You can’t look at a website or magazine where they don’t address what’s trending. But, who are the trendsetters who determines what’s trending?
And, how does a trend differ from a fad? We posed these questions to Marty McGough, Vice President for market insights at Campos Research Strategy.
A trend is the general direction behavior is moving towards that develops over time and is either increasing or decreasing, says McGough. In comparison with a fad, trends have the ability to make a lasting influence on people's behavior, while fads are short lived.
He says there are people known as trend spotters who specialize in this action by roaming the streets in major cities, listening, watching and observing people's behaviors to find trends.
McGough talks about the genesis of a trend:
"Trends stem from the intersection of circumstances in the world as we live in it in a given point in time such as society, culture, economy, and government. People begin to behave in a certain way or value things based on all all those forces put together."
