With 2011  right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking and planning for next year. Rather than publishing an lengthy list of top 10, 50, 100…… I thought there would be more value in identifying 3 trending changes in behavior that I think will have the most impact in 2011.

Here they are:

Mobile Shopping

As smartphone adoption continues to grow and mobile technology continues to evolve, the usability of smartphones will continue to get smarter. Nielson is predicting in the US that smartphone adoption, which is sitting at 30% right now, will reach over 50% in 2011, overtaking feature phones. I imagine we will see similar growth in other countries as well. These developments will set the stage for brands to integrate mobile experiences that are more interactive and take advantage of a wider range of smartphone capabilities.

All of these factors will drive brands towards solutions that earn mobile a larger role in the shopping equation, especially at the point of sale. Smart brands will look for ways to integrate mobile into retail experiences, both online and off, creating a seamless connection between the two.

A huge implication of this mobile shopping trend is the effect it will have on price. Armed with quick and easy access to social networks, reviews, and competitor pricing through the mobile web and mobile apps, consumers will start to access these tools more frequently while shopping.

We’re already seeing signs of this trend in mobile barcode scanning, which some tech providers are saying is growing at a rate of 700%. On Black Friday alone, barcodes were being scanned at 20 times the daily average.

These accessible tools will create a breed of consumer that is more informed than ever, and evoke a deeper sensitivity to price. This will create a greater need for retailers to pay close attention to the shopping experience they provide, and look for ways to ensure that unique benefits aren’t overshadowed by price as the only influencing factor.

Mobile Brand Experience

What’s interesting about the mobile shopping trend I’ve just described is the opportunity that this creates for brands to deliver relevant content to consumers during all stages of the shopping funnel. Outside of in-store displays and product packaging, brands have had few opportunities to influence shoppers at the point of sale. As consumers integrate mobile into their shopping routines, brands will find unique ways to add value to the experience, and take back some of the control that has traditionally been left in the hands of retailers.

An example of this could be as simple as a adding a barcode to the packaging of a food product, that when scanned, sends consumers to a mobile website with seasonal recipes. It could also be a robust application that taps into the advanced capabilities of the phone, like using the GPS to help the consumer find nearest locations to buy a product when it is sold out at one store. The app could even connect consumers with social networks where they could see product recommendations from people they know.

Gamification

This is my pick for the buzzword of 2011. But buzzword or not, the concept of gamification is something that brand marketers should know and understand. To put it simply, gamification is adding mechanics typically used to keep people engaged while playing a game to other processes. Gamification isn’t anything new to marketing. After all, customer rewards programs have been around for decades and are built on an achievement model often used in games. Do X a certain number of times and you will be rewarded with Y and move up to the next level.

Game mechanics will find new life in 2011, as consumers become more and more connected to people and information through their mobile devices. The ubiquity of this connection will create an opportunity for brands to keep consumers engaged with regular branded content.

Mobile provides consumers a way to escape by dipping in and out of these connections throughout the day. They can easily take a five minute break to check what’s going on with their friends and family on Facebook, and later take another break to keep tabs on their Fantasy team.

Smart brands will find a way into this behavior by applying game mechanics to marketing programs and content, keeping users coming back again and again.

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What do you think?

Photo credit: egoten