A TREND AND A FAD (HUMSS_MCT12- Ia-b-3)

Fads and trends can be used interchangeably by most of the people. They are forms of collective behaviour that develop within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow in an impulse for a finite period. There are a number of industries whose very survival depends on recognizing the difference between a fad and a trend (Web Finance Inc., 2005).

FAD

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines fad as something, such as an interest or fashion that is very popular for a short period of time. It is an intense and a widely-shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived. In addition, a fad is something (products, fashion, style or etc.) that has little, if any, utility and is characterized by a quick rise and popularity followed by a quick decline and popularity. The reason about this type of nature of fad is because it usually does not satisfy a strong consumers’/users’ needs and wants. It is temporary fashion, a craze, interest, or activity that people follow enthusiastically, but lasts for a short period of time. Thus, fad is something that will rise rapidly and fall relatively rapid also once the perception of novelty is gone. Nevertheless, the best guesses for future events or patterns that are based on present peripheral and historical information is called as trends (Cornish 2004). Through the interrelatedness of all things in the universe, trends are complex fusion of past, present, and future information and represent human’s best predictions over time which allow for pre-emptive judgments and actions toward future events and conditions. 

According to Naisbit 2006, fads are normally micro-trends that exist under the umbrella of an actual trend. Thus, all fads are trend, but not all trends are fad accordingly. However, the ability to frame a trend in time is what ultimately gives a trend its credibility. Thinking of trends along a linear timeline however, is not always correct as trends can revert back on themselves becoming cyclical or trends can fuse or converge with other trends occurring in the same time frame (Canton 2006).

A fad by definition is a short-term event, what some may call a "flash in the pan." It does not guarantee lifetime. It’s short-lived or some will say it’s just For-A-Day. On the other hand, a trend has the potential of becoming a long-term influence on the future of a market. It’s long-lived. These two may resemble each other at first, but there is almost always a definite beginning and a definite end to a fad. 

According to supermarketnews.com, there are three differentiating factors between a fad and a trend which follows; 

Reason for rise. 

Trends generally have identifiable and explainable rises, driven by consumers’ functional needs and consistent with other consumer lifestyle trends. By contrast, fads are driven by an emotional need to purchase, based on hype and idealistic product perceptions. The benefits are ethereal or ill-conceived, and don’t deliver what was promised to consumers.

Incubation period and life span. 

Trends rise slowly, whereas fads spike—and die out— quickly. For example, demand for multiple fashionable handbags and accessories for each occasion has grown steadily over the years, fueling Coach’s decade-long growth and healthy 11-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19 percent. Beanie Babies, on the other hand, went from $400 million in sales in 1997 to $1.3 billion in 1999, a CAGR of 77 percent, before dropping to $850 million the next year and steep declines thereafter. 

Scope. 

A trend usually encompasses several brands or products that are applicable to many different consumer segments, while a fad typically includes only a single brand or product and has limited appeal outside of one narrow consumer segment. A trend possesses some agility and consumers have granted it permission to expand beyond its current platform while maintaining authenticity.