Visiting various neighborhoods around Incheon every day, I naturally notice new buildings going up or shops changing. While foot traffic has decreased significantly due to COVID-19, I still pay close attention to which commercial districts attract people and which franchises or shops are newly opening. I even do my own little market analysis, imagining things like, ‘This neighborhood would be better with a shop like this.’

I’ve especially developed a habit of paying close attention to what’s trending lately, what products sell well on which service platforms, and where people’s attention is focused. Reading this book made me realize I’d unknowingly cultivated this habit of reading trends, and it was very beneficial to gain practical methods and tips. One such method is to verify trending topics by posting content with relevant hashtags on social media and then checking reactions like comments or likes. For example, if camping is trending, you’d post using the hashtag #camping and observe people’s responses.

To read trends, it goes without saying that you must observe well. It’s crucial to note or record even small details without missing anything. The key to not missing the flow is to verify through records whether this trend is a temporary fad or a long-term trend. Visiting a bookstore to check the latest books and bestsellers is also a great way to see where people’s interests lie. The late Chairman Lee Byung-chul of Samsung Group is said to have gauged trends by always stopping at Tokyo bookstores during his business trips to Japan, simply skimming book titles. The habit of categorizing news by issue or searching and reading by specific keywords is also a far more proactive approach than just viewing customized news on portal sites. Ultimately, putting in the legwork and diligently acquiring information was the most effective path.

What surprised me while reading this book was realizing I was already practicing many of these methods to grasp trends. I understood that the key isn’t some special secret, but rather accumulating information through multiple channels and developing the ability to analyze trends within that data. Today, I took a pleasant walk around Incheon, consistently taking notes to deeply understand the field like a marketing expert, and pondering the next trend.