Welcome to The
Non-Obvious^TM
Trend Collection

Every year our team curates the most interesting and impactful trends shaping culture and business. On this site, you can browse all of the trends from the past nine years by category, industry or year.

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Passive Loyalty

A new understanding of loyalty is challenging brands to get smarter about how they can generate brand enthusiasts.

As more products become Internet-enabled and digitalized, consumers are selectively rejecting supposedly improved products and services, opting for simpler, cheaper, and sometimes more functional versions instead.

Enterprise Empathy

Empathy is becoming a driver of innovation and revenue, and a point of differentiation for products, services, hiring practices, and branded experiences.

Robot Renaissance

As robots’ utility moves into the home and the workplace, they are being given more human-like interfaces, and even micro-personalities.

Innovation Envy

Entrepreneurs, businesses, and institutions are increasingly fearful about not being able to keep up with competitors’ approaches to innovation.

B2Beyond Marketing

To simplify daily life, people are shedding their excess “stuff,” seeking pared-down experiences and even ways to unclutter their digital identities.

Extreme Uncluttering

Brands and creators are intentionally using spectacles to capture attention and drive engagement.

Muddled Masculinity

The rising empowerment of women and reevaluation of the concept of gender itself are causing widespread confusion and angst about what it means to be a man today.

Retrotrust

Often unsure of whom to trust, today’s consumers are connecting with brands that have a rich legacy in cultural history, or those with which they have a strong sense of nostalgia.