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Trendwatching.com, leading trend firm and publisher of Trend Briefings, declares that e-commerce is hotter than ever. Whether in mature markets, where consumer spending is shifting online, or in growth markets where rapid urbanization and increasing (mobile) internet penetration are unlocking new shopping habits, shoppers are “e-commercing” it up.

The May 2012 Trend Briefing notes:

• US e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).
• European e-commerce sales will grow by 78% by 2016, to USD 230 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).
• Brazilian e-commerce sales will grow 21.9% in 2012 to USD 18.7 billion (Source: eMarketer, January 2012).
• Chinese e-commerce sales were CNY 780 billion (USD 124 billion) in 2011, an increase of 66% from 2010. E-commerce is expected to rise from 3% of consumption to 7% by 2015 (Source: IDC, March 2012).
• India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to USD 70 billion by 2020, from just USD 600 million in 2011 (Source: Technopak Advisors, February 2012).
• Indonesian e-commerce sales are forecast to grow from USD 120 million in 2010 to USD 650 million by 2015 (Source: Frost & Sullivan, February 2012).

Now, consumers’ current “online” experiences are of course fundamentally different to those during the early dotcom boom: e-commerce is no longer just about choice, price, convenience, reviews and ratings, but also about everything that consumers look for in any purchase: status, the right product and a compelling experience.

Innovations are transforming e-commerce, and ultimately, reshaping shopping behavior. Both on and offline. Four themes jump out:

1 | e is for everywhere
For consumers who are constantly connected, buying online is simply another option, rather than a wholly separate and distinct medium.

2 | (m)etail
Going “online” now means immersing oneself in (and enthusiastically adding to) a rich, personalized, social web.

3 | e(asy)-commerce
All the barriers initially holding e-commerce back (e.g. correct fit, secure payments, convenient deliveries) have been significantly reduced, if not totally removed.

4 | oh, what a wonderful web
Consumer expectations at large are now set online. Endless choice, instant gratification, total transparency, seamless collaboration, the list goes on…

Trendwatching.com, leading trend firm and publisher of Trend Briefings, recently surveyed the innovative ways in which brands are using promotions and offers and the ways in which consumer attitudes to discounts and deals are keeping pace. Declaring the avalanche of deals currently available to consumers not just a symptom of the financial crisis, they coin the term “Dealer-Chic” and describe it this way:

“Consumers have always loved getting good deals or exclusive rewards, but rather than having to hide one’s haggling, securing the best deal is now accepted, if not admired by one’s fellow consumers. Deal hunting will continue to be an integral part of consumers’ lives, as it’s now about more than just saving money: it’s the thrill, the pursuit, the control, and the perceived smartness, and thus a source of status too.”

For status-conscious consumers (and that’s all of them), making the most of discounts and deals is no longer considered cumbersome or even embarrassing, but simply smart. And in the quick-shifting consumer arena savvy consumers have more choice, higher expectations, and more control, while mature consumers have an ever-less reverential relationship to brands.

Here are three reasons why Dealer-Chic is set to get bigger and bigger in the coming years:

1 | More For Less
People want to experience more, even when they have less to spend. While many people in developed economies may have less money to spend right now, consumers everywhere will forever look to experience more.

• 62% of US consumers rarely pay full price for clothing and 58% of UK consumers “don’t like paying full price for anything” (Source: Mintel, September 2011).
• 81% of US consumers think it’s fun to see how much money they can save by using coupons or their shopper loyalty card (Source: Deloitte 2010 American Pantry Survey, July 2010).
• More than 40% of coupon “enthusiasts” had a household income greater than $70,000 USD (Source: Neilsen, April 2010).

2 | The Medium Is The Motivation
Deals are now a source of tech and online innovation, and thus smart, cool, and fun to switched-on consumers. Consumers are now being alerted to, using, reusing, and sharing offers and deals via new (and therefore infinitely more exciting and attractive) technologies.

• Online coupons account for only 1% of all coupons distributed, but 10% of those that are redeemed (Source: Catalina, April 2011).
• 79% of smartphone owners use their phones for shopping-related activities, and of those nearly half (48%) use their phones to look for or use discounts and coupons (Source: Google & IPSOS, April 2011).
• 67% of mobile users agree that location-based coupons on a mobile device are “convenient and useful,” while 42% say they have already used a mobile coupon of some kind (Source: Prosper Mobile Insights, October 2011).

3 | Best Of The Best
Why consumers can be increasingly confident they are getting the best price and the best product. With instant mobile or online access to not only deals but reviews as well, consumers can now be confident they’re getting the best price for the best product or service. One example:

• Launched in November 2010, SNIQUEaway is an invite-only travel deals website operated by U.S.-based Smarter Travel Media (owner of TripAdvisor). The limited-time-only deals all feature four star or more properties that were given the highest ratings in TripAdvisor reviews, ensuring that each deal is pre-vetted.

According to TrendWatch, every B2C brand will have to deal with Dealer-Chic’s impact, and there are plenty of opportunities to be had. For brands, Dealer-Chic is not about giving everything away or wildly slashing prices. The “perform or perish” message still holds true. Instead, brands should be thinking about the ways in which Dealer-Chic enables them to reach out to new audiences, engage with them in novel ways, and help them do the things they want to do at a lower cost.

In this wide-open deal ecosystem, where will your brands find opportunity? From new sectors, to ancillary services, to deal review sites, to new technologies — if you get it right, consumers (and businesses) will want to hear from you.

Coca-Cola’s popular holiday mascots, the polar bears, will soon be selling soda to consumers around the world. For nearly a century, those big white salesbears have been charming us with six packs of celebration, and this year they’ve got a real treat for U.S. consumers. Wrapped up in a complex square of black-and-white code is a free iPad and trip for two to the Arctic. Oh, and a nice little donation to the World Wildlife Fund.

Incredibly, Coca-Cola is launching its first-ever QR code campaign this holiday season (and running through March 2012). Millions of coded cups, distributed by 7-Eleven exclusively, will enable users to download the iPhone and iPad app, Snowball Effect by Coca-Cola. This Facebook-connected game enables users to rack up points and win one of 80 iPads and the Arctic adventure. The app links users to Coca-Cola Arctic Home, a site that takes donations to WWF’s work in conserving the bears’ arctic habitat. The beverage behemoth has already donated $2 million and will match user donations up to $1 million.

Scanbuy, the producer of the code-enabled drinkware, ran a QR code program for Taco Bell in August 2011 — thought to be one of the first QR code campaigns in the fast food category. That particular program connected consumers to Taco Bell–sponsored MTV content. McDonald’s has also used QR codes in non-U.S. markets. Results of a comScore survey released this summer noted that 14 million people in the U.S. scanned QR codes in June alone. This could be great news for polar bears around the world.

Hard to believe that a year’s gone by, but we’re back looking and laughing at 2011′s worst ads as polled and posted by Consumerist.com. That’s right, the second annual Worst Ad in America Awards have been announced and there are some surprises in the pack of winners. The ads populating (some may say plaguing) the television screens of this country have been rated and it ain’t pretty.

“The first year, I researched and comment-called every involved agency I could find. None would provide an official quote, though I did get yelled at for 90 minutes by a publicist from a top 5 agency who accused me of unfairly targeting their clients,” says Chris Morran, Consumerist senior editor. No surprise. If you’d created any one of these spots, would you return the call?

What do you think? Would you stand up and claim these spots as yours? Would you return the call?

ABSOLUTE WORST AD IN AMERICA
Luvs — Poop There It Is

 
 
MOST GRATING PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN
AT&T — Flash Mob Dancer

 
 
GROUP THAT OUGHT TO GO ITS SEPARATE WAYS
Esurance — Esurance Staff

 
 
TREND THAT NEEDS TO STOP BEING A TREND
Klondike — Men Enduring Wives/Girlfriends

 
 
MOST IRRITATING ANIMATED ACTOR
CarFax — CarFox

 
 
CELEBRITY WHO COULD PROBABLY USE A NEW MANAGER
Rent-A-Center — Hulk Hogan & Troy Aikman

 
 
CREEPIEST COMMERCIAL
Rejoyn Medical Systems — The Pos-T-Vac Penis Vacuum

 
Final results can be found on The Consumerist website.

We’ve been crowdsourcing everything from the clothes we wear to the logos sewn onto those clothes, so it’s about time we have the ability to put our salty snacks through the same rigorous process of popularity and pop-science. The fine folks making Terra Chips — at least the fine European folks — are doing just that.

Head over to Kreator and start putting together your “dream chip.” Ingredients, from soy sauce to smoke flavor, bananas to beer, appear on-screen in row upon row of images. Hover over your choice and the name quickly appears; click and you’re asked just how much you’d like to add (you choose from three different “amount” settings). Repeat this process to include up to five “flavors” and you’ve just created your own custom chip. But you’re not done yet.

After you hit the “create” button, you’re now on the serious side of the snack-crafting business. This is where they separate the weekend warriors from the chip masters. This is where you tap out your personal info, agree to the terms and conditions, and step into the ring. You’re chip crowdsourcing now as your creation heads into a gallery of contenders.

Of course, savvy snack-makers will also choose to share their new chip with Facebook friends, ensuring the votes they’ll need to move their flavor-packed snack to the top of the roster.

It’s still to be seen if the same can said of Terra Chips. Will this crowdsourcing-plus-social application get consumers excited about beet and carrot chips? Let the voting begin.

Just when you think you’ve got your social media strategy down — constituents profiled, contingencies considered, centralized messaging plotted — REI pulls up the stakes and takes their show on the road.

Well, they’re taking their show out to the 53 markets they have a presence in nationally. And with an approach that takes into account the regional needs of its customers rather than the restrictive needs of corporate, it would appear that we all may want to slip a look out from under HQ’s tent.

REI will now be tweeting via market-based handles, talking up climbing gear in home-base Washington state and cycling wear in NYC, one of its newest locales. Retooling brick-and-mortar stores to better serve consumers partaking of local and regional recreation aligns perfectly with a social and digital direction designed to better dialogue with friends and followers.

“We are not moving away completely from a national presence. The local teams will be in addition to our national presence. Also, in terms of staffing, we have a handful of employees at each location participating in social media. They may play different roles within retail (customer service, outreach, product specialist, etc.).”

Jordan Williams, manager of digital engagement for REI, told AdAge recently that certain staff members are being identified as experts at handling customer complaints, others at communicating new product arrivals and features, and others as people who can provide local travel advice. Claiming no real difference from the offline world, he entrusts more than 9,000 employees every day with these responsibilities as they communicate with customers in person. Why wouldn’t he and the company trust them to do the same online?

Is your company or employer engaging in localized social media? What would it take to make the switch and how likely is it that Twitter would be the channel of choice?

Much has been written in the last few years about gaming and the users that play, and how much we might learn about experience, usability, and strategy from perhaps the least obvious source. Game on!

In a recent Mashable article titled, “7 Winning Examples of Game Mechanics in Action,” Gabe Zicherman suggests that “seven gamified innovations should inspire you to strategize via game analysis.” Here, some quick cheats point you to the starting gate. Read the entire post and see if there’s something to putting some play into your work.

1. Make a Market: Foursquare
Foursquare’s founders, exposed to gaming while working at Area/Code (Zynga’s recently acquired New York City-based game design shop), believed mobile social networking would work as a “single player” experience. Competing for badges and mayorships — whether or not anyone is there — proves that location-based networking and simple game mechanics can affect the behavior of users.

2. Get Fit: NextJump
NextJump built a custom application that enabled employees to check in to each on-site workout and rewarded top performers prizes. After double-digit adoption by staff, NextJump’s CEO retooled the fitness “game” to become a team sport. Leveraging the game themes of tribalism and competition, 70% of employees now exercise regularly, and have improved workplace and staff health and attitude.

3. Slow Down and Smell the Money: Kevin Richardson
Kevin Richardson, game designer at MTV, re-imagined traffic cameras and tickets using game thinking. The Speed Camera Lottery idea rewards drivers who obey the posted limit with a split of the fines colllected from speeders. Richardson used gamification concepts to turn a negative reinforcement system into a positive, incremental experience.

4. Generate Ad Revenues: Psych and NBC/Universal
Club Psych, the online branded and gamified platform for the popular show Psych, has incorporated game-like incentives to raise page views and return visits. Registered user counts are at nearly 3 million since the launch of the gamified version and NBC/Universal has incorporated gamification to online platforms for Top Chef and the The Real Housewives.

5. Make Research and Evangelism Count: Crowdtap
Crowdtap offers virtual and gamified rewards to complete research tasks and to share brand advocacy with others — something mere market research simply cannot do. CEO Brandon Evans reports that competition-oriented users are four times more likely to create quality comments and 12 times more likely to refer others to the platform. Instead of competing against the system, they challenge themselves and peers to excel — an extraordinary achievement by any measure.

6. Save the Planet: RecycleBank
Across the U.S., incentives experts at Recyclebank are using gamification to improve home environmental compliance. They’ve used game mechanics such as points, challenges, and rewards to drive double-digit increases in energy conservation, sustainability and recycling.

7. Make Teaching Fun: Ananth Pai
Executive-turned-school-teacher Ananth Pai grouped students by learning style and retooled the curriculum to make use of off-the-shelf games (both edutainment and entertainment) to teach reading, math, and other subjects. Points are up on leaderboards. Reading and math levels improved and students call learning “fun and social.”

Rob Gatto, CEO of Pointroll (provider of digital marketing services for interactive advertising), recently posted an article on Ad Age’s Digital Next titled “It’s Not the Size, It’s How You Use It.” Provocative title? Yes, but perhaps not in the way that first comes to mind. If you’ve been tasked with creating effective online display ads you know that it’s not easy to break through the on-page chaos of content, advertising, lists of “relevant” links and enough visual noise to make even the most driven user to click off and away. How you use the space you’ve been “given” is the ultimate challenge.

Or is it?

Gatto goes on to support his title with this bold statement: “Putting the Creativity Back Into Online Display Advertising.” He asks us to consider that it’s not the size at all, but the stuff inside the IAB approved pixel width and height. Maybe you’ve been schooled to believe — and to create toward — the concept that online display and disruption don’t play well together. Studies have shown that synergy between on-page content and display ad content, and by that I’m referring to look-and-feel or “creative,” increases the click-through of these ads. So what are we to do when challenged with injecting our work with creativity? Well, the author’s got an answer for that too.

He suggests that new ad formats might be well and good in engaging users and improving the user experience but size is not the solution. He insists on “a resurgence of creative.” And in his insistence he indicates what that might look like, using four broad categories where creativity can, and must, have a place in redefining what is possible with online display advertising. See if you don’t agree.

Redefine Creative for Digital Advertising
As the digital landscape evolves from a small number of circumscribed touchpoints to a more fluid experience across devices, locations, and activities, campaigns must shift their focus from platforms and formats to people: finding the right audience wherever it may be, and delivering creative that audiences will respond to.

Engage Consumers with Dynamic, Interactive Creative
Invite consumers into an ongoing brand relationship that both fits their current context and experience, and actually adds value to one or both.

Measure, Optimize, Repeat
As campaigns span platforms, so must our approach to marrying creativity with analytics. Constant technological and creative innovation is key.

Make an Impression
With so many ways to understand and target audiences, so many ways to reach them, and so many ways to channel our creative energy from mobile and tablet to social to out-of-home, we have an unprecedented opportunity to put our creativity to use in service of the brands we represent.

If you haven’t heard about the stolen laptop and the deadbeat dude that boosted it, you’ve been asleep at the wheel, my friend. There’s a Tumblr page with blow-by-blow descriptions of the theft, the lack of help from the local cops and — wait for it — images of the thief taken with the on-board camera by an installed app built to identify just such an evil-doer.

Such Astroturf marketing is becoming more common at the same time it’s becoming less distinguishable. And to those in the biz who make it their work to blur those lines, we salute you. Who hasn’t had the client request for a “sure thing viral campaign”? Who hasn’t hoped that a bit of creative “magic” will take off and rack up hits in 6-digits and then some? To all of us, here are some stealthy contenders aggregated by Todd Wasserman and Mark Book. Can you tell which is which?

Evan Longoria’s Crazy Bare Hand Catch (Gillette)
 
 
How To Hack Video Screens On Times Square (Limitless)
 
 
Walk On Water (Hi-Tec)
 
 
Kevin Durant Is Moving In Right Now (Nike)
 
 
Bike Hero (Guitar Hero)
 
 
Are You My Man In The Jacket? (Witchery)
 
 
Rear View Girls (Levi’s)
 

Butterfly Attack (Qualcomm)
 
 
Danish One-Night Stand (VisitDenmark)