brain thinking only.
Everything is Interconnected
It’s time to offer Left and Right brain values to shape a positive future vision. This is Multidimensional Thinking – my method for mapping out trends. Our Food Retail Trend Atlas 2020+ visualises the future by exploring Scientific, Social, Emotional and Spiritual dimensions. It provides a visual framework of insights – enabling us to see global and local challenges and opportunities. While the 8 key trends for tomorrow’s retail sector below are described individually, they are all, in fact, interconnected.
Technology Enablers
Total Transparency becomes essential in a reputation economy, where companies have to work harder to be noticed and trusted. To be an Authentic Organisation, your brand promise and consumer experience must be totally aligned with your performance. Cloud Services, in which agility and scalability rule, inspire new business and collaborative approaches based around dialogue. With over 50 billion devices connected to the ‘Internet of Things’ by 2020, there will be rich opportunities to reach a much larger consumer audience and understand how they live.
Consumer Connectivity
Mulity-channel Platforms enable seamless transitions and self-defined boundaries in all areas of life, while Smart Technology empowers and shapes lifestyle choices. Last year, more than 60% of Turkey’s population searched for products online. Clearly, companies must move to a user-centred approach – be where people are – and adapt brand messages to multiple devices. Culturally open and mobile Global Citizens are ‘digital native’ market influencers setting new standards in all areas of life. Turkey looks set to be rich in this talent – in the 2050s your population’s median age will be 40 and IMF predicts Turkey will become 7th largest global economy from 2030.
Planet Focus Foster Trust
A Real Thing requires companies to deliver Cultural Capital and ‘real’ brand experiences that foster trust and enable communities to flourish People want to know and feel exactly why they should engage with you. A Better World is what we all want and business, not government, must drive a sustainable future because people will engage with companies and brands that are making a positive difference.
Purpose Drivers
Intelligent Health options must be inbuilt because over consumption has sparked a focus on ‘Well-Being Economics’ and is already informing our choices – it’s about better, not more of the same. Ultimately, all these trends feed into our desire for The Good Life – in which we question conventional measures of success and consider how to achieve a happier society. We already know happiness makes sound business sense – statistics show happy people are engaged, focused and up to 50% more productive.
Meaningful Retail Experiences
These 8 trends clearly show that delivering meaningful retail experiences is essential. In the future, the physical retail store will not be the core customer universe so businesses must evolve to reach out to their audience. From a rational perspective, people expect convenience and dialogue; from an emotional perspective, they seek community and engagement. In order to deliver this true brand engagement, businesses must also embrace the ‘4P’ approach that considers People, Planet, Purpose and then Profit.
The Core Consumer Typologies
We have defined four core consumer typologies that should be targeted to succeed in tomorrow’s retail environment. High achieving and aspirational Premium Professionals expect mobility, convenience and multi-channel tools to manage their lives. Creative and adventurous Happy Bohemes prefer ‘we’ time over ‘me’ time and look for networks and affinity groups. Authenticity-loving Cultural Explorers are pro-active and informed and seek out ethical ‘Better World’ initiatives. Mindful Wellbeing Hunters prefer ‘me’ time and, in their individual quest for meaning, they embrace transparency and intelligent reduction
Creating Value in the Future
Brilliant business models are never anonymous, but reach out to the local communities they serve in order to fulfill the real needs of people. Winners of the future will be the business and organisations that are agile enough to adapt the ‘4Ps’ to deliver sustainable, social, emotional and economic value.
Images
1) The People’s Supermarket – Kjaer Global 2013
2) Food Retail Trend Atlas 2020+
3) Tesco Home Plus
4) Whole Foods Store
5) School of Life
6) Retail Experiences 2020+
Talk: Local Retail Chains Conference April, 2013, Istanbul
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