[Moneyverse] The Trend of the Trend Business

The wind of change starts at online bookstores. As we move into autumn, books that look ahead to the following year are already appearing at online bookstores. Titles include "Trend Korea 2027" and "2027 Trend Note." Although not yet published, they are available for pre-order online. Both books are scheduled to be released at the end of this month.

"Trend Korea 2009" was published on December 15, 2008. With "Trend Korea 2027" set to be released on the 30th, the sharing of new-year consumption trend forecasts is now occurring two and a half months earlier than it did 18 years ago. This early release can be understood as a gesture for company planners and marketers—whose work is fundamentally based on consumption trend changes—to allow more time to prepare for the new year.

There are also books that have already been published and placed on offline bookstore shelves, such as "Current Consumption Trends 2027." "2027 Korea Trend" is soon to be released. The timing is chosen to attract readers’ attention ahead of other books. If the trend of earlier releases continues, perhaps the majority of consumption trend forecast books for the new year may soon be published in early September.

The future exists as an extension of the past and present. If a phenomenon that drew attention in the past begins to appear more frequently now, we can expect its weight to increase going forward. In this regard, the title "Current Consumption Trends 2027" is apt—it represents the 2027 edition of trends underway now. Of the eight keywords presented in this book, the "experience economy" is one such item. For example, consumers who tend to spend more on experiences than goods might make do with convenience store lunchboxes in their daily routine, but splurge on expensive performances.

Some changes represent a break from the past. More people are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers, and cases are increasing where even purchases are delegated to AI. Now, being mentioned by an AI has become more important than being picked up by a search engine. Furthermore, figuring out how to be selected by an AI agent has become a major focus in marketing. As one AI noted, "If you want to be chosen by an AI agent, it may be much more important to provide data like room rates, breakfast prices, and cancellation policies in a way that a machine can accurately read and compare, rather than just using the promotional phrase 'the best family hotel.'"

Riding the flow can help you achieve above-average results, but truly outstanding outcomes come from creating new trends. The publisher of "Trend Korea 2027" highlighted this point in the book introduction: "Rather than blindly following the crowd like a flock of sheep, the slogan for 2027 is 'ALPHA SHEEP,' encouraging people to break away from the herd and be the first to act on their own ideas." The juxtaposition of participating in trends and breaking away from them is interesting.

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." This quote, often attributed to Steve Jobs, who led sweeping changes with the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, actually originates from American computer scientist Alan Kay, renowned for his pioneering concepts in personal computer innovation.

Every autumn, a flood of books about future trends appears. They serve as useful references for following the mainstream. However, significant innovation often comes not from the gradual extension of current trends, but from quantum leaps that no one would have imagined or dared to attempt.

Baek Woojin, Economic Columnist

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.