1. TreaT Or Trick?

6. SOcialShOpping 2.0

2. i WanT iT nOW!

7. The pOST- nuclear Family

3. BraziliFicaTiOn

8. STay SmarT

4. WhO TO TruST?

9. The inTerneTOF ThingS

5. high meeTS lOW

10. greaT meShpecTaTiOn!

real issue

s

that will af

fect sho

ppers

in 2014

What a year it promises to be. The digital revolution continues apace and is opening a world of options

for shoppers, brands and retailers. Coupled with the green shoots of economic recovery and a couple

of massive sporting events, we can expect an increasingly positive year in the shopper world. But what

exactly does that look like?

Before we answer that question though, how did we do in 2013?

10. BehaViOralecOnOmicS

1. Value reSizing3. like BranDS…

Only BeTTer5. peer grOup

ShOpperS

6. FrOm a-liSTTO c-liST

4. neW amazOnia

8. BOg’WiF 9. There canOnly Be One

7. click & cOllecT

2. iT’S all aBOuT me

On The mark

SlOW Burn

nOn-STarTerS

How did we do

on 2013 tren

ds?

1. Treat Or Tri

ck?

With an improving economy, there will be a resurfacing for the desire of non-essential products

and services ranging from long overdue holidays and leisure pursuits, to gadgets and home style

improvements. Online retailers and brands in particular will see a sharp hike in get-it-for-me browsing

behaviors, although more recently self-enforced prudence will delay many shoppers hitting the 'buy

now' button until later in the year as the reality of spending caution lingers over decisions to exploit

easier finance.

Generation

2. I Want It Now

Influenced by online retailers, particularly Amazon’s onslaught towards the frequency purchase space

through its focus on distribution and delivery networks, same day distribution will become big in 2014.

Couple this with the Grocers’ aim to move shoppers from home delivery to click and collect and 2014

will see shoppers expecting purchases delivered to their homes, workplaces or convenient locations the

same day – and at a time that suits them. Retailers, including fashion, household goods and speciality

products, will meet that demand by offering guaranteed delivery if ordered before 10:00 a.m. Driven

by direct delivery, quality digital retailing will become commonplace for independent local shops. A

premium for this service will exist initially, reducing with increased competition throughout 2014.

3. Brazilificati

on

The World Cup – followed by the 2016 Summer Olympics – is heading to its spiritual home of Brazil,

giving the South American colossus two years in the global spotlight, regardless of its hard social and

economic realities. Brazil the brand always conjures up heart-thumping good times in the minds of

those who have only ever seen its carnival persona portrayed through the eyes of the media (and don't

forget 2014's release of Rio 2). There's a real opportunity for brands to excite shoppers and ride the good-

time band wagon, but watch out for lazy brands who simply apply the national flag and call it day. Savvy

brands, however, will profit from engaging with the modern, street-smart and ambitious nation that

makes Brazil cool right now.

4. Who to Trust

We've been through enough woes lately with the economy leading us to distrust the banking system,

hackers leading us to distrust our passwords, and credit card companies causing us to distrust what's in

our wallets. This 'trust erosion' has lead more shoppers to overlook marketing messages in favor of peer

reviews that are added to shelf danglers, or to shy away from a brand's suggestion about what's for dinner

and instead look to bloggers who are 'just like me' for tonight's menu. Being there for shoppers in their

community, tonight - right here, right now - means you're listening to their unique needs and can form a

trustworthy bond with shoppers in their own backyard.

5. High Meets Low

The recession forced and taught shoppers to create champagne ideas on beer money across a wide

variety of aspects of their lives including fashion, travel, food and home maintenance. This once covert

buying behavior is now deemed not only acceptable but must-do to get the right balance between

high-end centerpieces and great value necessities. This trend really gets us to the high and low of it

all. We've seen the luxury brands launch at our favorite mass retailers and can buy a line of our favorite

celebrity chef's tools at our local department store, but it's when the high and the low mixes to form new

experiences that we really get excited.

6. Social

Shopping 2

.0

The combination of now-established social shopping behaviors across group purchase and reward sites,

together with new-to-market innovator entrepreneurs and big-hitter players such as banks and mobile

network operators entering the fray, 2014 will see a refined progression and breadth of offering in the

social shopping space. The impact of this will be heightened quality in terms of product relevance and

availability; new and exclusive premium-style partnerships between new social shopping gateways and

leading everyday brands; and better systems-led user experiences and real personalization supported

from new players that have a long-standing wealth of shopper CRM experience across other formats.

7. The PostNuclear

Family

The 20th Century nuclear family’s days are increasingly numbered. Both the Starting Outers and the

Late Agers have been returning to the singular family unit to consolidate the shared costs of living.

Long-term behaviors will permeate family lives for several years to come before the kids move up a rung

on the property ladder or elderly relatives embrace the great beyond. Retailers and brands will see the

choices within regular family shops broaden as Mom accommodates everyone's needs and with it the

opportunity for new deal formats to provide incremental sales opportunities.

8. Stay Smart

The crave-ability of truly age-defining gadgets such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Google’s

mega-hyped Glass will continue to grab the headlines as technology brands drive how we connect our

lives. The real undercurrent of all of this will see mass proliferation of smart mobiles becoming the official

‘first screen’ for shoppers in 2014 as they increasingly move to purchase and convert on their mobile

devices. The line between bricks and clicks will blur further and impulse decisions for a far wider range

of goods (including FMCG) will be made based on increasingly instant deals available on mobile as they

have for decades at shelf. The smartest brands and retailers will focus on multi-platform investment that

provide personalized real-time offers to motivate and influence decisions at the final point-of-purchase.

9. The Interne

t

of Things

Let's be honest. Technology makes us all a little lazier. As the Internet of Things continues to grow,

and move outside the realm of novelty (how much do we really believe that a fridge that sends us

text messages about our egg supply is truly useful), we'll start to see true benefit to an increasingly

connected world. If Google's obscene $3.2 billion purchase of Nest is any indication, technology's ability

to move previously laborious tasks to the background, so that we can get on with our lives, is only going

to increase – and exponentially at that. Cars are now basically networks with wheels, that will basically

drive themselves soon enough (especially if the University of Michigan has its way). How much of our

labor can be saved? Pretty much all of it. So here's to doing less so that we can do, ironically, more.

Thanks, Internet.

10.

From TV to phablet to mobilet to bricks ‘n’ mortar stores and back again, we are now connected to multiple

devices at any one time …all the time. We are all part of a rapidly evolving digital mesh where we are

'always on' and this interconnection is intrinsic throughout the shopper journey. To date however, the

actual shopper’s user experience has been less consistent between the different phases of the shopping

mission. Shoppers are demanding a seamless digital transition from search-to-brand-to-retailer-to-shelf

whereby they are not only having the same brand-led user experience along the various touch points, but

also expecting an improvement in the brand’s familiarity of them, how they are welcomed back and their

ability to carry on where they left the last point in their shopper journey.

Great

MESHpectation!

1. TreaT Or Trick?

6. SOcialShOpping 2.0

2. i WanT iT nOW!

7. The pOST- nuclear Family

3. BraziliFicaTiOn

8. STay SmarT

4. WhO TO TruST?

9. The inTerneT OF ThingS

5. STrange uniOnS

10. greaT meShpecTaTiOn!

real issue

s

that will af

fect sho

ppers

in 2014

thank you