Importance of Predicting Market Trends

Trends affect the market similar to how weather affect countries. Countries which experience four seasons would be affected by climate changes every few months and the people would have to adapt to the climate changes. Trends affect market in a similar way except it take years to change. When it does change, market change as well and companies would have to adapt to the changes. However, trend does not tell when it is going to change as it could change anytime.

Therefore, it is important for companies to predict when the change would occur. Failure to do so would lead to companies being left behind in the market as the products would be outdated.

Companies can predict market trend by looking at the type of product used in the market for the past five or ten years. Data and information collected would also show how many years it took for trend to change. Fashion is one of the fastest changing trends in the market. Three years ago, the fashion trend in Malaysia was the hip-hop which was influenced by the fashion trend of United States. Baggy clothes and jeans as well as basketball shoes were the items being in demand. A year or two after that, the trend changed and now teenagers are following the Taiwanese fashion trend and they would be wearing skinny jeans and tight shirts. What would happen if apparel companies continue designing and selling hip-hop style clothes? The answer would be that their products would not sell. This trend was strong a few years ago but now people deem it to be outdated.

Other than fashion, electrical gadgets are also a market trend. Take cameras as an example. A few years back, everyone was talking how having a digital camera can be so convenient. They are able to carry it with them anywhere as it is a small device and would not be a burden. However, today digital cameras are a product of yesterday. The heavy and bulky DSLR camera is now the trend in the camera market. Everywhere you go you would see majority of people holding a DSLR camera in the hand. Only a few who are not influence by the trend carry digital cameras.

Some say that consumers have their own opinion and choice. It might be true in some way, but when it comes to trends, people would want to have something that others have. They do not want to feel left behind or outdated. They would want to go along with the trend and have whatever that is in demand in today's market. That is why companies whose products are affected by market trend have to adapt to the changes in market trends and produce products which are in demand in the market. Those who are able to predict the trend would be the leading company in the market, those who are not able to would be left behind.

By Anna Peacocks