‘Smile to Pay’, Pooch products, virtual high streets and personalised Easter treats are expected to go big this year
With 40,000 Google searches made every second in the UK, totaling 3.5 billion a day, it’s no surprise that if you explore what people search on the World’s most visited site, and when, it can help SMEs tap into the mind of consumers and customers.
On top of that, Futurists systematically research industry predictions*and forthcoming possibilities to explore what is likely to emerge from the present.
Put these two together – as they have been in ‘Moments in Marketing 2021’ – and SMEs can stay ahead of the curve to plan, procure, and market their offerings.
Here’s just some of the insights and future trends you need to know for 2021 from search experts and renowned Futurist, Tracey Follows.
The biggest trends for SMEs to watch in 2021.
More holidays for Personalised products
Our desire to buy personalised items for friends and family continues and is something we now search for in high volumes on many key holidays. Christmas will continue to be a key time for this, but personalised presents are also now high on peoples’ agendas for Mother’s Day and Easter.
Virtual high streets
This year has been the hardest year for Britain’s high streets, as online shopping increased by 129%[1] forcing stores up and down the nation’s already struggling high streets to sadly close up shop for the final time. In 2021 we will see a shift just from purely physical retail to a hybrid of physical and virtual retail.
By 2030 we can expect to find ourselves faced with a virtual-first retail environment where product selection, road testing and payment all happens in a virtual space.
It’s official: Black Monday to Friday
We start to search for Black Friday from the very first week of November with searches then going on to peak around 22nd November, presumably when all the marketing is in full swing.
As we know, many retailers run offers for the week of Black Friday and consumers don’t expect anywhere to only run offers for one, despite the name Black Friday. This is why Black Friday in future years could be officially renamed and simply become ‘Black Monday to Friday’ as it becomes even more prominent.
An intimate Christmas 2021
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According to futurists, Christmas 2021 will be intimate and personal after a difficult 2020. Although online purchases will continue to rise, purchases will be very considered and well thought out whilst sustainable gift wrapping, and local food produce will be important to people.
The term ‘shop small’ sees a huge online surge in the first two weeks of December whilst the first week also sees ‘Christmas Decorations’, ‘Christmas trees near me’ and ‘Christmas nails’ at their highest search volumes.
A dog dressing nation
People spending more time at home has resulted in a surge in puppy and dog sales so products and services relating to our favourite furry friends could skyrocket in 2021.
Cockapoos are the most searched for puppy breed whilst in March 2020 there were clear spikes for ‘Dog Grooming Kits’ which coincided with Crufts – which will take place this year on 15th July.
For both Christmas and Halloween some are the biggest search volumes are around seasonal dog outfits and in 2020, whilst general searches for Halloween costumes fell, ‘dog Halloween costumes’ bucked the trend and increased. Searches for ‘Dog Christmas Jumper’ start to increase from 3rd November whilst Halloween dog costumes become particularly popular around 19th October before they peak on 24th October.
Bio-tracking boom
Joe Wicks is keeping the nation moving again with his PE lessons whilst we switch back to home workouts and monitor our step count as commutes shorten from one room in the house to another.
The pressure to start a new year in great shape, or to regain that pre-Christmas physique will continue to be enforced into new year’s resolutions but tech tracked.
With all the technology that has been gifted over the Christmas period, people will be more invested in their new smart tech to count their steps, monitor their heartbeats and even analyse how their genetics can enhance their mind and body.
Futurist, Tracey Follows, said:
“This year we all have had to adapt in some way and technology has played a huge part in making sure that it has been possible to do so. The pandemic has changed the way we live, and we expect to see these changes continue for years to come. We have experienced businesses switching to completely cashless and moving their business online.
“It’s comforting to know what we can expect to see over the next few years to help everyone adapt and evolve to the new world we live in and keep one step ahead.”
To discover Tracey’s Futurist trends and predictions by month in 2021 and Google search trends data head to takepayments’ moments in marketing 2021 here.
