The report doesn't deny that consumers will cut back on spending, but focuses on the potential up-side of resulting trends.

"People around the world are feeling insecure and are already looking to re-establish a sense of stability in their lives," Joan Holleran, Mintel's director of research, said in a statement. "In the coming year, it will be more important than ever for businesses to respond quickly and creatively to changing consumer needs and desires, as we all become more selective in how e spend our money."

The five "major ways that consumers will adapt and make the best of next year" are summarized in the abstract of the report as follows: 1. you are in control; 2. simplify and purify; 3. rebuilding trust; 4. trading down (but a little trading up too); and 5. playfulness, lightening the mood.

The upshot is that businesses will have to develop products that respond to very specific consumer needs. People will demand increasingly more convenience and transparency in products, as they spend more time at home on comforting, inexpensive activities. They will insist on getting the maximum value for their money, and look for ways to stretch dollars. At the same time, they may seek solace in small indulgences. And, finally, faced with such tough times, consumers will crave some fun.