Trends Watching

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New Years’ is a time of resolutions and fresh beginnings. As business people, it also makes us look ahead to try to divine the top trends that are most likely to affect our business over the years to come.

Library resources are useful for tracking deep, broad-based trends that are happening right now or poised to unfold in the near future. Trusted sources help differentiate trends from fads, identifying what will endure and what will fade away. Below is a list of resources that can help identify what trends will impact business in 2019 while signposting the direction in which society and business may be heading.

1. Trends Reports in Databases Available at IESE Library

  • Consumer Trends

MarketLine
See Customer experience trends to watch in 2019

Passport
Keyword searching will bring up information on industries, companies and markets around the world. Search for “TRENDS” to retrieve articles on global trends, especially for consumer items.

Statista
Data aggregation platform with access to>1.5 million statistics, forecasts, studies, dossiers and infographics on 80.000 topics from more than 18,000 sources.

  • Technology Trends

Forrester
Provides in-depth market research reports which focus on emerging technologies and their impact on business.
See “Tech Trends and Predictions 2019” (Topics include cyber-security, new tech, automation, retail, etc.).
Note: First-time users must register (Ask staff for reg ID). Then use your personal account for future access.

Gartner
Provides reports on the Information Technology industry and IT products, as well as forecasting trends in various Information Technology areas.
See:
Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019
Top Strategic IoT Trends and Technologies Through 2023
Predicts 2019: Leadership Means Expanding Options, Not Limiting Them — A Gartner Trend Insight Report

  • Marketing Trends

eMarketer
Analysis, market data, and statistics on the Internet, e-commerce, online marketing, social media, and emerging digital/mobile technologies around the world.
See “Ten Key Digital Trends for 2019” or “Seven Marketing Tech Trends for 2019”.

WARC
Provides consumer, tech and media trends.
“WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit 2019” report outlines the key challenges facing brands in the year ahead, and guidance on how to meet them.

  • Financial Trends

ThomsonOne Research
Go to Thomson One and select “Screening & Analysis” and then select “Research”. Type in the report title of the topic you are interested in.
Note: this resource only works on Internet Explorer.

  • Emerging Markets Trends

EMIS
ISI Emerging Markets – Foresight 2019 provides a forward-looking perspective on the key issues and developments that are likely to shape the prospects of emerging markets in the year ahead.

2. Articles on Trends

Find articles on your topic using keywords such as trends, megatrends, forecast, predictions, outlook, industry, etc. Limit your search results using the database filters (date range; source type).

EBSCO Business Source Ultimate
Provides access to articles from business journals, magazines and newspapers including Harvard Business Review, McKinsey Quarterly and many others.

Factiva
Global up-to-the-minute database containing 10,000 in-depth news sources. On the Search Builder page under the Search tab, expand the Subject channel in the indexing area, click on Top Stories/Trends/Analysis and select Suggested Reading – Industry News. Click an indexing term to select it for your search.

Forbes. 19 Trends That Will Shape The World In 2019

Fortune. Predictions for 2019: Fortune’s Crystal Ball for the Year Ahead

3. Free Reports and Websites

These free websites and reports can be a good starting point for identifying current business trends.

  • Macro Trends

ESPAS. What Think Tanks are Thinking: Global and regional trends
The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) process seeks to identify medium- and long-term global trends and the challenges and choices they pose for EU policy-makers.

European Parliament. ORBIS
The world’s largest library of prospective studies. Discover the long-term trends that will shape society.

Bain & Company. Macro Trends
Various macroeconomic trends.

Euromonitor. Megatrend Analysis: Putting the Consumer at the Heart of Business
Free white paper

World Economic Forum. Shaping the future of…
System Initiatives: the global, regional and industry challenges facing the world are the result of many systems.

Reuters. Breakingviews Predictions 2019
Offers a series of insights into what the year ahead has in store for companies, elections, technology and economies.

  • Industrial Trends

Free reports covering a range of industries.

Deloitte Insights – Global Tech Trends

Deloitte Industry Outlooks

Ipsos MORI Trends & Futures

  • Inspirational trend watching sites

Great subscription-free sites for information on trends and cutting edge ideas.

TrendWatching.com. 5 Trends for 2019

Quantumrun. 107 predictions for 2019

WikiTrends

Trend Hunter. Free 2019 Trend Report

Cool Business Ideas