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FuturistU > Consumers > Consumer Behavior > Module 4 / 5

Consumers and Social Circles

Instructor: Shelby Walsh
Travel
Download the Travel Trend Report
Technology has had an overwhelming impact on social relationship trends. Algorithms, AI and our mobile devices have forever changed the way we connect with one another when it comes to our friendships, romantic partnerships, and our families. This module will decode what these shifts mean for marketers and innovators.

Brands today need to create impactful shared experiences for different groups, allowing consumers to foster more meaningful relationships with the brands they purchase from and amongst themselves as well. This module explores themes of tribalism identified in Trend Hunter's database such as "Family Branding" and "Hyper-Personalized Matchmaking" to keep brands on the cutting edge of consumer connection and messaging.
Related Trend Report: Travel
Workshop Questions:
1. How could your brand foster more meaningful relationships amongst your advocates?
2. How can you create more impactful shared experiences for your brand's tribe?
View Innovation Webinars

Featured Insights

Hyper-Personalized Matchmaking
Algorithms and AI technology guide users to their best match
Implications - While the proliferation of platforms like Tinder has contributed to more convenient, fast-paced methods of finding love, consumers are craving more, and as a result, personalized methods are emerging. From AI algorithms to DNA testing techniques, these solutions give users the chance to customize their matchmaking process, ensuring the results are more tailored to their individual, inherent needs. Showcasing the type of effort and lengths consumers are going to find their match, these examples also reflect a growing desire for customization in every single facet of their life.
Workshop Question - How could you potentially hyper-personalize your product or service offerings to create a more memorable experience for your consumer?
3.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Swipe Expansion
Dating apps expand their reach into other aspects of consumers' lives
Implications - With the popularity of dating apps at a peak, these platforms are expanding their reach by offering services other than those strictly related to dating. Tapping into consumers' ever-increasing openness to meeting new people online for recreational purposes, big players in the space are rolling out features to help consumers make friends, network professionally, and more.
Workshop Question - How can your company tap into technology to make your consumers' lives easier?
4.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends

Insights by Trend Hunter AI

Algorithmic Exodus
Users abandon algorithm-driven platforms for intimate digital spaces
Trend - Consumers are increasingly abandoning algorithm-driven social platforms in favor of more intimate, user-controlled digital spaces like group chats and Discord servers. This shift represents a deliberate move away from platforms where content and connections are determined by algorithms, toward spaces where users have greater control over their interactions and information flow.
Workshop Question - How can your brand create more authentic, algorithm-free spaces for community building?
6.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Controlled Impulse
Budgeting and savings apps are used by Millennials to prevent impulse purchases
Trend - While personal finance management apps have existed for over a decade, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and data collection algorithms have made recent apps far more effective than before. These modern budgeting apps are used to prevent unnecessary spending while saving toward goals.
Workshop Question - How can your brand leverage AI and data collection to help its customers make more informed purchasing decisions?
5.5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Decentralized Affiliate
New ecommerce apps enable everyday consumers to earn commissions
Trend - Tech companies are revolutionizing affiliate marketing by launching new shopping apps that break down traditional barriers. Platforms like Locker are leading the charge by ditching the follower-count and aesthetic requirements that often exclude potential affiliates. This inclusive approach opens the affiliate ecosystem to a wider range of consumers, empowering everyone to become a brand advocate and earn from their genuine endorsements.
Workshop Question - How can your brand empower everyday consumers to share genuine product recommendations?
6.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Social Community
New social media platforms are launching with an emphasis on personal connections
Trend - Companies are opening new social media services with the intention of fostering more intimate connections between users. In a rebellion against social medias built around endless feeds, these platforms connect users with similar interests and have convenient public and private group chat systems.
Workshop Question - How could your brand ensure its products or services are meeting the needs of its more niche consumer demographics?
5.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Vitamin AI
AI tools that non-intrusively detect signs of vitamin deficiencies are growing
Trend - Healthtech brands are using artificial intelligence in vitamin management applications. As opposed to broader diet-tracking apps, these specifically track signs of vitamin deficiencies, such as discolored fingernails or pruney skin, thereby helping the user maintain a balance of essential nutrients.
Workshop Question - How could your brand ensure its products/services are both affordable and accessible to its target market?
7.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI Discovery
Map applications are being upgraded with artificial intelligence-powered features
Trend - Map application developers are integrating artificial intelligence-powered features into their apps. These features improve the user's ability to locate themselves without a signal, identify nearby points of interest, and quickly access relevant data, such as weather.
Workshop Question - How can your brand leverage artificial intelligence to enhance the features and functionalities of your products or services?
5.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Decentralized Social
Developers are launching decentralized content platforms
Trend - Independent developers are using shared protocols to create decentralized content aggregator platforms. Companies do not own or moderate these platforms, which offers better privacy than large alternatives. Many of these platforms communicate with one another to form the 'Fediverse.'
Workshop Question - How could your brand adapt to, decentralized social media platforms to better reach modern consumers?
4.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
AI Journal
New services are using AI to offer advice on individual's daily lives
Trend - Brands in the artificial intelligence space are launching journaling apps backed by generative AI. These services can help journalers identify patterns in their lives while receiving advice from AI. The AI provides insight into emotional states that otherwise may not have been identified.
Workshop Question - How could your brand incorporate generative AI technology to offer more personalization in services or products for customers?
6.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Menopause Tech
Introduction of digital menopause solutions was accelerated by the pandemic
Trend - Brands are increasingly launching digital and technological menopause solutions, as consumers have become more familiar with technology over the pandemic. These products help consumers manage symptoms from home while ensuring they have on-demand access to support through digital channels.
Workshop Question - How could your industry leverage the increase in tech literacy caused by the pandemic?
6.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends