In this issue:

  Travel Trends 
  Wine Trends
  Tech Trends 
  Spending Trends  

And much, much more...

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     / __ )/ __ \/   |  /  _/ | / /  |/  /   |  /  _/ / 
    / __  / /_/ / /| |  / //  |/ / /|_/ / /| |  / // / 
   / /_/ / _  _/ ___ |_/ // /|  / /  / / ___ |_/ // /___ 
  /_____/_/ |_/_/  |_/___/_/ |_/_/  /_/_/  |_/___/_____/ 

                      *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 

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  Brainmail email issue 47 - January 2009
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  Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to
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> Industry Trends for 2009
  According to an article in the McKinsey Quarterly,
  education, media, insurance, healthcare and in-home food
  consumption all stand up relatively well during
  recessions. Industry sectors that suffer the most include
  out of home entertainment (i.e. ticket sales), housing,
  tobacco products, clothing, transport, personal care and
  eating out of home.
  Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US)
  
> Trends Mix for 2009
  Here's a snack-sized serving of trends for 2009.
  1. Being brainy (clever leaders are smart when times get tough)
  2. Drinking tap water (saving money meets saving the planet)
  3. Wearing glasses (call it the Tina Fey effect)
  4. Going back to school (to improve your employment prospects)
  5. Having a sense of humour (in tough times people need a laugh)
  6. Being subtle and authentic (cheap chic beats barmy bling)
  7. Being healthy (but it's more than your weight)
  Ref: The Star (Canada)
  
> Travel Trends 
  A survey by he world's biggest online travel community
  (trip advisor) claims that going leaner and going greener
  are among the top travel trends for 2009.  Leaner refers
  to low-cost vacations and staying at home while greener
  refers to the rising popularity of outdoor activities and
  eco-friendly hotels.
  Ref: Tripadvisor.com (US)
  
> Sports Trends 
  What changes will affect sport in 2009? According to one
  report the answer is shrinking schedules (e.g. less events
  caused by the economic crisis), a decline in sponsorship
  (again due to the recession), shorter, TV-friendly
  versions of sport (eg PGA Power Play championships, played
  over nine holes not eighteen) and a rise in player power.
  Ref: The Guardian (UK)
  
> Cooking Trends
  1. Cooking at home
  2. Cooking with a conscience
  3. Steaming and braising
  4. Detox and brain enhancing foods
  5. Persimmon, hibiscus, chimichurri and piri piri
  6. Peru, India, Morocco and Spain
  7. Sherry, viogner and vinegar
  8. Punch at large-scale events
  9. Comfort foods in restaurants
  10. Nuts.
  Ref: Star Telegraph (US)
  
> Wine Trends
  2009 will see a move towards bargain wines (anything on
  special) and there will be a continued shift towards
  environment friendly wines (lighter glass bottles or
  alternative packaging to reduce freight costs and the use
  of recycled water).
  Ref: Financial Times (UK)
  
> Restaurant Trends
  Expect to see less pretension, more simplicity and casual
  restaurants with fixed price menus (In other words more
  bistros and osterias). Also expect to see more all day
  breakfasts (due to the comfort factor), more charcuterie
  platters, more Peruvian food and more noodle bars.
  Ref: NPR (US)
  
> More Food Trends 
  Value is back and the greening of the food chain
  continues. Smoked meats are in and so too are rustic
  cuisine, late night dining, house made charcuterie, wine
  bars (with food), Gastro-pubs, Japanese noddles, Peruvian
  food, artisan coffee roasters, bar menus, rosemary,
  cinnamon, turmeric, tarragon and ginger.
  Ref: Canada.com 
  
> Consumer Trends
  A of predictions for 2009 from JWT, the ad agency,
  includes the following; affordable nutrition, cloud
  computing, credit card diets, distraction as
  entertainment, electric bikes, giving circles, graphic
  novels, incognito luxury, outliers (as a term), solar
  power (at home), the small movement, sustainable
  fisheries, twitter me-toos, widgets, wikileaks and xbox
  streaming.
  Ref: Suite 101.com (US)
  
> Tech Trends 
  Two big tech trends for the coming year include people
  having more screen time at home and the rise of the
  internet assistant. The former refers to people shifting
  entertainment experiences to the home (due to the
  recession but also due to various new products), while the
  latter refers to tools that track user preferences and
  make useful suggestions. AroundMe on the iPhone is an
  early example of the shape of things to come.
  Ref: Business Week (US)
  
> Another Helping of Restaurant Trends
  1. More innovation around delivery services and price
  2. Micro-regional cuisine
  3. Local menus
  4. More small plate and fixed price dining
  5. Upscale kids menus (huh?)
  Ref: Technomic (US)
  
> What's on TV in 2009?
  Here's a prediction. Science fiction will be huge in 2009
  because the genre captures the zeitgeist of a looming
  dystopian future based upon climate change, scarce
  resources and global terrorism. A good example is
  'Fringe', a cross between The X-Files, The Twilight Zone,
  Outer Limits and Altered States.
  Ref: The Australian (Aus)
  
> Counter Trend
  According to the Nikkei Weekly, people in Japan are
  returning to paper and ink technology, especially A5 and
  A6-sized mega diaries and other jumbo thought collectors.
  Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)
  
> Computing Trends 
  1. Smartphones
  2. Twitter as a platform
  3. Mini PCs go mainstream
  4. Faster supercomputers
  5. Faster chips (but overall the market dips)
  6. iWorld mania continues with sale of 200 millionth iPod
  7. WiMax roll-out hits a wall
  8. More flexible models for media consumption
  9. Continued growth of video gaming
  10. Extended use of virtual worlds
  Ref: Futurememes.blogspot.com (US)
  
> More Travel Trends
  2009 will witness more solo travel, more special interest
  holidays, global warming sightseeing, value vacations and
  'one tank trips' (of petrol/gas).
  Ref: Blog/seattlepi.nwsource.com (US)
  
> And More Food Trends 
  What's hot in food? According to Reuters the answer is;
  customised foods (e.g. My Muesli in Germany), alternative
  sweeteners (e.g. Stevia and Agave nectar), recession diets
  (less organics), the food nanny state (e.g. taxes on soft
  drinks and making restaurants display calorie counts for
  each dish) and food safety.
  Ref: Reuters (UK)
  
> Retail Trends
  It's fairly obvious that 2009 will see a substantial level
  of retail casualties, especially in the US and the UK, but
  what else is in store?  Customers have been suffering from
  over choice for a long time, so 2009 will see less me
  too-merchandise. Moreover, customers will have a new
  choice which is not to shop at all, so expect a slimming
  down of concepts, a decline in store numbers and a new
  emphasis on core values and unique brand propositions.
  Ref: About.com (US)
  
> Movie Trends
  2009 marks the 35th anniversary of the film The Exorcist,
  which was released during the 1973 oil crisis. The
  economic backdrop can explain the film's grittiness, so
  perhaps 2009 will witness another gritty flick that takes
  reality and repackages it in a form that people can
  tolerate.
  Ref: New York Times (US)
  
> More Wine Trends
  1. Going green
  2. Alternative packaging
  3. Small bottle sizes
  4. Wines from China, India, Turkey, Croatia and Uruguay
  Ref: quaffwine.blogspot.com 
  
> Small Business Trends
  According to Entrepreneur magazine, some of the trends to
  watch for this year include; Green (especially irrigation,
  clean energy, organics and environmental services), the
  economy (especially discount retailing, debt management
  and business coaching), health (especially personal health
  portals, wellness coaches and retail health clinics),
  Boomer Businesses (especially financial planning, travel &
  anti-aging) and the Web (especially web apps, mobile apps,
  online video, blogging and web 2.0 Consulting).
  Ref: Entrepreneur (US)
  
> 2009 Predictions
  Here's a roundup of what a variety of trendspotters think
  will happen in 2009:
  1. Detoxing
  2. Credit crunch couture/Upcycling
  3. The dowdy look
  4. Feedback 3.0
  Ref: Seattle-Post Intelligencer (US)
  
> Spending Trends
  According to the digital edition of Stores magazine, 2009
  will see "subtle yet substantive shifts in attitudes
  towards spending and saving."  Specifically, expect to see
  momentum behind the idea that 'cheap is cool'. Also expect
  time (or rather the lack of) to continue to be a big
  driver, customers becoming 'information omnivores' and
  customers seeking items that convey a sense of home and
  hearth (i.e. comfort & security). Backstage trends include
  risks associated with outsourcing, business analytics
  (doing something useful with the data), greening
  (especially carbon footprints and labelling), rethinking
  supply chains and metrics to assess sustainability.
  Ref: Stores (US)
  
> Supermarket Trends 
  According to Andy Bond, CEO of Asda Wal-Mart, shoppers
  will hate waste of all kinds this year. Other predictions
  about the attitude and behaviour of the typical UK shopper
  include a shift from eating out to eating in, a swing
  towards saving and the replacement of bling and excess
  with prudence and modesty. So back to traditional family
  values then?
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
> Gloomy Trends
  According to The Trends Research Institute, 2009 will
  witness a Great depression followed by a revolution. In
  between these two events people will be growing their own
  vegetables and listening to cheerful music and 'swinging
  sounds'. Really?
  Ref: The Sunday Star Times (NZ).
  
> Migration Trends
  According to the World Migration Report (WMR) 2008, people
  are becoming increasingly mobile with about 200 million
  people currently working or living outside the country of
  their birth. This is 250% higher than in 1965 according to
  the report. The issue here is that a scarcity of local
  workers (especially for unskilled or semi-skilled work)
  means that countries have to import labour. However,
  anti-migration attitudes are putting governments in an
  increasingly difficult position.
  Ref: World Migration Report 2008 (thanks Jim).
  
> Word Detective: RSS Dependency
  The ironic consequence of subscribing to RSS feeds with
  the result that your life becomes busier. Links to
  Blogaholism, Twitteritis and Status Update Disorder.
  Ref: The Atlantic (US)
  
> And Finally...
  Here's a list of nine predictions/marketing trends
  courtesy of Leo Burnett: The New Realism, Hyper Reality,
  The Trust Economy, Eco Austerity (saving money as much as
  saving the planet), Digital.tv (on-demand and IPTV),
  Thread Marketing (diverse but ultimately threaded
  content), Generation Game (s), The End of Fact (both fact
  checking and objectivity) and Brands as Vehicles (the end
  of static brands).
  Ref: Leo Burnett (UK)
  

------------------------------------------------------------ 
  
: FAST FACTS
  
  At least 25% of Israel's population will be ultra-Orthodox
  by the year 2025.
  Ref: Intelligent Life (UK).
  
  In 1989, the real estate value of Tokyo was two times that
  of the United States.
  Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK)
  
  More people visit supermarkets in the UK each week than
  voted Labour or Conservative in the last UK general
  Election.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  In 1929, 40% of bank loans were used to buy shares.
  Ref: Wall Street Journal (US)
  
  In 2005, the city of Baltimore had a higher murder rate
  per capita than Dafur.
  Ref: Infoplease.com 
  
  China expects to build more new buildings over the next
  twenty years than currently exist in the whole of Europe.
  Ref: Prospect (UK) 
  
  In India, 35,000 people die from Rabies every year.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  China has (had!) total foreign exchange reserves of US $1,
  244 billion.
  Ref: Business Week (US)
  
  Total tourism numbers are expected to increase from 842
  million in 2006 to 1.6 billion by 2020.
  Ref: The Futurist (US)
  
  Per capita, drinking across most of Europe has declined
  over the past 40 years, except in the UK where it has
  increased. The cost of the excessive consumption of
  alcohol is estimated to be £20 billion per year including
  healthcare, policing and lost work.
  Ref: Sunday Times (UK)
  
  Angola is the largest supplier of oil to China.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  UK manufacturing exports are worth six times that of
  British financial services exports.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
  Money held within Asian sovereign wealth funds is
  predicted to grow from US$4.6 trillion in 2007 to between
  $7.7 and $12.2 trillion by 2013.
  Ref: McKinsey Global Institute (US)
  
  Private label brands account for 5-10% of packaged goods
  sales in Japan. In the US the figure is 15%, in the UK
  it's 30% and in Switzerland it's 40%.
  Ref: Japan Intelligence (Japan).
  
  There are 6,000 convenient care clinics (health clinics
  within retail locations) in the US. Ten years ago this
  sector did not exist.
  Ref: Entrepreneur (US). 
  
  Online retail sales are expected to hit US$204 billion in
  2008. The three largest online sectors are apparel ($26.6
  billion), computers ($23.9 billion) and cars ($19.3
  billion).
  Ref: Entrepreneur (US)
  
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: BOOK OF THE MONTH
  
  "A Field Guide to the British"
  
  by Sarah Lyall. 
  
------------------------------------------------------------ 
  
: WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH
  
  A blog set 40 years into the future... 
  
  http://www.p40y.com
  
------------------------------------------------------------ 
  
: RISK OF THE MONTH
  
  Bisphenol-A: a chemical found in plastic packaging that
  can migrate into the bloodstream, leading to
  cardio-vascular disease, diabetes and liver issues.
  Ref: Time (US)

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  substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too).

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: SMALL PRINT

  The stories, statistics and 'facts' appearing in brainmail
  are sourced from a variety of reliable publications
  worldwide. However, brainmail cannot guarantee the
  truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should
  be applied before quoting or using any of this material in
  a commercial context.