WHAT IS A TREND?

TREND
• A sequential pattern of change in recorded data – change
evidenced by a rise or fall of variables when measured
between at least two points over time. (Gordon, 2008)
 • E.g. If we see more dating
couples deciding to get married
later in life in 2016 vs. couples
in 2010.
 TREND
• A sequential pattern in the data must be indicative and
significant to be commonly considered a trend.
• It must pass basic tests of significance; a change that
affects a wide range of people.
 Madonna is frequently hours
late for concerts, a fan says. He's
suing.
 High school football coach
resigns after making racist
comments in Instagram video
Subway just released a sandwich
with green eggs and ham
Trending Products
To sell in 2019
 MICRO TREND

• Microtrends are also known as

‘market trends’.
• These are clusters of ‘signals’ which
consists of ‘tangible’ developments,
such as new products and services.
• Microtrends have a duration, on
average, of 1 to 5 years.
 EXAMPLE:

• Initiatives such as To Good To

Go, Inglorious fruits and
vegetables and Forgotten fruit.
• These signals have something in
common: they all offer a solution against
food waste.
• That’s why they together form a
Microtrend.
 MACROTRENDS
• Macrotrends are also called ‘consumer
trends’.
• Unlike Microtrends, Macrotrends are
not tangible.
• They are changing (latent) needs of the
consumer, like insights, norms and
values. These trends can last 5 to 10
years and are the foundation on which
Microtrends are built.
 EXAMPLE:

• The initiatives against food waste

(the Microtrend discussed above)
originated from a growing
awareness, the need to waste less
food and to do something good for
the world.
 MEGATRENDS
• These are major societal trends.
• Micro- and Macro trends are relatively
small and manageable, while..
• Megatrends are large and complex
shifts.
• Megatrends can be substantiated from
research, data and statistics. They have a
major impact on our society and can last
up to 10 to 50 years.
 MEGATRENDS
• Trend in global scale. Megatrends are
not always created by the majority, but
are typically followed by a majority of
society.
 EXAMPLE:

• Shifts like urbanization,

globalization, ageing and
sustainability are all megatrends.
And ‘sustainability’ happens to be
one of the Megatrends from which
the above-mentioned initiatives
against food waste originated.
Some of the megatrends identified by Naisnitt
(1982) and Pastricia Aburdene (1990):

The Original Trends

• from an industrial society to an information
society
• from forced technology to high tech or high
touch technology
• From a national economy to a world
economy
• From short term to long term
Some of the megatrends identified by Naisnitt
(1982) and Pastricia Aburdene (1990):

The Original Trends

• from institutional help to self-help
• from representative democracy to
participatory democracy.
• from hierarchies to networking
• from north to south
• from either/or to multiple options