CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction The future decoded Health concerns are gaining momentum and increasing in scope Connectivity: consumers desire an alturistic lifestyle that is rich in relationships and belonging Individualism: self expressive consumers want more personal and customized brand experiences Sensory: consumers seek more pleasure, intensity and sensation from products Comfort: consumers want safety, simplicity, trust and indulgence in response to rising stress and uncertainty Convenience: people increasingly feel that they need to fit in many competing demands on time Income complexity: consumers are increasingly mixing luxury and value simultaneously Age complexity: age behaviors are polarizing in a way the re-enforces and defies stereotypes Lifestage complexity: life patterns are becoming less predictable Gender behaviors are polarizing in a way that compound and defy traditional gender truisms
CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED
Introduction
Why global?
Why consumer?
Why trends?
HEALTH TREND: Health concerns are gaining momentum and increasing in scope
Industry executives globally identify health as the most important mega-trend Consumers are 'acting holistically' in their quest for wellness Consumers are taking more self-responsibility for their health Consumers are adopting a broader wellness perspective towards living Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Healthy nesting: health and wellness concerns increasingly impact home care Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are acting upon product safety concerns Consumption saftety anxieties have increased Consumers are increasingly responding to allergies and intolerances Consumers are opting for minimally processed products while rejecting products containing perceived harmful ingredients Future perpesctives and implications: the Datamonitor view Self-reported stress is high but consumers are taking steps to achieve better mental wellbeing Counter stress: seeking to address work/life imbalance Many consumers are experiencing sleep disorders or suffering from general sleep problems Pampering personal care occasions are growing as consumers seek more health orientated 'me-time' Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Appearance consciousness is heavily motivated by health Consumers increasingly associate personal care usage with broader health and wellbeing benefits More time and money invested in personal appearance Rising appearance and body shape anxiety characterizes consumers today Re-defining beauty: more focus on health, inner fellings, and looking your best at any age Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are increasingly dieting or modifying eating plans through restriction, avoidance and moderation Consumers are increasingly making dietary adjustments Many consumers are constantly dieting and/or trying to lose weight Consumers are increasingly choosing better for-you 'low and lite' alternatives Consumers are increasingly opting for lighter main meals Consumers are moderating their alcohol consumption Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are seeking 'curated health advice' The democratization of health information Today's consumers are more likely to read on-pack health guidelines Consumers want trustworthy health icons and packaging cues Future perpesctives and implications: the Datamonitor view The importance of exercise and consumption of sports nutrition are rising Consumers are making attempts to increase activity levels Sports nutrition consumption is growing Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are embracing the idea of 'positive nutrition' Embracing diet diveristy: a more balanced and varied diet Interest in, and consumption of natural and organic products is growing signficantly Consumers are showing extremely favorable attitudes towards, and increased consumption of, fresh food and drinks Satiety: consumers are eating specific food types to suppress hunger Greater interest and consumption of products with health promoting ingredients or inherently good content Being hydrated: drinking adequate quantities of water Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are self-medicating with preventative antidotes There has been a proliferation in chronic diseases in recent years - many of which are directly or indirectly diet-related Do-it-yourself doctoring: consumers are increasingly prone to self-medicate Consumers are increasingly antidoting with functional food and drinks Preventative antidoting: increased usage of age-defying cosmeceuticals Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
CONNECTIVITY TREND: Consumers desire an alturistic lifestyle that is rich in relationships and belonging
Ethical and environmental concerns have reached a 'tipping point' Consumers are placing importance on ethics and environmentalism Consumers are slowly adapting behaviors - including consumption - in line with ethical beliefs Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers want to maximize personal connections with family and friends Re-prioritizing family/friend time has grown in importance although consumers are finding it hard to do so in practice Eating and drinking out more often Entertaining and connected living spaces are prominent Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers increasingly harness new connective technology The adoption of new, connective technology is increasing across the globe Networked living: consumers are using technology to manage and simplify lifestyles Consumers are collecting, storing and displaying their lifestyles using digital content Consumers' media/entertainment orientations are changing Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view 'Curated' consumerism means the purchasing habits are often highly influenced by others Consumers rely on interpersonal recommendations more frequently Consumer empowerment: consumers are using various virtual interfaces to make informed decisions Listening to and acting upon 'expert curators' and lifestyle gurus Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view 'Positional consumption' is often less overt than in the past Consumers are more subtly choosing the brands they conspicuously use to demonstrate group memberships Status skills: consumers are looking to demonstrate connoisseurship across a wider range of categories Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
INDIVIDUALISM TREND: Self expressive consumers want more personal and customized brand experiences
Consumers use consumption as a means of self expression Individualistic consumers are prone to choosing self congruent brands Consumers are using consumption as a means of individualistic expression Consumers are seeking discovery and self-expression through creative media Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are seeking more opportunities to customize and personalize goods and services Consumers increasingly value adaptable, participative goods and services Customized diet plans are increasingly common among dieters Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view More people globally are living alone Future perspectives and implications: The Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
SENSORY TREND: Consumers seek more pleasure, intensity and sensation from products
Consumers want more intense, novel and sensory-orientated experiences through hedonistic consumption Sensation seeking: choosing on the basis of sensory appeal Not compromizing: consumers are seeking healthy indulgences Seeking intense, immersive consumption experiences Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are becoming more inquisitive and experimental Experimental consumers are trying new products and new things more often Consumers are embracing bolder, more extreme flavors Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view The authenticity trend is, in part, rooted in the desire for quality Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Seeking more hedonic benefits, consumers are trading up more frequently Buying better quality variants of favored product formats 'Maturialism': older consumers are increasingly prone to trading-up Buying 'professional quality' products Buying more specialty products Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
COMFORT TREND: Consumers want safety, simplicity, trust and indulgence in response to rising stress and uncertainty
Indulgence is becoming an everyday phenomenon De-stressing with comforting food and drinks Pampering personal care occasions are growing as consumers seek more health orientated 'me-time' Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers 'cocoon' to recharge and enjoy life and not simply to shut themselves away Consumers are embracing 'insperiences' by bringing third-places home Consumers are spending more time and money on home-improvements Homeworking is becoming an encouraged, personally convenient alternative Consumers are buying take-out or home meal replacements as an alternative eating out Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers often aspire to a simplified, less complicated lifestyle and shopping experience Consumers are increasingly prone to 'choice paralysis' Consumers want to live a simplified, less complicated lifestyle Improving work-life balance is linked to lifestyle simplification and the need to slow down Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Nostalgic consumerism influences feelings towards brands Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Ethnocentrism means consumers have preferences for national or local products and brands in many instances Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
CONVENIENCE TREND: Consumers increasingly feel that they need to fit in many competing demands on time
Time scarcity is a problem increasingly faced by consumers Consumers are feeling overwhelmed by lifestyle pressures Time pressures lead to an inability to find time for, and inherent dislike of, household chores Time pressures create an added desire for quick-fix, efficacy driven products Time scarcity is a big factor in the inability to sustain healthy behaviors Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are simplifying meal preparation Consumers are experiencing stress and looking to reduce preparation times Increased consumption of pre-prepared meal solutions reflects the desire to simplify meal preparation Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Convenience needs contribute to mealtime fragementation Consumers are skipping meals core mealtimes with greater frequency Consumers are opting for lighter main meals Consumers are increasingly eating between core mealtimes Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Today's consumers want 'convenient health' Consumers have a strong, often unfulfilled, desire for convenient-health Personal care on-the-go is becoming a more frequent phenomenon Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Multi-tasking on-the-go is becoming vital in todays hectic lifestyles Activity cramming is a common association with today's multi-taskers On-the-move consumption remains an important trend Time pressed consumers are embracing 'speed shopping' Consumers are increasingly making use of top-up shopping Burdened by choice and lack of time, consumers often shop on auto-pilot Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers are outsourcing the manual effort of household tasks Consumers are using professional services and technoligcal advances for help with daily chores Convenience needs are driving increased eating out and take-away usage Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
INCOME COMPLEXITY TREND: Consumers are increasingly mixing luxury and value simultaneously
Consumers increasingly mix 'high and low consumerism' Sacrificial consumerism increasingly characterizes shopper behavior The 'democratization of luxury' allows consumers to embrace hi-lo consumerism Consumers are increasingly embarking on a 'bargain hunt' Opting for private label alternatives Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Consumers' financial circustances are increasingly complex Global consumers are becoming wealthier Polarizing income levels and high poverty rates are apparent worldwide High levels of indebtedness are now prevalent in many countries Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Inconspicuous consumption is impacting luxury purchases Perceptions of luxury and materialism are shifting Class anxiety: inverse snobbery Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
AGE COMPLEXITY TREND: Age-related behaviors are polarizing in a way the re-enforces and defies stereotypes
Individuals are exhibiting 'down aging' attitudes and behaviors People are attempting to extend/revisit their youth Consumers are shifting their reference points towards age definition Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Fear of aging is driving 'age anxiety' and attempts to prevent the manifestations of aging Many consumers are anxious about aging and age portrayal Fear of aging is leading to more preventative behavior Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view 'Age as identity': consumers are also embracing and expressing pride in their age Age pride counter balances down aging and fear of aging behaviors The paradox between age pride and fear of aging explains why older people cannot relate to many adverts The speed and extent of 'consumer socialization' has accentuated Kids have become more brand aware and brand demanding at earlier ages The rising prominance of pester power highlights kids' increasing influence on household consumption Kids' autonomous spending power is increasing Appearance consciousness is increasingly impacting younger cohorts Knowledge acquisition and opinion assertiveness is occurring more rapidly Kids are increasingly experiencing concerns usually associated with adulthood Future perspectives and implications: the Datamonitor view Trend conclusion
GENDER COMPLEXITY TREND: Behaviors are polarizing in a way that compounds and defies gender truisms
Both traditional macho and contemporary feminine values and behaviors characterize today's male consumers Traditional macho values are still prevalent despite the feminization of manhood More stay at-home, proactive fathers reflect the softening of manhood Males are becoming more wellness orientated Females are increasingly independent and empowered but continue to play out traditional roles More women gaining access to higher education Independent women are indulging in a more bachelor like lifestyle A prevailing responsibility for managing domestic duties exists for women Polarized gender values and attitudes are leading to a trend of 'role anxieity' Male identities have been disrupted by various societal changes Role conscious females are grappling with modern and traditional roles Trend conclusion
LIFESTAGE COMPLEXITY TREND: Life patterns are becoming less predictable
Household structures are evolving and becoming more diverse Household sizes have declined with the fragmentation of the nuclear family Multi-generational living is on the rise in the US, but declining elsewhere Empty nesters are growing in number Boomerang children / homebounding children are becoming more common Consumers' priorites in life are changing and diversifying Consumers are delaying the responsibility of marriage and children Europeans and Americans are extending their time in education Career paths are becoming more complex The Seniors lifestage is extending and becoming more diverse Populations are aging and life expectancies expanding The senior lifestage is charecterized by diverse attitudes and circumstances Delayed and phased retirement will rise Trend conclusion
CHAPTER 3 APPENDIX
Definitions
Research methodology
How to contact experts in your industry
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