Consumer Trends 2022

In this new annual edition of our report on consumer trends, we have sought to go one step beyond pure research. We have combined the qualitative analysis of macro trends with our deep learning data interpretation to offer a truer image of the main consumption tr ends that will take place in the coming months.

To do that, after defining as many as 20 macro trends, we have applied our Trend Spotting methodology to anticipate trends, a method we also apply to brands. This methodology is based on relevance of conversations at a global level and measures subjects with the greatest coverage and, above all, those that experience the highest rates of acceleration. Below, we have cross-referenced the data on global conversations with the presence of these subjects in 50 of the most important brands in the world. This has allowed us to find the saturation level and the role of brands in these high potential subjects. The third step in our habitual work with brands is the analysis of the measurable legitimacy of our client in this trend or subject.

The panorama that emerged from this work is irrevocably affected by the traumatic, yet revealing, impact these last two years have had in brand-consumer relations. Accordingly, we identify how the emotional impact on consumers has shaped conversations about the relationship they have with brands. We have become more skeptical and demanding of brands. Trends such as the rise of skepticism of brands, the search for brands that boost happiness and comfort, and the criticism of toxic positivity fall within this group.

On the other hand, this emotional impact also translates to tangible relations with brands, placing the focus on incentivizing security, such as addressing food barriers, the new era of packaging, and transhumanist consumers. Lastly, the channels and formats of relations between brands and consumers remain in a state of transformation, from the omnipresent metaverse, transforming communication methods even in the most established brands and sectors, focusing the time of consumption more on the ‘when’ than the ‘where’, and the unstoppable growth of memes as language.