Monthly Trend Monitor: September 2024



The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in September 2024

None of the top five consumer trends from the previous months maintained their positions in September’s rankings. The new leading trend is New Work, gaining the most momentum, followed by Mindfulness & Conscious Living and Athleisure. The remaining two trends, Natural & Organic Products and Convenience Foods, are marked by relatively weak momentum, albeit strong enough to make it to the top five.

Top 5 Industry Trends in September 2024

None of the top five industry trends from previous months appear in this month’s rankings. Bio Engineering has emerged as the leading trend, followed by Start-Up Economy and Augmented & Virtual Reality. Notably, all top five industry trends are characterized by strong momentum.

Top 5 Society Trends in September 2024

Global Threats has risen from second to first place among society trends, reflecting escalating tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Notably, it is the only trend from last month’s rankings to remain in the top five. Smart Cities and Individualization follow in second and third place, respectively, both gaining traction in this month’s rankings.

Monthly Trend Monitor: August 2024



The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in August 2024

Data Privacy has emerged as the leading consumer trend, demonstrating not only significant momentum but also strong year-over-year growth. In second place is Craftsmanship, followed closely by Eco-Awareness, reflecting increasing consumer focus on quality and sustainability.

Top 5 Industry Trends in August 2024

Search Advertising is experiencing robust upward momentum, although its year-over-year growth has slowed. Data Security ranks second, followed by Conversational User Interfaces, which, like search advertising, have also seen a decline in year-over-year growth. Chatbots, a closely related trend, is rounding out the top five industry trends.

Top 5 Society Trends in August 2024

Diversity & Inclusion emerged as the leading societal trend by momentum in August, despite experiencing a year-over-year decline. Global Threats, ranked second, also saw an even sharper decline over the same period. Notably, Fake News is the only top-five societal trend in August that demonstrated both strong growth and momentum.

Monthly Trend Monitor: November 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in November 2022

New Work is the new number one consumer trend in November, boasting the strongest momentum by a wide margin, followed by Self-Employment and Snackification. None of the last month’s top trends managed to maintain or improve their position.

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Top 5 Industry Trends in November 2022

Cognitive Care & Mental Health is the number one industry trend in November, showing a very strong momentum. Gamification, another trend related to human psychology, also made it to the top five.

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Top 5 Society Trends in November 2022

Digitalization manages to maintain its position as the top society trend. Its momentum, however, has slightly decreased compared to the previous month. It is followed by Diversity & Inclusion. Global Social Tension and Fake News are also among the top five society trends in November.

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Singles’ Day 2022: Which fashion brands garnered the most attention?

Press Release, November 15, 2022

The marketing and innovation consultancy TD Reply used Chinese social media data to investigate which fashion brands were able to attract the most attention (buzz) during Singles’ Day 2022. The French luxury brand Louis Vuitton manages to outshine other brands by a wide margin. Adidas generates more buzz than Nike, but lags significantly behind Chinese competitor Li-Ning. 

During Singles’ Day in China, the world’s biggest shopping festival, fashion brands do their best to attract consumers’ attention with attractive discounts, spectacular PR stunts and other marketing activities.

The Berlin-based marketing and innovation consultancy TD Reply, which operates an office in Beijing since 2010, measures which brands attract the most attention every year on the occasion of Singles’ Day. The measurement is based on a digital metric called buzz – which represents the number of mentions of a brand in discussions on social media, e-commerce, and other online platforms. A brand’s share of the total buzz for a particular category (such as fashion brands) says a lot about how much attention the brand is able to generate relative to the competition. This metric can be a good indicator of brand visibility and the effectiveness of marketing activities, particularly in the context of important events such as Singles’ Day.

Louis Vuitton successful with boy band as brand ambassadors

The French luxury brand Louis Vuitton clearly won the battle for attention this year. With a 17.1% share of the total buzz, it generated almost twice as much attention during Singles Day activities as second-placed Italian luxury shoe and bag specialist Tod’s (9%). Saint Laurent comes in third position (3.6%).

Top 10 fashion brands ranked by share of buzz during the Singles’ Day 2022 festivities in China.

The specialists in TD Reply’s Beijing office attribute much of the buzz generated by Louis Vuitton this year to two activities: the recent opening of the first Louis Vuitton restaurant in China in the city of Chengdu and the partnership with the boy band Teens in Times, which Louis Vuitton has picked as brand ambassadors. In the Chinese market, partnerships with well-known influencers, the so-called key opinion leaders (KOL), play a key role. The communities of leading KOLs, which are much larger than the communities of Western influencers, usually respond very positively to the business partnerships of their idols. As a result, these partnerships are among the most important marketing instruments for companies with ambitions in the Chinese market.

It is important to note, however, that Louis Vuitton has been one of the most popular non-Chinese brands in China for years thanks to its good understanding for Chinese cultural codes and sensitivities. In 2020, for example, the Chinese public reacted overwhelmingly positively to Louis Vuitton’s decision to hold the “SEE LV” exhibition in Wuhan – a comparatively insignificant city in terms of economy and the probable place of origin of the COVID-19 virus.

Li-Ning gets more attention than Adidas and Nike

Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning lands in a strong fifth place with a buzz share of 3.1%, but drops two positions compared to last year. It performs considerably better than competitors Adidas (1,3%) and Nike (1%).

Adidas still manages to garner significantly more attention than last, when it could only claim a 0.3% share of the total buzz.

Top 10 e-commerce platforms ranked by share of buzz during the Singles’ Day 2022 festivities in China.

JD ahead of Tmall

On the shopping platform side, JD.com outperformed its main competitor Tmall.com in terms of attention this year. For example, JD.com received 43.1% of the share of total buzz with its Singles Day promotions, while Tmall.com only gained 24%.

Last year, Tmall.com (42.8% at the time) was still narrowly ahead of JD.com (38% at the time).

Monthly Trend Monitor: October 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in October 2022

Vegan and Vegetarian Food is the new number one trend in October, while last month’s top trend, Healthy Lifestyle & Wellbeing, is not featured in the top five anymore. Data Privacy retains the second position, further gaining in momentum. 

Top 5 Industry Trends in October 2022

Food Tech is once again the top industry trend. It already held the same position in August. With Smart Fashion & Augmented Body Tech, a relatively rare trend enters the top five of industry trends. 

Top 5 Society Trends in October 2022

Digitalization is the number one society trend in October, followed by Global Power Shifts and Individualization. Right Wing Populism enters the top five on the fifth positionThis may be a possible consequence of the Italian general election, which was won by a candidate often described as far-right.



Choose Your Battles: How Brands Can Show What They Stand For


More and more consumers expect brands to have a clear stance on social and political issues. Yet only few brands are truly effective in communicating stance. Many brands have ended up facing accusations of greenwashing, pinkwashing or wokewashing after launching an expensive purpose marketing campaign.

What should brands focus on to ensure their communication of attitude doesn’t fall flat or even lead to shitstorms? This white paper provides a game plan based on genuine data-driven insights.

Discussions on the ubiquitous social media have a significant impact on brand image and brand value. They also often put companies under pressure to take a stance on current social, political and cultural issues.

According to surveys, about 70% of consumers think it’s important for brands to show attitude. At the same time, the number of daily advertising contacts has been rising sharply for decades. This makes it increasingly difficult for brands to make their communication activities visible enough at all. On the other hand, brands on social media are also quickly accused of “greenwashing,”pinkwashing,” and “wokewashing” if the communicated attitude of the brand does not quite match the actual brand perception on the part of consumers. 

Source: Sprout Social, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/brands-creating-change/;
Wirtschaftswoche, https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/dienstleister/werbesprech-nie-war-die-botschaft-so-wertlos-wie-heute/23163046.html

For brand managers, the crucial question is therefore often not whether the brand should take a stand, but how to make the corresponding purpose marketing activities visible in the first place. In our experience, the best answers to that can be found in innovative social and expert listening approaches combined with classic marketing theory.

In this white paper, we introduce a generalizable game plan on this basis, which can serve as orientation for brands in communicating attitude. It is based on a joint project between TD Reply and the Marketing Department of the Luigi Bocconi University of Economics and Business Administration. Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Verena Schoenmueller and TD Reply experts, Bocconi students in the Brand Management course have contributed significantly to the collection of the data on which the findings presented in this white paper are based. 

Monthly Trend Monitor: September 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in September 2022

Healthy Lifestyle & Wellbeing succeeds Eco-Awareness as the new number one consumer trend in September. Data Privacy follows second with only a slightly lower momentum. Next in line is Human Enhancement, a very interesting trend not often seen in the top five. Worthy of note, Meme Culture is also featured on the last positioned. 

Top 5 Industry Trends in September 2022

Food Tech, last month’s number one trend, is superseded by Bio Engineering in September. Renewable Energy not only manages to stay in the top five, but also climbs up two positions to become the second-strongest industry trend in September. 

Top 5 Society Trends in September 2022

Diversity & Inclusion is the number one society trend in September, followed by Smart Cities and Digital Ethics. Global Threats, a trend indicative of dangerous new global developments, enters the top five once again. 



Monthly Trend Monitor: August 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in August 2022

None of the July’s top consumer trends have managed to maintain a strong enough momentum to make it to the top five in August. The top consumer trends in August are Eco-Awareness, followed by Snackification and Data Privacy

Top 5 Industry Trends in August 2022

The ranking of the top five industry trends has also seen a complete reconfiguration. Food Tech takes over the pole position from Artificial Intelligence and boasts a very strong momentum. E-commerce follows closely with only a slightly lower momentum. 

Top 5 Society Trends in August 2022

The number one society trend Digitalization and runner-up Climate Change both boast exceptionally strong momentum in August. Fake News and Right Wing Populism, two trends rarely seen in the top five, take the fourth and the fifth positions, respectively. 

Monthly Trend Monitor: July 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in July 2022

Vegan and Vegetarian Food and Healthy Lifestyle & Wellbeing continue to be the strongest and second-strongest consumer trends by momentum, respectively. Healthy Lifestyle & Wellbeing‘s momentum has almost doubled compared to the previous month.

Top 5 Industry Trends in July 2022

Cognitive Care & Mental Health moves from the first to the fourth position. The new top industry trend in July is Artificial Intelligence, also boasting high volume and growth, followed by Deep & Machine Learning and Data-Driven Enterprise.

Top 5 Society Trends in July 2022

Diversity & Inclusion is the new top society trend in July, coinciding with some of the world’s biggest gay pride events, such as the Berliner Christopher Street Day. Interestingly, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, Global Threats is not among the top five society trends in July.

Monthly Trend Monitor: June 2022


The monthly trend monitor provides a unique data-driven overview over the most important global consumer, industry, and society trends. How it works: We use the SONAR trend radar, which tracks the volume of written scientific and journalistic publications on a certain trend, to find out what the top five trends are in these three categories. Utilizing intelligent algorithms, SONAR analyzes a continuously growing database of more than 40 million publications from academic journals, expert blogs, mass media, and patent registers to gain unique insights on global trends.

SONAR can sort trends by Volume (number of articles relevant to a trend and relative to the SONAR index), Growth (YoY growth, volume of the last 12 months vs. previous 12 months) or Momentum (MoM growth, volume of the last month vs. volume of the previous month).

Each month, we present the top 5 consumer, industry, and society trends by Momentum.

Top 5 Consumer Trends in June 2022

Vegan and Vegetarian Food remains the top consumer trend, with increased momentum compared to May. Health Lifestyle & Wellbeing also remains the second-strongest trend, though with a decreased momentum. The remaining three trends in the top five are new entries.

Top 5 Industry Trends in June 2022

None of the previous month’s top industry trends have managed to preserve their momentum and remain in the top five. The new top industry trend in June is Cognitive Care & Mental Health, showing a very strong momentum, followed by Customer Satisfaction Monitoring and Natural Language Processing.

Top 5 Society Trends in June 2022

After a hiatus in May, June’s top society trend is once again dominated by Global Threats – a trend that reflects armed conflicts around the world, especially the current war in Ukraine. It also boasts an extraordinarily strong momentum. New Living Models and Creative Class follow on the second and third positions, respectively, with a much weaker momentum.