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Top Cultural Trends to Shape Consumer Behavior in 2009

Iconoculture, the leading cultural trend research company, recently unveiled the top six trends that are expected to drive consumer behavior in 2009. In a marketplace defined by economic uncertainties, shifting social mores, and an increasingly global and multicultural landscape, the values and trends identified by Iconoculture explain how consumers are likely to respond in 2009.

"As consumer behaviors shift, businesses are looking to make sense of how to reach this newly frugal, global and environmentally conscious consumer into 2009 and beyond," said Dan Frawley, CEO of Iconoculture. The top trends identified by Iconoculture as critical influences in consumer behavior include:

• Trend 1: Buying Out -- Motivated by varied economic pressures and changing sustainability beliefs, leading-edge consumers are redefining what it means to consume, from upcycling to victory gardening to the radical rethinking of household finances.


• Trend 2: Forced Full Disclosure -- The Internet and other technologies have ushered in an unprecedented era of personal honesty, whether consumers like it or not. Location-based services, social networks and online banking portfolios will, in the coming year, change the nature of privacy, with implications stretching from technology, personal finance and politics to work and play.


• Trend 3: Morphing Multicultural Mobility -- In the not-too-distant future, “minorities” will be the U.S. majority. Knowing how to reach these consumers is only becoming more difficult. La crisis, as Latinos refer to the economic crisis, is already forcing African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos to migrate to new geographic areas in search of economic opportunity and to become involved in hot-button political and cultural issues they previously left unexplored.


• Trend 4: Shame Shift -- We're seeing social mores morph, and watching as the shift in attitude around what's socially acceptable and what isn't reshapes a broad swath of businesses. Generational divides, changing economic circumstances, environmental awareness and an expanded slate of public and personal data is causing consumer attitudes about acceptability to morph. From dumpster diving to mixed martial arts to teen pregnancy and extreme media violence, the future ain't what it used to be.


• Trend 5: Community Living -- The shape of the nation is changing as cultural rural, urban and suburban consumers seek out new kinds of community -- ones that transcend geography. Consumers are craving less commuting pain and are looking for innovative ways to make more touchable moments with other people.


• Trend 6: Health Holism -- Health has stepped out of the hospital -- way out. Consumer engagement with health and wellness information and care no longer requires extensive outlays of money, time or sacrifice. From expanding wellness initiatives in the workplace to info-sharing among consumers, Americans are increasingly finding that the tools for living better and knowing more are seamlessly integrated into daily life.

These trends will help shape the dialogue about diversity in the workplace and society in 2009 and beyond.