10 Trends for Bicycle Culture

@ erwwpr
TheNextCycle
10TrendsforRiding
intotheFuture
Marian Salzman
Interbike IBD Summit
April 18, 2012

@ erwwpr 2
WhyTrends?
Whydowelookattrendswhen
creatingactionableandinsightful
strategiesforbigbrands?

@ erwwpr 3
WhyTrends?
•To identify the driving forces behind today and the
future and plan for long-term success.

@ erwwpr 4
WhyTrends?
•To identify the driving forces behind today and the future
and plan for long-term success.
•To discover unexpected opportunities that can help
transform brands and businesses.

@ erwwpr 5
WhyTrends?
•To identify the driving forces behind today and the future
and plan for long-term success.
•To discover unexpected opportunities that can help
transform brands and businesses.
•And for us here today: To understand what trends
are going to make a difference to people who are
buying bicycle products and why.

@ erwwpr 6
Learningto
SpotTrends
It means tracking
people
social
momentum
companies
radical
breakthroughs
brands
economies

@ erwwpr 7
BeingaSuccessfulTrendspotter
The qualities of a good trendspotter apply to any activities
involving groups of people over time—B2C, B2B, sport, education,
art, healthcare, travel …
All-around awareness:
Trendspotters cultivate a “radar”
that picks up things near and far,
from global to local. Smart
retailers do this instinctively by
noticing the different types of
customers coming in, how they
spend, what they talk about and
what competitors are doing.
Curiosity: Insatiable interest
in what people are or aren’t
doing and a desire to find out
why is essential for a
trendspotter.
A way of being: Trendspotters
aren’t just people who appear in
the media and on stage; they’re
also smart businesspeople who
consistently tune in to their market.
Contexts: Nothing
happens in isolation—
trendspotters relate what
they observe not only to
the immediate context but
also to other contexts that
might be relevant (what’s
in the local news, changes
in school rolls, outdoor
activities that are getting
popular, etc.).
Future-ready: Always
thinking about the future
implications of current
trends: How do I factor
what’s happening now
into the future I’m
planning for?

@ erwwpr 8
Trendspotting
•We are all hardwired to seek patterns in what we observe and to
use them to make predictions about the future.
•Trendspotting aims to find patterns and connections across less
sharply defined fields of human behavior—it deals with many
more variables where information is fuzzier.
•Trendspotting draws on a range of disciplines: business, history,
marketing, psychology, sociology, statistics.
•News, journals, popular culture, social media and conversations
all provide raw material for trendspotting.
The point is not to make precise predictions (like who will
win the Tour de France) but rather to spot currents that
will flow into the future and help shape it.

@ erwwpr
LocalIsthe
Newglobal3.
9
Humans + Technology = Trends
“First we shape our tools; thereafter they shape us.”
•Virtually every twist and turn in human history has been
influenced and shaped by some form of technology.
•Every technology—from hand axes, weaving and wheels through
gunpowder and sails, to internal combustion and microchips—
has driven social trends.
•Now, above all, it’s digital technology that’s involved somehow,
somewhere in many of the trends we have flagged for 2012.

DigitalTechnology:
ThereIsNoEscape
•Sooner or later, digital technology shakes up the value chain of
every industry, even solid, traditional industries.
•Why? Because tech-savvy entrepreneurs will always find a way
of using technology—robots, the Internet, microchips—to
increase value and/or reduce costs.
•Home appliances, cars, music, movies, photography, publishing,
journalism, healthcare, telecoms, TV, retailing, sports—is there
any industry that hasn’t been affected?
@ erwwpr 10

@ erwwpr 11
TheSmartestTechnologiesEver?
•In this IT-obsessed era, everyone thinks digital. But we’re
forgetting the fundamentals:
– How about the wheel?
– How about levers?
– How about vulcanized rubber?
•Put them together and we have the bicycle, arguably one of the
smartest, most efficient and most all-around beneficial
combinations of technologies ever invented.
•It’s not surprising that the experience of building bicycles
enabled the Wright brothers to build their pioneering Flyer.

AligningBicycleswithTrends
•We will look at some of the key trends that are relevant to bicycles,
bicycle retailing and bicycle culture in the coming years.
•The opportunity for astute retailers is to find ways of aligning their
thinking and actions with the trends.
•Social and economic conditions are shaping up perfectly for bicycle
retailers to be at the heart of a fundamental shift in the way
Americans live and enjoy life.
@ erwwpr 12

@ erwwpr
Healthand
WellnessChallenge1.
15

1. HealthandWellnessChallenge
Trend
•Vampires? Zombies? Far scarier is obesity, which brings diabetes,
cardiovascular disease and cancers.
•The U.S. spends more than any other country on healthcare, from
expensive diets, pills, surgery and gadgets to coaches for weight
control and growing depression and anxiety.
•Businesses of every size are finding ways to promote wellness (and
themselves); the gym, health and fitness clubs industry has
maintained steady growth with membership initiatives such as
corporate discounts.
@ erwwpr 16

1. HealthandWellnessChallenge
Opportunities
•People know they should exercise more, but gyms are
expensive, running brings risks of injury, and any regular
exercise sacrifices time and convenience.
@ erwwpr 17
Create ways to encourage customers to
cycle more. One example: Montague’s
Corporate Incentive Program, including
its “Drive and Cycle” concept.

@ erwwpr
Anxious
Parenting2.
19

2.AnxiousParenting
Trend
•Every year, being a parent gets more complicated; this is the
age of supermindful, high-anxiety parenting.
•There’s plenty to fret about, including too much screen time
indoors and too little physical activity, possibly leading to
childhood obesity and early-onset diabetes.
•Business and nonprofits are finding ways to help parents, like
Shapedown’s weight management for young people
@ erwwpr 20

2.AnxiousParenting
Opportunities
•Getting today’s children and teens into bicycling is a smart way of
guaranteeing a steady supply of customers now and in the future.
•Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, Colo., has increased
bicycling or walking to school from 25 percent to 70 percent in
two years.
@ erwwpr 21
Have answers for parents’ safety
concerns at the ready, from developing
safety kits (lights, helmets, etc.) and
safety skills training to initiating or
supporting Safe Routes to School

3. EcoAwareness
Trend
•Bye-bye, trucks and SUVs. Growing numbers of Americans are
showing signs of eco awareness and even ecomania—yes, partly
driven by energy prices—that encompasses everything from
automobiles to eco-friendly appliances and vacations.
•“Smart commuting” is gaining traction; take Commute Seattle,
which runs workshops on themes such as local and federal tax
exemptions and credits associated with employee commute
expenses and programs.
@ erwwpr 23

3. EcoAwareness
Opportunities
•Forty percent of trips cover less than two miles, yet 87 percent
of Americans use cars for those trips. If even slightly fewer people
used bicycles, the environment would benefit. With gas prices
above $3.20 for the past year, Americans are likely to be more
interested than ever in bicycling.
@ erwwpr 24
Make connections with eco-minded
individuals and groups to explore possible
initiatives or partnerships. (California
Bicycle of La Jolla, for instance, burnished
its already stellar reputation when it
manned the refueling station for Bike to
Work Day 2011.)

@ erwwpr
RealGoodfor
RealEstate4.
25

4. RealGoodforRealEstate
Trend
•Sagging property prices and negative equity have weighed on
Americans’ minds for five years.
•Yet realtors from places like Delaware, Pittsburgh, North
Carolina and Vancouver report that being near bike lines
and facilities tend to have a positive effect on prices and
quality of life.
@ erwwpr 26

4. RealGoodforRealEstate
Opportunities
•Repurposing land (such as railroad beds) for cycling, boarding,
skating and leisure is a smart community investment as gas
prices soar and local budgets tighten.
•Identifying local bicycling-friendly initiatives and learning how
you might support them.
@ erwwpr 27
Making the case with local developers and
authorities is easier with facts from other
places. Find great, relevant info from
Bikes Belong (check out the Resources
section).

@ erwwpr
Valuevs.
Valuable5.
28

5. Valuevs.Valuable
Trend
•Some consumers are dealing with the economy by looking for
the cheapest deals on everything, made easy with the Internet.
•But not everybody thinks “value” means lowest price—there’s
also a yearning for things and experiences that feel valuable.
@ erwwpr 29

5. Valuevs.Valuable
Opportunities
•Products that are well designed, well made and work well
create a lasting sense of value, hence the price premium and
customer loyalty of Apple—and certain bicycle makers.
•Services work the same way. Big Picture movie theater in
Seattle surveyed moviegoers about their experience and started
making changes that very night. Most were tweaks that didn’t
cost anything but got raves from customers as they left.
@ erwwpr 30

@ erwwpr 31
5. Valuevs.Valuable
Opportunities
•Retailers who understand and love their products and create a
caring in-store environment give a valuable experience.
Find out what counts as valuable to your
customers and how it influences their buying.
Ask them:
• Why do you like shopping here?
• What have your experiences been like at other
stores?
• What are the most important improvements we
could make?

@ erwwpr
Curationto
TackleOverload6.
32

6. CurationtoTackleOverload
Trend
•Most people can’t handle the growing tidal wave of information given
their limited time, energy and attention. Curation—compiling the must-
have info on any topic and using deep knowledge to make sense of
it all for busy people—is becoming a valuable new skill and service.
•Porter’s photo specialty stores in Iowa date to 1917 but compete
with national chains by carrying massive stock, offering a deal
of the week, and providing a live chat for advice, contests and a
YouTube channel for tutorials.
•Richardson Bike Mart in Dallas, the highest-voted shop in the U.S.,
has built its reputation by eliminating uncertainty in buying and
adding value at many points—everything from spending time to do
a quick-fit on a trainer in the shop for test rides, to making refunds
extremely easy (the store has a very low return rate, by the way).
@ erwwpr 33

6. CurationtoTackleOverload
Opportunities
•Cycling is one of many areas seeing huge numbers of new
products and accessories—daunting for newcomers and even
occasional riders who would like to get into it more.
•The sports footwear industry is a parallel: The best stores guide
customers through the technicalities of shoes for different needs
at various performance levels based on each customer’s needs.
@ erwwpr 34
Check out which customer types and
bicycling needs your store serves best,
and which it could serve better. Then get
curating and giving your customers the
information they most need.

@ erwwpr
Newsand
LoveofLocal7.
35

7. NewsandLoveofLocal
Trend
•Consumers are increasingly paying attention to local news; no
wonder 40 percent of all online ad spending was local in 2010,
up from 34 percent in 2009.
•The trend is being driven by interactive and especially mobile
devices. Yahoo, Topix, Examiner.com and Patch are just a few
of those betting on it getting bigger.
@ erwwpr 36

7. NewsandLoveofLocal
Opportunities
•Cycling is perfectly aligned: People who cycle develop more
connections with and knowledge of all things local.
•As curators of cycling information, retailers can also become hubs
for local news, from conditions on routes to stores with good
offers along the way to who’s hiring to events on the horizon.
@ erwwpr 37
Your store should own the role as the local
source for all things cycling: events,
places to ride, local cycling issues and
more. Do research to learn what topics
matter (or should matter) to your
community.

@ erwwpr
SocialMediaIs
NotGoingAway8.
39

8. SocialMediaIsNotGoingAway
Trend
•Social media keeps growing because it enables people to do
what people like to do: Hook up and have conversations, even if
they are typed rather than face to face.
•The number of over-50s using social media is quickly growing.
@ erwwpr 40

8. SocialMediaIsNotGoingAway
Opportunities
•Unlike with traditional marketing and even websites, small businesses
can get up and running on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Patch, etc.)
quickly, easily and very cheaply—no marketing or IT specialists required.
•With just 15 to 20 minutes a day, you can post news and check up on
what locals are saying, interact with them, build awareness and find
interesting connections.
•Take Butter Lane cupcakes of New York, which manages effective blogs, groups,
tweets and customer service through Postling, a one-stop social media manager.
@ erwwpr 41
Check out @lacbc (L.A. County Bicycle
Coalition), @pedalchic and
@TempeBicycle, then set a target for
making new connections.

@ erwwpr
Boomers’
NewValues9.
42

9. Boomers’ NewValues
Trend
•The vanguard of the 70 million–plus boomers is now well past
65, while the tail end is heading to 50, a large market of
Americans who expect to stay young as long as possible.
•Boomers are increasingly feeling vulnerable to aging, financial
problems, weak home equity and talk of entitlement cuts—and
they’re shifting from consumerism toward more purposeful
activities with social engagement and environmental consciousness.
@ erwwpr 43

9. Boomers’ NewValues
Opportunities
•Cycling is perfectly aligned with (re-)emerging boomer values:
Variants such as recumbents, comfort class and e-bikes are
finding a keen market among older riders.
•Bicycle retailers who love their work, know their products and
enjoy relating to their customers have ideal attributes to
connect with boomers.
@ erwwpr 44
Make sure your staff (average age
nationwide: 20-somethings) is consciously
aware of the nuances of selling to and
working with “older” customers.

10. DigitalDetox
Trend
•Millions of Americans are finding that their digital gadgets are
not just useful but also addictive.
•In a major survey, we found that 31 percent of adults
(including 34 percent of those over age 46) rated themselves
extremely or very worried about addiction to and overreliance
on technology, and another 31 percent (29 percent of over-46s)
were moderately worried.
@ erwwpr 46

10. DigitalDetox
Opportunities
•There’s no way to cycle on anything but a stationary bike if
you’ve got your eyes on a screen.
•Bicycles might have a few tech add-ons (like GPS) to keep the
addicts happy, but mostly bicycles are reassuringly physical
and mechanical—ideal for a spell of digital detox.
@ erwwpr 47
Target certain audiences to help more
people detox. Try offering casual, shorter
group rides in addition to the traditional
18mph+ club rides. Or rides for groups that
might prefer a more relaxed, conversational
pace. Or women’s-only rides. And so on.

AndSo …
•The trends are promising for bicycle retailers.
•Bikes sit in the sweet spot where many needs and desires
overlap—getting exercise, getting out and about, saving
money, being environmentally aware, feeling connected to
your community, loving smart design and feeling virtuous
among them.
•Just over a century ago, bicycle makers’ ingenuity ushered
in the revolutionary new era of flight. The time is
increasingly ripe for cyclists to help shape a new revolution,
a social one in which Americans make smarter use of the
ultimate hybrid vehicle.
@ erwwpr 48

10 Trends for Bicycle Culture

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to 10 Trends for Bicycle Culture

More from HavasPR

Recently uploaded

10 Trends for Bicycle Culture