Thought I'd start the list with something sexy. Sex drive (see below). These are predictions and we do not have a crystal ball, however, if you would like more information about how the marketplace and trends may impact your business decisions, please contact us. www.research13.com/costestimatecontactus.html
1) A sex drive medication received approval in 2015 for women. Yes, it is no longer men who can enhance their libido with a blue pill. This is not all good. Earlier studies have shown that male libido- enhancing drugs lead to an increase in AIDS contraction because men who had not been in the market since before AIDS were not using protection. This is also a trend still driven by the sex drugs and rock and roll baby boomers (who are also increasingly perceiving a need of some “pharma help” in the bedroom).
2) India will pass China as fastest/largest growing economy.
3) Over half of households will have cell phones only as their telephone service. As we have mentioned before, this means that cell phone only households are no longer just young and poor. So market researchers take note.
4) Gas prices will aid in economic activity. This is particularly important on a day like today when the stock market is tanking to note that the economy is actually 40% driven by consumer spending and the fact that since Obama we are not exporting dollars as much for oil makes a difference in our disposable income and thereby GNP. I’m thankful the oil wars still have oil traded in dollars. This gives me a sense of security.
5) Mortgages and credit card debt will continue to rise. This is in part because Americans are not so savvy about finances. A recent survey showed that over half of Americans cannot explain how compounding interest works or how inflation may impact their savings.
6) The rich will continue to get richer in 2016. This is because it is nearly impossible for Congress and the President to get something done here, especially in an election year. Plus, Congress has little personal incentive, other than ideological, to change without pressure from voters. So the Haves, Have nots and Have Yachts will continue.
7) Unions and labor organizations will increase. This is fueled by the inequities that are constantly discussed on the internet and the speed with which people can organize on the internet in 2016. Unfortunately, discussions are most often discussing “minimum wages” instead of real buy a house and retire well wages.
8) Lightweight and denim are among the fashion trends. This is partly because the color of the year is serenity which lends itself to lightweight denim. Also look for orange/coral to make a comeback. See Pantone for more information about fashion colors. http://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2016
9) Luxury items will be on a slight uptick. During the recession it went out of fashion to buy fashion items. This created some interesting dynamics in that the youngest folks that are moving into the “I can afford luxury” period of their life will not buy as much as their predecessors. However, some luxury brands will position well for the extra disposable income from low interest rates and good gas prices. Or as my daughter says – “A girl’s gotta buy some shoes.” This is a continuation of the trend that gave a boost to Nike and Skechers last year and will spill into other luxuries. Yes name brand shoes are an early indicator of luxury brand buys after a recession.
10) Video will continue to grow leaps and bounds and you will stream it and ADVERTISEMENTS will be INCREASINGLY present. Therefore more will be buying commercial free channels too.
11) While previous years of predictions about “the cloud” came too early and were really “bleeding edge” predictions from technology zealots, you will be increasingly on “the cloud” in 2016. I know my mom is and she has no idea what I am writing about right now. Meaning many will be using cloud based services and software and not know it. I know my dad has some idea what I’m talking about because he’s been looking for investment opportunities on the cloud because people have been hyping it for years, however, the same tech companies that were good performers in the past have good footholds here already (Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, etc.). My father is clueless about what an “app” is and asked me what one was last week. Software programmers make “applications” which are software programs that run on your phone. These apps are increasingly less important. Cloud based computing (like Pandora and Microsoft 360) is on the rise in 2016. This is a natural ebb and flow.
Mainframe computers.
Mainframe computers with connected terminals.
Personal computers.
Personal computers on a network with a computer server.
Computers on internet.
Devices and phones on internet.
Apps on devices.
Applications and software now running on cloud or internet-based systems.
12) The SAD (standard American diet) will be more readily understood in 2016 as improvements in biotech and genetics are able to prove that diet impacts health. At one time Cancer studies involved study of the parts of the body impacted. Now treatments consider your genetics. In 2016, diet and what we put in our bodies will be exposed for how it creates cancer in those genetically susceptible.
Oh wait -- JK. If only the medical establishment would change and promote more healthy diet. Oh wait, doctors make more money if you are sick. Aha! Baby boomers will not change their ways will eat lots of meat and carcinogens and therefore look for healthcare stocks in 2016 fueled by baby boomers healthcare costs. My apologies for a lack of humor about this. More seriously, there will be a continued whole foods trend in 2016 among those reading what is going on in research on the SAD.
13) Meditation will increase in the United States. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/64002355/growing-interest-meditation-united-states
This is a thirty five year trend from early “mindfulness” and self help hippy trends. Yoga also is on the increase. And in Oregon and Washington and Colorado, Marijuana stands are out numbering coffee shops. So some of this trend will be a bit stoned, like the 35 years ago hippy trend’s start! However, medical science is showing how meditation and yoga can actually help people in numerous ways including heart disease, inflammation, mobility, Alzheimer’s and many important areas of our times.
I would also like to make a note of what is not a trend, and that is: “wearables.” At the consumer electronics show this was all a buzz again this year. The first time I heard about predictions of wearables was in the 1990s. We are still not wearing our computers even though major market research firms predicted we would. For help in understanding why we are not wearing computers please contact us as we’ve done a ton of research on it. And there is also some really terrific research by MIT labs about why wearable computers are only slowly adopted and “chip aided” wearables will NOT be a trend in 2016. We are still early on wearables with the exception of military applications where it will save lives. However, there are other trends we left off this report that I’m sure you already know about. Let’s just say I’d rather not “drone” on about other trends (mom this is a joke about how drones are currently a trend and I already know you don’t want one).
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