TREND #1

The Rise of Sympathetic Pricing

Luthy points to the fact that while many retailers claim to care about their customers’ needs, they still charge high prices. That doesn’t fly in today’s customer-centric world, so now we are witnessing retailers and brands that are offering dynamic pricing, he notes.

MAKE THE CONNECTION: One example of this trend comes from an air conditioning retailer in Argentina. “They use a zip code detector to determine the temperature at your house, and then they offer discounts to the hottest houses,” says Luthy. “People are accustomed to seeing price fluctuations, so now they understand that pricing can change in a second.”

TREND #2

Customization + Immediate Gratification

While customization is still king in the consumer arena, there is a paradigm shift happening with the delivery of custom products, says Luthy. “The idea of going onto a website and ordering a custom shoe and waiting for it to arrive is diminishing,” he notes. “The consumer today is just not that patient.”

MAKE THE CONNECTION: Today, retailers are customizing their own product right in-store, and new technologies like 3D printing and better software enable consumers to have personalized products in their hands, quicker.

“Instant gratification is happening with custom products now, from lipstick to earbuds,” says Luthy. “At Lip Lab in New York City, you can choose your lipstick color, fragrance, and matte or glossy finish and they will mix it right there. At adidas, they have a popup shop where you can have your face printed on the front of a shoelace clip.”

Credit: Sorbis/Shutterstock.com

TREND #3

Brand Fanatics + Superfans

According to Luthy, as consumers get wealthier and become more experienced, “many are beginning to really worship particular brands, which is why we see lines of people outside the Apple store or Patagonia.”

While this clearly shows the strength of the brand and its products, being a superfan also gives the person a sense of belonging.

MAKE THE CONNECTION: “We are, thus, seeing retailers and restaurants tailor experiences to their superfans,” says Luthy, pointing to Starbucks and its wildly popular pumpkin spice latte as an example.

“Now, Starbucks enables its superfans with passwords they can use to unlock the new pumpkin spice latte for the season at their local store,” he explains. “Then, they also put that person’s name on the menu and say, ‘Thanks to this person, this drink is now available at this location.’”

TREND #4

Point and Know

Today’s consumer also wants immediate gratification when it comes to information. “People use their smart phones as a gateway for information, having moved from typing in their queries to asking Siri what song is playing—they want effortless access to information,” says Luthy.

MAKE THE CONNECTION: Apps like Shazam (which recognizes the media playing around you) and image-recognition software provide consumers immediate information about what they see and hear. “If today’s consumer pointed their phone at sunglasses, they’d want to see a video on how they were made,” he says. “This is a trend that’s been developing for years. It used to be about scanning a QR code, but now we’ve moved to a more seamless way of delivering that information.”