We are already at the end of 2020, with less than ten days remaining for 2021. For what feels like forever, this year has been every trend-watchers’ near-mythical horizon (1). And we are about to live the new normal in the upcoming year.
There is no denying that new challenges and opportunities are ahead. And people can consider these three key emerging trends and supercharge their planning. Each of these trends offers a robust opportunity to offer new products, services, campaigns, brands, and more that people will love in the upcoming year and beyond.
Big Fat Indian Weddings Turned Micro
The coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown had disrupted several weddings in early 2020. And as people are getting used to the new normal, people are now considering that they will reduce their guest list even in the post-COVID world.
According to a new global survey that focused on the pandemic’s impact on weddings between October 2020 to February 2021, 90% of respondents say they will invite-only immediate family members and close friends. More than 75% of couples go ahead with their wedding ceremony according to the schedule, while almost 23% will not go ahead with a wedding reception. It is the highest figure across the globe (2).
Most people don’t like to spend so much on a wedding, but they normally do it because of societal pressure. However, parents who are spending money on their offsprings’ weddings should ideally give it to the couple for more security when they start their life together. They could also use it to invest in equity for retirement.
But not everyone thinks of smaller weddings as savings (3). But thanks to young Indians, there is a huge revolution in the Indian wedding even though there are oppositions from parents and elders.
In the past few months, India has witnessed a sea change when it comes to weddings. Like everything else, the pandemic has also compelled the wedding industry to rethink ideas to comply with the new normal.
Nevertheless, the new and alternative nature of Indian weddings has proved that the traditional big fat wedding may have been customary in society. Still, the practice is not necessarily our definition (4).
Today, small, intimate, and thoughtful weddings have become the new normal for millennial brides and grooms worldwide, including India.
Many couples have chosen an intimate wedding or call the ‘Mini-mony’ or micro wedding because of the pandemic.
Why Are Micro Weddings Becoming Popular?
Micro wedding is a small and intimate wedding involving a limited number of guests. The covid-19 pandemic and safety instructions have significantly reduced wedding numbers and have dramatically increased the popularity of micro weddings.
The best thing about micro weddings is that couples have the freedom to think outside the box and the flexibility to use their creative ideas. Such small gatherings also give people enough time to interact with each other. Having such fever guests allows more time for quality conversation in the wedding excitement.
Another huge perk of a micro wedding is an expanded selection of wedding venues. One can consider non-traditional options, turn it into a destination wedding, and enjoy an epic getaway with their friends and families.
Because of these benefits, there is a high chance that micro weddings would remain popular and become the new normal even after the pandemic (5).
“In the future, when COVID-19 has passed, I do anticipate that a lot of people will come to realize that a smaller wedding was always the best fit for their needs, and they no longer will feel the need to have the big party just for the sake of doing what was more popular.”
– Tracy Taylor Ward, Wedding Planner, NYC (6).
However, micro weddings are not for everyone, especially those whose immediate extended family is already more than 50 guests. They will also not entirely replace larger weddings anytime soon. But, for the couple who thought they would only get married at a registrar, a micro wedding can be an individual expression.
Nevertheless, Google searches for a micro wedding had hit an all-time high in the previous months and booming ever since. With the rising costs and stress of larger weddings, and the benefits of a smaller event, it looks like that the trendline will only go up.
Most wedding venues are designed to reach maximum profitability hosting, while micro weddings are a whole new ball game considering location, catering, and accommodation.
Entrepreneurs could create or compile directories of service packagers and directories to small weddings. They can also combine the micro wedding with other trends with rising popularity. Notably, recently a beach wedding is getting popular with more than 27,100 searches monthly. It also includes rustic weddings and winter weddings with about 8,000 to 10,000 monthly searches (7).
Decluttering
Ever since Tidying Up came on Netflix in January 2019, people were inspired to pare down the clutter to make more spaces, including getting rid of all belonging that no longer spark joy (8).
Decluttering influencers even started peddling 30-day decluttering handbooks and calenders across social media (9). However, the whole decluttering trend is more than cleaning up space. It also addresses the unhealthy attachment with the stuff that we no longer need. Such emotional attachment can cause one to drown in a sea of sentiment figuratively.
Decluttering helps people to escape from such an emotional attachment to things. People have the habit of attaching meaning and memories to material things. That’s why it gets hard to say goodbye to them. But if we are not careful, it can ultimately have a negative effect on our mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Another important thing worth highlighting is that the human brain craves routine and organization. If we frequently see clutter, it can distract and make it harder for us to focus on a task at hand. Several studies indicate that clutter can also make us feel more stressed, anxious, and depressed.
It happens because clutter can increase our stress hormone; our bodies’ cortisol level makes us feel like we are constantly in fight or flight mode. Too much clutter can also make an individual more likely to isolate himself from others, affecting his sense of connection and overall wellbeing.
So overall, like micro wedding, the decluttering trend is also not so bad after all. It came at a pretty timely point where everyone is negatively affected because of the pandemic in one way or another.
Apart from decluttering our houses, room, and desks, this year gave rise to another trend called emotional decluttering. People often suppress or bottle up their emotions, thinking that avoidance would help them vanish.
However, experts believe that by doing so, we are only creating a messy pile within. And it is no different than the pile of clutters in our room or desk. It makes us uncomfortable from within.
Emotional decluttering is a great tool to get away with a pile of unexpressed emotions. One can practice emotional decluttering by dumping their emotions, shutting the chatter, empowering oneself, setting boundaries, taping emotions out, and saying goodbye to toxicity.
Entrepreneurial Advantage
Decluttering is trending, and entrepreneurs have an immeasurable advantage in it. Studies have shown that disorganized workplaces induce stress and anxiety and limit creativity by kicking our brain into overdrive towards distractions.
Whether we realize it or not, but our brain subtly focuses on its environment via multiple stimuli. The more unfamiliar, chaotic, and fast-paced the environment, the more energy it drains from our brain. That’s why people often prefer to work in familiar and quiet spaces (10).
While people were at home, they were faced with overstuffing. But we also had the opportunity to take action and feel better. It gives that ‘aha’ moment when we realize how stress can also be caused by an intensification of useless things in our lives. Clutter has a negative emotional and psychological impact on our lives in the form of chronic anxiety, frustration, and dissatisfaction.
There is no denying that decluttering is a daunting task, and it can easily make us feel overwhelmed when facing piles of old and sentimental things. Dilemma increase when we see all those little gifts from people that we don’t need but feel that it is disrespectful to throw away.
What people need to understand about decluttering is that the chaos that surrounds us could be a reflection of the chaos within us. Hence, decluttering can be a form of therapy that could bring us both visual pleasure and inner peace. It also gives us a chance to create room for a style experiment and overall evolution.
We need to start with what has changed over the years is our style and mindset. So the process of decluttering always starts with what we don’t need anymore in our life. Once decluttered, we will get a better picture of what we have and what works for us. In a way, it can allow us to make better decisions moving forward.
A lot of time, people utter ‘just in case’ thoughts and other unnecessary emotional attachments such as old textbooks, love letters, first plane ticket, soft toys, etc. But we need to be honest with ourselves and decide that some of these items are trash that doesn’t serve us or anyone a purpose. It is a matter of being realistic and asking ourselves what is meant to keep.
A professional organizer would turn this clutter and chaos into an efficient space for businesses and households. Decluttering opportunities range from organizing a small shoe closet to designing a storage space for a marketing firm.
Since throwing things out could be difficult for clients, organizers often can also act as coaches and help their clients to process their feelings around things.
Decluttering businesses have several advantages such as low startup overhead, no official training necessary since classes and websites for organizing are easy to find.
The business is an extension of what an individual has been doing most of their life. It is also easy to start a portfolio by doing small jobs for friends and families. One can easily expand his services and also offer a retainer service. One can also create additional income streams from speaking and training e-courses and books for DIYers (11).
Decluttering is Off to a Big Win
A subreddit for getting rid of things we no longer want or require is gaining traction. In the past few months alone, subscribers for decluttering have spiked by 22% from 151,000 to 184,000.
While it is also related to the popular minimalist movement with more than 490,000 subscribers, the growing decluttering movement is more concentrated on helping people organize their homes and offices to tap into its positive effects. It includes better sleep, improved mood, enhanced memory, increased confidence, and lower stress.
During the stay at the home era, color coding, matching hangers, dedicated decluttering consultants, and customizable labels could be one of the profitable luxury products and services.
One can take advantage of creating content such as tips, checklists, advice, and newsletters, or even an app that helps people sort, get rid of, and keeping tabs on their things (12).
Resin Crafts
The DIY resin trend is backed by today’s maker movement culture, where creators make all kinds of efforts to try any craft, whether traditional or trendy. They are finding support, resources, and confidence for such crafts. A part of that culture is the concept of repurposing existing materials to make something entirely new.
Resin is traditionally used in adhesives, varnishes, and even food glazing has recently become a popular craft across segments. It was developed as a manufacturing material in both synthetic and natural forms. It is a compound in a liquid form that hardens under heat, light, or other setting agents.
When it gets hardened, it becomes incredibly strong and can add a translucent or opaque color layer to various objects. For this reason, it has become a popular crafting element in several categories, including woodworking to jewelry making.
In general, the process includes combining liquid resin with a setting agent while making the desired design and colors. In the usual case, the resin and other elements are poured into a mold to harden into the desired shape. Makers also mix different colors of resin or add dye to the resin.
However, the most common style of craft is suspending decorative elements or objects in the clear resin. These crafts are today’s trending, and people are finding inspiration for it everywhere. Fortunately, once people realize how easier working with resin can be, they may jump right in and start learning how to create their designs and crafts.
It is extremely simple for people to start creating resin DIY without any formal training. All they require is a little how-to to get them started and then with some trial and error until they become comfortable with pouring and molding (13).
Some of the DIY resin art ideas include glossy impact, rocky coast, making waves, the river still life, photo art, cubist design, doodle craft, buttons, napkin rings, cabinet knobs, doorknobs, photo frame, paperweights, and suncatcher (14).
Resin is the Latest DIY Boast!
Resin doesn’t stop adding character to home interior furnishing; people are also using it to make jewelry and handbags. And if you are feeling creating, you can give it a go!
So many people are jumping on board with the trend and creating their customized crafts. Being a resin artist is different from conventional painters since the materials to make the art is completely different. Any person with basic knowledge about the materials he is using and how they interact can create an impressive art piece.
Since the trend is booming for some time now, it has its fair share of admirers and takes. It is at a stage where it is growing enough to make a perfectly good business opportunity (15).
Epoxy resin is also known as polyepoxide. And people are now utilizing its usefulness and versatility in DIY projects. Search interest for Resin DIY has peaked in the past few months with more than 7,000 searches as per Keywords Everywhere.
YouTube videos and Instagram reels tutorials show people how to use resin to make art, upcycle tables, and surfboards (16). Notably, a video preserving a wedding bouquet has received millions of views (17). The #resin has more than a whopping 4.4 billion views on Tiktok (18) and more than 6 million posts on Instagram (19).
Besides having a larger market of people willing to purchase resin products, like arts and jewelry, there is also a business opportunity to get on board with the next DIY trend by selling starter kits and molds to help people bring life to their own unique resin creations (20).
