In this article, we will briefly introduce all the elements that come into play when discussing upcoming patterns and trends that will shape the modern consumer economy in the year to come.

Trend #1 – Personalization

Personalization has been increasing in popularity over the past decade, and saw a huge spike of interest in the past few years due to two things:

• Millennials and GenZ’s expect to be treated as individuals and form relationships with the companies they shop from.
• The introduction of CRM software tools, like Retail CRM Cloud, has helped store owners track many different metrics, helping sales reps do their job in a better and more personalized manner.

The two components above, paired with Gen Z’s entering the workforce from next year, indicates that personalization will become more important in the future.

Trend #2 – Exclusive experiences

Even heard of the “experiential economy”? With so many competitors available in the open market, consumers no longer purchase products and services for their usability. They are buying the way it makes them feel.

This often translates into an experience that takes any kind of form and is provided both in-store and virtually, when shopping online. For example, stores may offer an exclusive discount to people who have purchased more items in the previous calendar month, or even a free gift.

We expect this trend to increase in popularity as suppliers drop their pricing due to the COVID-19 pandemic issues.

Trend #3 – Loyalty programs

Following the above statements, it is important to touch upon the importance of loyalty programs in the modern economy. It has been proven through numerous studies that consumers will purchase more often from the same brand if they feel that the company understands their wishes and needs and aligns with their values.

Apart from that, repetitive purchases are much cheaper. Overall, it is 6 times cheaper to make an existing customer perform a repeat purchase than it is to acquire a new customer. This is why many companies are looking into loyalty programs for the year to come. After all, many companies are already doing so successfully.

In case you don’t know how to get started with the development of your loyalty program, feel free to contact Coara, as the software development company has lots of experience in that area.

Trend #4 – Diversity and acceptance

Finally, the world is moving towards a more diverse offer for people from all backgrounds and walks of life. One can simply observe modern advertising and promotion to understand how companies are trying to send out messages that are politically correct and accepting towards everyone.

It might be best to create segments within your audience to tackle this challenge and make more personalized marketing campaigns through the help of software tools. In this case, one of the best ways to reach out to customers would be to implement email marketing campaigns, which can contain offers that link to your loyalty program.