7. 2020 Vision

Audit and advisory firm KPMG provides this whimsical look even further out, at the consumer and the company of the decade after next.

The 2020 Consumer

• The Instavidual – Crossover customers will jump segments. They may seek Armani style for their wardrobe but private-label pricing for their pantry.
• Consumer as CEO – Consumers will demand more integrity, accountability, information and control, and they will get it.
• Authentic Marketing – Information ubiquity means that when it comes to branding, the “truth will out.
• Taggable Universe – RFID, GPS and related technologies will be affixed to just about everything a consumer touches.
• Circles of Trust – What used to be held in close institutional control will be influenced by outside audiences as innovation, marketing, communication, and other practices take advantage of the role social networking and other new media can play in shaping and informing product development.
• Glocalism” – Connected consumers want what’s good for them to be what’s good for the world too, so long as it’s convenient and fits into their active lifestyle.
• Fungible Future – Social currencies, such as influence on the blogosphere, become an additional source of value.
• Pocket Shopping – Smart phones, ubiquitous WiFi, and mobile banking provide consumers with one-to-one product interaction allowing them to scan a product (in store, on the street, over the radio, etc.), trial, and purchase it at the touch of a button.

The 2020 Company

• Traditional customer segmentation strategies will change dramatically. Companies will be engaged in Total Customer Experience management.
• Customer cocreation will become an embedded way of doing business, not just as a means of offering feedback on product development, but on a wider array of strategic business practices.
• Brands that do not “walk the walk” will be penalized, while product marketing that is open, honest, and credible will resonate.
• Tags will reveal everything from the freshness of storebought broccoli, to inventory holdings at each pickup and distribution point along the company’s supply chain. And that’s just the beginning.
• Those systems that inform a company and its operations will be open to outside voices; while that which distinguishes it uniquely will remain proprietary. Innovation practices will be disaggregated, funneling layers of problem-solving and testing to outside groups while cultivating other pockets of excellence in more formal in-house and virtual networks.
• Companies will fuse their sustainability practices into their business ones, coupling locally made and sustainable products with the advantages of global sourcing and procurement.
• Alternative currencies, such as loyalty and reward programs, will become increasingly integrated into social media.
• Recognizing that the medium is the message, companies will derive a whole new communication style to entice, retain, and satisfy pocket shoppers—offering everything from detailed product information to coupons to customer references.