Trends are activities that people, companies, or other entities do more frequently over some time. Clients often need this information to explore new product ideas, improve their current offerings, or capitalize on trending solutions and offerings in their industry.

Minimum Requirements

• Provide a minimum of 2-3 trends per 3-hour request.
• Niche: Not easily understandable or recognizable by a layperson - a new / emerging, highly specialized topic/company/product/industry.
  • Examples: Agricultural law, roofing tile, computer-assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS), etc.
• Well-known/Popular: A viral, trending, recognizable, newsworthy topic/company/product/ industry with plenty of precompiled information.
  • Examples: Beauty, fashion, wearables, co-working spaces, sports, home design, self-driving cars, AI, furniture, etc.
• For each trend, provide:
  • A description of the trend
  • Explain why it is a trend (what qualifies it as a trend?)
  • Provide 1-2 examples of companies, thought leaders, or industry experts that have discussed the trend.
  • At least 3 bullet points for each header supported by analysis, statistics, or examples.
  • Provide a minimum of one image per 3-hour request. Add an image for each concept discussed, if possible.

Types of Trends

There are three major types of trends: market/industry, social media, and consumer.

• A market trend is a significant movement within a market or a sector that significantly affects the market. These trends may capture the key market innovations and developments by companies or other entities (e.g., regulatory authorities).
• A social media trend is a topic that many users are discussing or a type of post (e.g., a meme or 5-second video) gaining in popularity across one or more social media channels. This can be demonstrated through hashtags, shares, or other engagement figures or metrics.
• Consumer trends shape the industry by capturing increased consumer demand or changing consumer preferences. These trends are influenced by multiple factors, such as product pricing, product reach/distribution/availability, and the opinion of influencers.

Identifying Trends

• To identify a trend, it's important to demonstrate two things:

  • The event, action, issue, or activity is being repeated, happening more often, or is being talked about by more people recently.
  • Multiple ****companies, consumers, or social media users are participating in this trend.

  <aside> 🧠 Note: Market growth is the evidence or result of a trend but is not a trend on its own. Make sure to identify the actual trend. For example, the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in orthopedics is a trend, but the growth of the computer-assisted orthopedic surgery market at a CAGR of 5.5% is not.

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• Always start with a direct search using keywords and search strings. If you cannot find information through a general search, use more specific search strings, Boolean X-ray searches, and filters to pull relevant results.

  <aside> 🧠 Note: Search strings and advanced search methods, e.g., X-ray and Boolean search, are tools, not strategies. Do not mention these in your research reports. Instead, note the publishers of the resources, reports, and databases consulted (e.g., International Data Group (IDG)).

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• Use market research and business databases such as IBISWorld and ReportLinker to find market research reports on your topic. MIT Libraries and UBC Library provide a comprehensive list of industry-specific market research databases.

• Most market research reports identify key trends in the report preview, even if the full report is paywalled. Use these reports as a starting point and corroborate and enhance your findings using reputed news and media articles.

• Review publications such as annual reports, whitepapers, surveys, newsletters, and magazines from industry trade associations.

• Look for industry reports from key players and consulting firms such as EY, Deloitte, PwC, and Accenture. These reports often provide industry trends.