microtrends
Brief viral movements
Microtrends are short-lived, narrowly focused patterns in consumer behavior, fashion, or culture—smaller and faster-moving than broader trends.
The term gained currency in the social media era, where styles can emerge, peak, and fade within weeks: The cottagecore microtrend dominated TikTok last summer.
Marketing analysts track microtrends to anticipate shifts in taste, though their brief lifespan makes them difficult to capitalize on.
Groups with shared alternative identities
- fandomsCommunities of devoted enthusiasts
- enthusiastsPeople deeply into something
- cohortsGroups of accomplices
- segmentsSeparate parts of something
affinities · influencers · early adopters · tastemakers · niche markets · cult followings · underground movements
Estimating future conditions
- consumer behaviorPatterns in purchasing choices
- market analysisStudy of commercial conditions
- big dataEnormous datasets analyzed computationally
- data miningExtracting insights from datasets
Rural domesticity aesthetic
- dark academiaAesthetic romanticizing scholarly Gothic elegance
- clean girlPared-down beauty trend
- mob wifeCriminal boss's spouse
- quiet luxuryUnderstated high-end aesthetic
barbiecore · normcore · minimalism · maximalism · coquette · old money · glazed donut · cherry cola
Self-propagating cultural units
- challengesDifficulties requiring effort
- momentsShort spans of time
- buzzwordsTrendy technical jargon
- trending topicsCurrently popular discussion subjects
subcultures
Groups with shared alternative identities
- fandomsCommunities of devoted enthusiasts
- enthusiastsPeople deeply into something
- cohortsGroups of accomplices
segments · affinities · influencers · early adopters · tastemakers · niche markets · cult followings · underground movements
forecasting
Estimating future conditions
- consumer behaviorPatterns in purchasing choices
- market analysisStudy of commercial conditions
- big dataEnormous datasets analyzed computationally
cottagecore
Rural domesticity aesthetic
- dark academiaAesthetic romanticizing scholarly Gothic elegance
- clean girlPared-down beauty trend
- mob wifeCriminal boss's spouse
quiet luxury · barbiecore · normcore · minimalism · maximalism · coquette · old money · glazed donut · cherry cola
memes
Self-propagating cultural units
- challengesDifficulties requiring effort
- momentsShort spans of time
- buzzwordsTrendy technical jargon
- trendstrends, fad, craze, rage, trendy
- disposable culturesingle-use plastic, disposable razors, plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic straws
microtrendsmacrotrends
Large-scale, long-term patterns
megatrends · global trends · cultural phenomena · zeitgeist · mass culture