FuturistU > Business > New Business Models > Module 4 / 4

New Business Models and Instant Entrepreneurship

Instructor: Mary Van Puymbroeck
Customer Experience
Download the Customer Experience Trend Report
With the internet fueling the direct-to-consumer market, it's easier than ever to launch a business. Across the internet, we can see DTC making a significant impact on the global economy. Our final module in New Business Models takes on the three key considerations and impacts of direct sales; Cost & Quality, Community Focus and Social Impact.

This chapter zeros in on our Megatrend Instant Entrepreneurship to better understand the way that niche businesses are fostering brand love by directly responding to consumer need. We will explore the implications of the re-formatting of direct sales for your business.
Related Trend Report: Customer Experience
Workshop Questions:
1. How could you have lower overhead and deeper consumer connection?
2. What are the social, ethical, or environmental advantages your brand could have over competitors?
Get the 2024 Trend Report FREE

Featured Insights

Direct-to-Engaged
DTC engagement ring retailers rise in popularity
Trend - For a long time, one needed to visit a store in-person and consult with an expert to buy an engagement ring. Today, a number of direct-to-consumer jewelers specializing in engagement rings are disrupting this process. These e-retailers appeal to Millennials in particular looking to prioritize value, convenience and in some cases, customization over an expert consultation.
Workshop Question - How much value do in-person interactions to your customer experience? How could this be replicated in a digital experience?
3.8
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
DTC Plant
Direct-to-consumer plant shops speak to Millennial purchasing preferences
Trend - In an effort to help consumers find a natural escape from the stressors of urban life, consumers are turning to direct-to-consumer solutions, even when it comes to plants. This move fulfills the desire many younger consumers have to shop more seamlessly despite how fragile or cumbersome the product or service may be.
Workshop Question - What Millennial need might a direct-to-consumer offering from your industry fulfill?
5.5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Authenticity On-Demand
Connection is secured through micro-moment companionship services
Implications - In today's fast-paced and often lonely world, on-demand companionship products that extend beyond a simple transactional relationship work to fill in the gaps of our social experience (for example, helping seniors with their shopping rather than simply driving them to and from the store). While commoditized connection might not necessarily be a new idea, it's the extension of these services to fill everyday micro-moments that delivers the deeper, more authentic link to the world around them that humans so urgently crave.
Workshop Question - How has your brand responded to the increased expectations of authenticity that many consumers have for the brands they interact with?
4.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
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Megatrends

Insights by Trend Hunter AI

Assisted Choices
Brands are packaging medication-era eating help into daily touchpoints

Trend - Support for people using weight-management prescriptions is expanding beyond the drug itself into digital guidance, store navigation, and add-on nutrition products. Brands are treating everyday eating decisions as a service layer that can be designed and merchandised. In many instances, supplements, education, shopping tools, and benefits are being bundled into simpler pathways intended to reduce friction for people adjusting how they eat.

Workshop Question - How could your brand reduce the everyday decision load for people adapting to new eating patterns?
7.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Occasion Commerce
Beauty brands tie temporary retail moments to parties and social gatherings

Trend - Beauty retailers are tying retail to the high-energy moments people already gather for, like parties and festivals, so that shoppers can see products in action and buy them before the excitement fades. These setups naturally support impulse discovery and capture the interests of shoppers when they’re in an exploratory mindset.

Workshop Question - How could your brand design temporary formats that borrow the energy of community spaces without needing a full store buildout?
8.7
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Guided Autonomy
Brands turn routine requests into supervised AI-run workflows

What's Happening - As autonomous software takes on more complex service tasks, brands are making oversight features a core part of the experience. AI systems are increasingly able to collect information, apply rules, and complete actions on behalf of users, but greater autonomy is being paired with permissions, disclosures, and escalation paths. These aim to keep the user prominently in control without hindering productivity.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn a high-friction customer task into a delegated workflow instead of a self-service journey?
6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Delegated Shopping
Retailers are outsourcing discovery, selection and purchasing to software

What's Happening - From discovery and selection to purchase execution, retailers are building systems that let consumers outsource more stages of the buying journey to AI agents. As a result, they’re designing for delegation, not just browsing, and striving to stay useful as shopping increasingly happens through assistants rather than storefronts alone.

Workshop Question - How could your brand make automated recommendations and actions feel transparent enough that people understand why they are seeing them and how to change them?
7.1
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Participatory Retail
Stores are becoming hands-on learning environments for shoppers

Trend - The brick-and-mortar retail environment is being redesigned around hands-on participation add-ons rather than solely display-led browsing. Stores are organizing workshops, DIY stations, community events, and other types of activations that align with their branding, industry, and product offerings. This shift gives shoppers a reason to physically show up in stores, beyond their need for a purchase.

Workshop Question - How could your brand turn product discovery into a guided activity that helps customers learn, test, or create something for themselves?
7.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Maker Experience
Hands-on brand experiences are making consumers active creative participants
Trend - Brands are introducing large-scale maker experiences that invite consumers to customize, assemble or create products firsthand. Through interactive workshops, personalization stations and DIY activations, these experiences shift consumers from passive attendees to active participants.
Workshop Question - How could your brand empower consumers to become active participants in creating brand experiences?
7.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
Smart Gardening
Brands Launch Smart Systems That Automate and Monitor Home Gardens
Trend - Gardening brands are releasing AI‑powered tools such as smart irrigation systems, soil and light sensors, plant‑health apps, and automated indoor or outdoor garden units that monitor conditions and adjust care. These systems use data, machine learning and custom controls to simplify gardening.
Workshop Question - How can we leverage automation and data-driven technology to simplify and enhance the user experience in our industry?
5
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends
DIY Retailer
Specialized retailers are offering assemble-it-yourself products to reduce costs
Trend - Retailers across various industries, such as home and garden, crafts, and even electronics are launching with an emphases on DIY projects. By focusing on DIY, these retailers mainly provide base components rather than prebuilt items, often leading to significantly lower prices than competitors.
Workshop Question - How can we leverage the growing interest in DIY solutions to create more engaging and cost-effective products for our customers?
5.2
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
Patterns
Megatrends