Exploring the Power of Community: New Trend Hunter Report
September 23, 2020 | TrendHunter.com’s latest free monthly report for Toy Association members explores how consumer skepticism of big brands has steered shoppers toward smaller businesses that put the focus on peer-to-peer engagement and community.
"We encourage toy professionals to use these insights to learn how to leverage their own resources to expand their communities, which has proven to be more important than ever as individuals seek support amid the pandemic," said Anne McConnell, senior director of market research & data strategy at The Toy Association.
The “Many to Many” report includes the following topics, in addition to many other examples:
- P2P Support – Consumers are turning to brands for tools that facilitate supportive interactions between people and communities amid the pandemic. Facebook recently expanded its dedicated 'community help' section in response to COVID-19, allowing users to offer their assistance to others and linking to charities and information pages for users to access.
- Social Recommendations – Brands are launching apps that allow close-knit social circles, made up of friends and family, to share their recommendations on movies, restaurants, and more − replacing the anonymous reviewer systems of the past. HBO recently announced the launch of a new, free streaming service, Recommended By Humans, which allows anyone to click through a user review to stream up to 50 movies, episodes, and documentaries.
- E-commerce Support – E-commerce companies are lending support to organizations in their supply chains that have been financially impacted by COVID-19. eBay launched the Up and Running program to aid retailers without an e-commerce presence who were forced to close due to the pandemic, and allocated nearly $100 million to the program.
- Subscription Sharing – Brands in the technology space are creating platforms to help users easily share subscriptions in a safe and controlled environment. Spotify’s Premium Duo is a two-person subscription service that features a playlist created from the listening history of both people and a hub that makes it easier to manage the two accounts in one place.
This report is the latest in a series from Trend Hunter offering in-depth perspectives and trends in various areas related to the toy industry and beyond youth markets to help spark unique ideas. For additional relevant trends, toy companies may click on the report’s consumer insights examples, scroll down, and click the images for further information.
Members are encouraged to send topic suggestions for future trend reports to The Toy Association’s Anne McConnell.
TrendHunter.com has accumulated nearly 3 billion views from more than 100 million visitors. The data research company helps clients “Dive Deeper,” “Work Smarter,” and “Save Effort” in order to increase the overall success of their companies and brands.