4 top consumer trends businesses should prepare for this year

E-commerce sales days generate record number of sales and profits for businesses. Consider including trending products to your suite of offerings. Here’s a list of the top trends of the year and how you can capitalise on them.

It’s a fight to the death for businesses vying for the attention of consumers during the most popular online sales days. With flash deals and promotions being offered left, right and centre, grabbing and holding the attention of your target audiences is of paramount importance in order to have a successful sales season. 

So what can you as a business do to stand out? Have your finger on the pulse – know the current cultural trends and shifts in buying behaviour, whether it’s the sustainability movement or a gadget adoption. This can provide your enterprise with great insights into how to approach e-commerce sales days, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It can influence the types of products you can offer, the focus of your branding and marketing campaign, as well as other aspects of your strategy. 

It’s up to you as a business to not just be aware of the zeitgeist – the spirit of an era – but capture it and successfully capitalise on it. Find out more about the trends of the moment in this article. 

What are the trends your business can prepare for?

1. Zero tolerance for profit-driven brands

Sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion are key considerations for younger consumers when making a purchase. They demand that brands do not just peddle products but that they stand for something. According to First Insight, millennials and Gen Z consumers are most likely to make purchases based on values and principles.

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues, especially when they relate to a product's impact. According to a survey by McKinsey & Company, more than 40% of millennials and Gen Z consumers consider a brand’s sustainability practices when making a purchase. Businesses can implement sustainability practices in various aspects of their business model, from their ethos and mission to their packaging choices to their supply chain providers. Offer specific products that respond to consumers’ desire to do good by planet Earth, such as pre-loved clothing or second-hand furniture. This can be beneficial during online sales days.

2. Making more health conscious choices

The pandemic still affects much of the way consumers live, eat and work. The shift to working from home has made people more conscious about their eating habits, allowed consumers to improve their nutritional intake and weed out unhealthy eating habits. According to statistics by GWI, in mid-2021, 60% of consumers were trying to eat healthier, as opposed to 56% in 2020.

Consumers are taking a new approach toward organic food. There are specific products that Google Trends has noted as being popular search items. For example, this year, the average monthly global Google search volume for matcha green tea is 826,000. If you currently target nutrition and caffeine enthusiasts, get in on this diet trend by offering matcha alongside coffee products. This can help you expand your offerings and generate more sales. Consider bundling products and pricing these at a discounted rate during sale days.