Identifying a trend and taking action is more than just a gut feeling. With the right insight, you can turn awareness into strategy and strategy into advantage. That’s why market trend analysis is so valuable for marketers — especially in fast-moving sectors, where consumer needs shift in seconds.
A market trend is a pattern of price movements over time that can be analyzed through a chart or other data visualizations. A positive trend, called an uptrend, can signal economic growth or growth in the number of jobs. A negative trend, or downtrend, is a time when prices of assets are falling.
An uptrend is often confirmed by an upward trend line, with support and resistance lines drawn below and parallel to it. Traders can also use moving averages and momentum indicators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) or Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) to confirm trends by identifying when they are overbought or oversold, indicating possible reversals.
Some industries experience seasonal shifts in demand, and analyzing those fluctuations can help you shape pricing, inventory levels and marketing strategies to optimize sales. Demographic and social shifts, too, can change what people want to buy and how they choose to buy it. For example, McKinsey research shows that 18-24-year-olds in emerging markets are up to three times more optimistic about their economies than their Western peers and twice as likely to spend on premium products. As a result, brands like Dyson and Viking Cruises are finding success designing accessible and desirable products for older adults.