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“Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath,” wrote Mark Twain in a diary entry on 1 January 1863.

Even in the 1800s, many people were embracing January 1st as the date to have a fresh start.  

Today, the appeal of making a to-do list for self-improvement is very much still there. Our research shows a good two-thirds of consumers are taking the opportunity to make changes this year – a figure driven largely by younger folks.

While not everyone buys into the “New Year, New Me” mentality, New Year’s resolutions offer up some helpful insight into consumers’ frame of mind and what their priorities are for the year ahead. 

It’s about starting, not stopping 

Traditionally, New Year’s resolutions have often been associated with doing less of something or stopping it altogether. A bit like Mark Twain and his cigars. We’ve all likely made some of these “cutting out” resolutions in the past, and probably found them extremely difficult to stick to. 

There’s a good reason for that too. Large-scale research carried out by scientists in Sweden showed that these “avoidance” type resolutions just aren’t as sticky as “approach” goals. Essentially, adopting a new habit has higher success rates than stopping or avoiding something. 

This feel-good, reward-based approach is something that people are embracing more of in our own research. 

Using our Zeitgeist research from November, the top 5 resolutions people plan to make for 2022 are all around doing more of something or learning something new, such as eating healthier, learning a new skill, or spending more time with family or friends. 

The bottom 5 resolutions are equally telling. Most of them are avoidance-type behaviors such as eating less meat, drinking less alcohol, or watching less TV. 

Veganuary, which is gaining more momentum in the UK and starting to catch on in the U.S., isn’t necessarily the food-eliminating challenge it once was. More mainstream brands are bringing vegan and plant-based alternatives into the hands of consumers, making it easier than ever to make food swaps. 

Maybe there would be even greater buy-in from consumers if the goal of  “eating less meat”, for example, is reframed to “eating more plant-based alternatives”. So, rather than thinking about what you take away from yourself completely, you think about what you can add. This, in turn, might make it easier for people to stick to beyond the month of January. 

This also helps to explain why “losing weight” is much lower down the list of resolutions compared to “eating more healthy food” (28% vs. 57%). Based on the Swedish study, simply reframing a goal could be key in making it stick. Switching the goal from “I will eat less sweets” to “I will eat 3 portions of fruit a day” (or whatever your goals might be) will likely be more successful, because it’s not about avoidance. 

For those not making resolutions, 25% think they’re too hard to keep and 21% say they add too much pressure. 

This underscores the importance of setting realistic and rewarding goals. It shouldn’t feel like a punishment or chore. 

One of the trends in our Connecting the dots report focused on consumers’ focus on purpose and meaning. Ultimately, the pandemic prompted many people to reflect on and reassess their priorities and figure out what makes them truly happy. 

People are seeking more from life and embracing a more “YOLO” mentality – a trend that’s mirrored in how people are approaching resolutions. 

In the U.S./UK, traveling more has seen the biggest increase among resolution makers. 

36% of this group say they want to travel more as one of their New Year’s resolutions, up from 29% in 2020. As covered in ABTA’s research, the “catch-up consumer” is emerging as a trend, where consumers make up for trips and experiences they’ve missed out on during the pandemic. 

Globally, optimism about personal finances has grown since last year, reaching 57% in Q3 2021 (up from 49% in Q2 2020). Alongside this, close to 40% of consumers across 7 markets say treating themselves has become more important to them over the past year. Travel brands should really hone in on this increased financial confidence, need for adventure, and desire to splurge. 

For brands generally, leaning into consumers’ positive mindset around making healthy, mindful changes is something that’s bound to resonate with those making resolutions (and those who aren’t). For example, fitness or health brands could hone their messaging around the importance of holistic wellbeing, such as the importance and benefits of sleep or exercise, rather than focusing on rudimentary metrics like losing body weight. 

More uplifting, inspiring messaging from brands is something that will land better considering the tough couple of years many people have had. 

Consumers have their sights set on self-care

Whether you’ve been directly impacted or you’ve seen loved ones struggle, there’s no ignoring the toll the pandemic has taken on our wellbeing.

From our GWI USA dataset, anxiety and stress have both increased over the past year across all generations, affecting younger people the most. In Q3 2021, 34% of Gen Z say they experience anxiety at least occasionally, up from 31% in Q2 2020. Millennials have also seen a 20% increase in stress since Q2 2020. 

It’s no wonder then that wellbeing-centric resolutions, like focusing on mental health or practicing more self-care, make the top 5 list for every generation (out of a list of 17 possible resolutions). For Gen Z, focusing on their mental health is the second-most important resolution (53%), behind learning a new skill. 

The latter resolution also hints at Gen Z’s “YOLO” mentality as we covered above. There’s a clear desire to upskill and learn something new, which makes a lot of sense considering how much education, social, and work disruption this young group faced during the pandemic. This, in turn, could have positive knock-on effects for mental wellbeing.   

This wellbeing trend comes to life more in our Connecting the dots report, where we cover how consumers are proactively looking after their health in new ways and taking ownership of their wellbeing. 

Around two-thirds of consumers have become more conscious about looking after their mental health than before the pandemic. 

The most meaningful resolutions are the ones that directly or indirectly impact wellbeing. That’ll look different to many people of course. It might mean focusing on achieving better sleep, taking more breaks from work, or even something small like drinking more water. 

Technology has also become more central in helping people to manage their health, both personally and in the workplace. A quick glance at the lineup at CES 2022 shows the massive enthusiasm for digital health innovation.

There’s many words that could sum up 2021 for many people, one of them being “burnout”. After almost 2 years of ongoing stress and anxiety, mental health has rightly become a significant focus in the workplace. 

Using GWI Work, 47% of professionals want their company to provide more flexible working and 28% want them to provide support services to help employees in the next stage of the pandemic. Many companies ramped up their mental health support during the pandemic, from offering on-demand resources to opening up mental health conversations. 

However, previous research shows the stark disconnect between employees and HR professionals about how supportive employers are of their workers’ wellbeing. Going into 2022, it literally pays to make sure your employees are cared for, feel psychologically safe, and have access (and knowledge) of the mental health tools on offer. 

Kicking the year off to a (hopefully) better start

New Year’s resolutions may not be for everyone, but for many they act as a starting point for self-reflection and the hope that things can change and get better. 

It’s much less about recognizing our downfalls or vices and cutting them out. 

It’s about reflecting on what our lives are like, what we’d like to learn, and what might make us even 1% happier each day. 

For brands, ensuring messaging and campaigns are positive, motivating, and inspire consumers to look after themselves is important. People have faced restrictions of all kinds over these past two years – now’s the time to ask what we can give ourselves, rather than take away.

The pressure to continually upgrade our tech means there’s no such thing as  “a device for life” – and that means a hell of a lot of e-waste over the long term.

It’s estimated that by 2030 we’ll produce 74 million tons of e-waste every year, with wealthier nations typically exporting the problem and poorer countries left to deal with the fallout.

At the same time eco-consciousness is everywhere, and e-waste is high on the agenda. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a huge opportunity to address it, with brands, businesses, and governments all having a part to play. 

But what about consumers?

Using our Core survey and Zeitgeist data from October 2021 we set out to answer some key questions, including: 

• Why has e-waste become such an issue?
• How do consumers feel about e-waste, and how does it affect their behavior?
• Who’s responsible for recycling consumer electronics?
• What’s the role of brands?

Consumers’ love of electronics shows no signs of slowing down

Since 2018, the number of consumers in Europe and North America who own 3 or more devices has continually risen, with similar increases worldwide.

More startling is the 56% increase, over the same period, of people who own 6 or more devices. 

There are understandable reasons for this. Global lockdowns in 2020 led to a huge increase in gaming, TV streaming, and widespread working from home, so many consumers found themselves relying on technology – some for the first time.

But we can’t blame everything on the pandemic, as this trend had begun before COVID struck. Instead, our reliance on devices comes from a combination of factors – pandemic included – with growing tech proficiency, device affordability/accessibility, and the Internet of Things all contributing. 

As consumers’ device portfolios grow, so does the problem of e-waste. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of old electronics lying around, and too little understanding of what to do about them.

E-waste awareness could be higher

Sustainability and eco-consciousness have become part of today’s consumer mentality. We predicted back in January 2021 just how important these qualities would be, and looking back it’s clear people are increasingly keen to recycle, they know that helping the environment is important, and are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

When it comes to e-waste, however, there’s a knowledge gap that makes tackling the problem tricky.

In 9 key markets, more than 8 in 10 consumers have heard the term “e-waste” – but a third don’t know what it means, and 18% aren’t aware of the term.

This is particularly true of older audiences – aged 45 and up – although awareness varies dramatically from country to country as well. China, Germany, and India are the only markets where understanding of e-waste climbs above 50%. In Italy, the UK, and the U.S. less than a third of consumers know what it means.

And while lack of awareness doesn’t necessarily mean consumers don’t care,  increasing awareness is the vital first step to making change happen. 

Binning the throwaway culture

Internationally, 44% of consumers make the effort to recycle their electronics, but this falls dramatically in countries where awareness of e-waste is lower (down to just 27% in the UK, for example). 

31% of consumers still either throw away old electronics with their household garbage, or mix them in with other recyclables like metal and plastic.

The point is that e-waste recycling could easily be much higher, particularly when 58% say they’re aware of specialist recycling centers in their local area.

One way tech brands can help is by rethinking their approach to repairing old devices. A quarter of consumers say they first try to repair products, and making this easier should be a priority. Apple has made big strides in this area by introducing their first self-service repair programme (after a lengthy period of resisting).

As with any eco trend, consciousness-raising is key. Consumers who know about e-waste are more likely to dispose of old electronics properly – but the onus shouldn’t be solely on them to figure out the best way to do it.

Around 4 in 10 consumers agree that local civic authorities should help people recycle old electronics by both providing more information and making it more convenient. This is particularly important while the pandemic continues to hamper peoples’ use of public spaces.

Local businesses can help too. Currently only a handful of consumers trade in old devices or sell them.

But being able to simply drop them off in-store and have someone else take care of disposal should encourage more consumers to stop throwing them out with regular garbage.

A quick online search reveals a number of businesses – big and small – that offer this service, alongside articles that explain to consumers their options for old tech – whether that’s recycling, trading-in for a discount, or donating them to others.

Currently only 19% say they donate their old tech, a figure that’ll hopefully rise as more brands offer this option, with Vodafone and ITV’s “ReBoxing Day” campaign a good example of this in action.

Donating is a way of reducing e-waste and helping those less fortunate. Campaign group Material Focus has partnered with brands like Sky and giffgaff to promote this further, with additional information on e-waste and how businesses can get involved.

What do brands need to know?

Disposing of old electronics in an eco-friendly way is the ultimate goal, although it’s important to note that simply being aware of e-waste can affect consumers’ purchasing decisions too. 

35% of consumers check the sustainability of personal electronics before they buy.

That’s more than the number who check their carbon footprint for flights & travel (23%).

Among those who either haven’t heard the term e-waste or don’t know what it means, just 27% check the environmental impact of their tech. The important point is that eco-awareness (of any sort) encourages consumers to think twice about the products they buy, meaning brands need to understand and respond to this mindset.

Consumers who’re aware of the issues surrounding e-waste are understandably far more concerned about tech products being eco-friendly than those who aren’t. In practice this means checking simple things like whether a product has environmentally-friendly packaging or is made from recycled materials – things that brands can very easily take on board.

These consumers are also more likely to purchase new products where they can get a discount for trading in their old devices.

Even though tech is becoming more affordable, consumers will always look for ways to save money – and combating e-waste could be a great win-win incentive.

It’s worth noting how eco-awareness amplifies things that have always been important to consumers. While nothing trumps a product offering good value for money, consumers with e-waste on their minds will be on the lookout for products that are built to last, with long battery life and high build quality high on their list of purchase motivations. 

Likewise, consumers who aren’t necessarily concerned about e-waste are still likely to care about helping the environment in some way. Consumers understandably want to feel like they’re part of the solution, not the problem, and by creating products with eco-friendly credentials, brands can explore this as an additional selling point.

Addressing e-waste isn’t a waste of time

Green consumerism has become mainstream, putting immense pressure on brands to produce eco-friendly products, use sustainable packaging, and commit to climate pledges. E-waste, very much a part of the problem, can’t be swept aside any longer.

As consumers buy and use more devices it’s important to make them aware of e-waste and how they can play a role in reducing it.

But while it’s right to encourage consumers to dispose of their old products properly, brands, businesses, and local governments can’t sit idly by. They need to offer easier ways to dispose of old tech, including exchanges or trade-ins, and promote messages that help consumers understand the importance of recycling their electronics.

Device manufacturers need to ask themselves “Are our products built-to-last?” and start using recycled materials to reduce their own e-waste output – both effective ways to win over eco-aware consumers. The fact is that many people actively want to be environmentally responsible, and brands who go the extra mile to help them will set themselves apart from competitors who can’t or won’t do the same.

This time last year, the economic landscape was pretty bleak. And while we see consumer confidence picking up, the commerce world faces new uncertainty in light of the Omicron variant.

Economic confidence and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect how we shop, and we unpack the data on how commerce will look in 2022 in our flagship report.

But for now, here’s a snapshot of the biggest commerce trends you need to know about – it’s not all doom and gloom. 

1) Consumers are battling the urge to splurge

The pandemic has left consumers feeling conflicted. Many want to splash out, reminded that ‘life is short’, but also feel the need to plan for the worst. 

Across four of the seven countries included in our research, many are prioritizing saving over spending. 

But internet users are also keen to indulge more than they did pre-pandemic. 

The gap between saving and spending is greatest among younger consumers, so financial providers would do well to invest in saving-based marketing to meet their needs. 

Women are 1.3x more likely than men to prioritize treating themselves, and globally just over half prefer buying experiences over products. 

Wowcher, a deal website with a mostly female audience, leveraged this by going big on half-price discounts for leisure facilities and treatments in the lead up to Christmas.

This paints a pretty picture for commerce marketers – campaigns that suggest ways to pamper on a budget are primed to succeed with consumers. 

2) The ecommerce boom is set to continue 

Ecommerce grew throughout the pandemic. With stores closed for many months and ongoing fears around safety, consumers were forced to shop online. 

Across five markets, over a third feel they’ve shopped online more in the past year. And having relied on online shopping for so long, a fifth feel that they will buy even more online in the future. 

Smartphones have played an important role in this growth, with 31% using them to shop or browse for products in the past week. Mobile commerce also continues to increase wave-on-wave in our U.S. research – there’s been a 36% increase in the number of Americans doing most of their household grocery shopping this way, and a 25% increase in those doing at least some of it via smartphone. 

Online grocery shopping experienced a boom of its own in the past year, growing 8% since Q1 2021.

Any movement in the percentage of grocery items bought virtually is worthy of attention, as the overall global annual spend is immense. 

The initial surge in online grocery demand forced retailers like Amazon Fresh to waitlist new customers to keep up with the surge in demand. However, only 38% of monthly grocery shoppers buy these goods online, so there’s still room for brands to shake up the virtual arena. For example, Kroger and Instacart joined forces this year to offer “Kroger Delivery Now”, delivering groceries in just 30 minutes.

For retailers who haven’t yet optimized their digital offerings, now’s the time to start.

3) AR: coming to a store near you

Augmented reality (AR) features are already widely used by social networkers around the world today. This technology allows users to customize images by transforming the way they look and the world around them.

But younger generations want to see this technology in stores. 

Over a fifth of Gen Z and millennials want more retailers to jump on the AR trend so that shoppers can try on products digitally. Demand is even higher in the U.S. – with this number rising to a quarter.

While some retailers embraced AR to recreate the in-store shopping experience during closures, those ahead of the curve are using AR to drive footfall recovery. Beauty brand Sephora uses in-store AR to help customers pick out the perfect shade of foundation. 

Nike has also joined the party with its “Nike Fit” app feature, which determines users’ shoe size and saves this information in-app. If the customer then shops in-store, a sales associate can simply scan their app QR code to retrieve their size. 

The power of these tactics shouldn’t be underestimated. 

4) Buy now, pay later services have surged

The use of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm has grown in the past year – in the UK alone, their use almost quadrupled in 2020.

These schemes are most popular among consumers in Asia-Pacific and those looking to buy inexpensive items like clothes, shoes and accessories. Now Klarna Bank is looking to introduce longer-term financing for larger purchases, including experiences like holidays.

However, brands hoping to enter the BNPL arena should bear something in mind.

Due to its growing popularity and concerns around consumer welfare, regulators are closing in on this payment method.

In the UK, a consultation has launched on how the industry should be regulated, and the EU is currently tightening its rules on credit to protect consumers. 

That being said, of the consumers who have used a BNPL service, 31% enjoy the flexibility offered by delaying payment, while 47% use BNPL to avoid credit card interest. Other users also enjoy the guilt-free spending this payment method allows. However, around half also call for regulation or more controls on who can sign up. 

5) Brand discovery is evolving 

The pandemic has changed the way we spend time online, along with how we are exposed to brands. With podcast listeners increasing globally by 9% in the last year, over 1 in 5 now discover new brands when they tune in. 

Since Q2 2020, the power of search engines as a brand discovery tool declined by 7%.

More surprisingly, Q3 2020 saw social media ads surpass search engines among Gen Zs. 

Put simply – Gen Z now looks to social media for information more than search engines.

These changes are profound, but don’t mean traditional formats have lost their appeal. 

While Gen Z are most likely to discover brands on social media, baby boomers and Gen X tend to catch them on TV. 

Something which our recent pursuit of purpose article explores is how consumers are increasingly using adjectives like “creative” and “talented” to describe themselves, while use of TikTok has also exploded.

Wise commerce brands will find ways to harness consumers’ creative genius by encouraging user generated content (UGC). 

UGC is an affordable way for brands to capture the attention of Gen Z on social media, as campaigns which encourage users to join in have a vast reach.

For example, the German branch of KFC recently took to TikTok to increase brand awareness among Gen Z and millennials. They asked users to come up with their own dance moves and share them with the hashtag #DoTheColonel, the campaign gained 225 million views and 157,000 challenge videos in just six days.

Can’t get enough commerce trends? Dive into our commerce flagship report for the full picture of what’s in store for 2022.

“An aberration that we are going to correct as soon as possible” and “I don’t see any positives” are just some of the comments influential CEOs have made about remote working. 

Though these opinions aren’t shared across the board, our data shows the office remains a critical component of most businesses’ future plans.

Whether it’s hybrid or full-time, for the most part, professionals will be expected to attend the office in some form. 

Across the nine markets we surveyed, 1 in every 2 employees said their company’s work arrangements in the next stage of the pandemic will be fully office-based, and a further 3 in 10 said they’ll be hybrid. 

Clearly the future of work isn’t fully remote.

Our research has identified two key focus areas to help businesses navigate a smoother return.

Design working practices that promote trust and empower employees.

1. There’s no one-size-fits-all anymore. 

Pre-pandemic, remote work was something of an occasional luxury, with only 24% of professionals saying they were broadly permitted to WFH in 2019. Today, this number stands at 36%. 

While a significant increase, it feels smaller than it could be given the events of the past two years.

But in reality, even within sectors that are fully capable of functioning outside the office like technology and communication and management training, it’s still less than half the workers who are broadly permitted to WFH. 

So, although remote working kept businesses afloat during the pandemic, the office is still where employees are going to spend most of their time going forward. 

Across the nine markets we surveyed in October, half of workers say they’ll be fully office-based, apart from the UK where that number stands at 34%. 

What business leaders need to bear in mind here is not everyone will be on board with that, and employees’ opinions are polarized when it comes to the space they prefer to work from.

When we ask professionals what their future working preference is, we see a hybrid setup (where they spend most of their time WFH and a few days in the office per week) come out on top (32%). 

This is a testament that people do want to return to the office, but keep their remote working options open. 

The second most popular options (24%) are to still come to the office but spend more days WFH, or to work exclusively remotely. 

The key takeaway for companies here is that one-size-fits-all approach won’t really cut it. 

It will also depend on where you’re based and the COVID-19 situation in your country as we’re already seeing U.S. companies delaying their office returns following a surge of cases. 

Our data also shows almost 3 in 10 in Japan are totally fine with returning to the office full-time, while over a quarter of U.S. employees are set on working exclusively remotely.  

The bottom line is even though a return to the office is desired by both employees and businesses to some extent, the future of work will certainly require a nuanced approach. 

Business leaders need to show trust in their workforce by giving them the freedom to decide what works best for them.

2. First and foremost, employees want flexibility.

One of our key predictions for 2021 in our Connecting the dots report was that strictly sticking to the 9-5 model of work would inevitably sap employee productivity.

And now, a year later, we see in our ongoing GWI Work research across 10 countries that flexible working (for example, empowering workers to choose when they start and end their day) has even slightly dipped from Q2 2020.

Today it’s only 3 in 10 employees who are broadly permitted to work flexibly, with office workers less likely to be allowed to do so (27%). 

But what employers might not realize is that flexible working isn’t just a perk anymore, it’s key to helping workers feel more comfortable returning to the office. 

Out of the nine different factors we asked employees about, flexible working times where people can arrive later and avoid rush hour tops the chart (43%).

The fact that the figure jumps among those who feel uncomfortable attending (47%) and it’s far ahead of other measures like mask wearing, distancing, or ventilation means businesses should pay particular attention to reviewing their ways of working. 

They need to keep in mind that when it comes to attending the office, flexible working isn’t so much about going to the gym or picking up the kids from nursery; for most, it’s about feeling safe.  

Our GWI Work data confirms this as well; when we asked professionals in the same markets what they want businesses to do to help them in the next stage of the pandemic, more flexible working and ensuring workplace safety carry the same weight for professionals (46%).  

This means businesses need to put the same effort into empowering professionals to choose their working times as they do on making sure they’re safe. 

Address employees’ social anxiety as much as their safety.

1. Discomfort around returning to the office is linked to social anxiety.

Nearly half of those who work at a company that may have some form of office-based work in the future are comfortable coming back, bearing in mind an additional 20% have already returned. 

So actual discomfort rates are quite low among workers across different demographics, and most are looking forward to spending time with colleagues face-to-face. 

This begs the question what exactly makes people uncomfortable.

It’s quite telling that social anxiety and not worries around safety is the factor standing out the most among those feeling uncomfortable with in-office work. 

Social interactions in the past two years have been reduced and it’s no surprise that comfort levels are, for the most part, being dictated by how anxious people feel being around others again. 

Even among those describing themselves as social or outgoing, it’s still 3 in 10 who are most worried about feelings of social anxiety when it comes to returning to the office. 

Employers shouldn’t underestimate this as the figure jumps to 42% among those with a mental health condition. 

Forcing employees who are already struggling mentally to an in-office environment won’t have any benefits for the person nor the business.  

It’s vital that leaders not only acknowledge but also normalize the issue and make small steps into easing people back in – each at their own pace. 

Investing in software solutions like Spill or Happify, for example, is also a fruitful way to support your workers’ wellbeing and help them overcome concerns.   

2. Productivity and social interactions are closely interlinked.

Improving efficiency and productivity has always been a top initiative for businesses.

In fact, for a third of decision makers this is key to driving growth in the next year, surpassing things like improving innovation (28%) and better marketing (27%). 

But at the same time, WFH productivity has proved one of the most fascinating paradoxes emerging from the pandemic.  

On the one hand, the number one benefit workers cite when it comes to remote working is having more time on their hands. 

On the other hand, though, their top challenge has to do with trouble focusing due to distractions which ultimately harms productivity, and hence workplace satisfaction.

So it becomes increasingly obvious that ultimately, people need structure and social interaction to be productive – something that the office can provide.

And our Zeitgeist data from October supports this. For young professionals especially, increased productivity is what they’re looking forward to the most when it comes to returning to the office. 

The bottom line is employers shouldn’t be afraid of asking professionals to return to the office in the future.

Our data clearly shows this will most likely be beneficial rather than harmful so long as it’s done with the necessary considerations in place.

Even when we look at the link between searching for a new job and future workspace, those WFH are more likely to jump ship than professionals returning to the office. 

The important thing is that leaders remember to:

• support individual needs while easing people back in, and remain agile with the COVID-19 situation;
• address issues that might be making professionals uncomfortable, like social anxiety;
• review working policies in a way that flexible working is not only permitted but encouraged.

Sustainable fashion is a term that’s difficult to avoid, largely due to the size of the fashion industry’s impact on the climate. 

The lack of traceability makes it hard to put an exact figure on it, but McKinsey estimates it to account for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. To put this in perspective: the fashion industry creates the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as the countries of France, Germany, and the UK combined. Safe to say it’s significant. 

Search interest for “sustainable fashion” and “sustainable clothing” peaked during the pandemic, and there was hope 2021 would lead to a climate reality check with world leaders meeting at COP26. And with fashion industry leaders collaborating to address environmental concerns, the tide is starting to turn on fast fashion. 

Sustainable solutions exist, and consumers are ready for them.

Drawing from all our datasets, including our latest Zeitgeist research, here are some of the latest sustainable fashion insights you need to know.

Importance of sustainability on the rise among Gen Z

Production is not always a supply and demand relationship. In 2020, the French government passed a bill to ban companies destroying unsold or returned goods, following in the footsteps of similar measures implemented in the UK. Still, with a huge number of clothes being manufactured, it’s important to understand consumers’ purchase habits.

Around 1 in 5 Americans buy clothes or shoes on a monthly basis, rising to nearly 1 in 3 among Gen Z. 

They’re also the generation most likely to buy clothes or shoes even if they don’t need them (29% do). 

Despite these excess purchase trends, it’s not all doom and gloom. When buying such items, U.S. consumers’ interests in style, price, and brand name have all decreased since the start of the pandemic, while interest in the items’ sustainability has seen the greatest growth.

This makes it possible to engage entire generations with sales of sustainable products, but a trend to look out for is the growing engagement with clothing rentals and subscriptions.

14% of U.S. consumers subscribe to clothing/accessory/cosmetic services, 16% more than Q2 2020. 

Gen Z and millennials are the most digitally active generations, with the influence of social platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram meaning they don’t want to be seen always wearing the same outfits. They stand out for wanting other people to like or notice what they’re wearing, and fashion brands are finding new ways to satisfy these needs.

Companies like Rent the Runway are stirring up the fashion industry, and to great acclaim. Like many businesses, they have been affected by the social restrictions enforced during the pandemic, but with their IPO estimates of over $1 billion, fashion rentals and subscriptions are a trend to be taken seriously.

Sustainable fashion is more than the product

The growing interest in sustainable fashion is no fad, as consumers’ actions are starting to speak volumes. Etsy’s acquisition of selling platform Depop shows that consumers are interested in buying secondhand, and importantly, that engagement in the circular economy is gathering momentum, especially among Gen Z.

Fashion brands have an opportunity to capitalize on this interest, with the added reputational bonus that comes with investing in, and promoting, sustainable practices. Fjällräven offers guidance on how to wash, store, care, and even repair their range of clothing and outdoor products, with the right to repair movements making waves in consumer goods this year. Their brand identity puts sustainability front and center, to increase the lifecycle of their products, and encourage sustainable practices.

Our research shows that consumers care about the materials and quality of a product, but for brands/retailers, that should not be their only focus.

H&M created the Green Machine, technology that separates and recycles polyester and cotton-blended clothing at scale. Other clothing brands such as Patagonia have a dedicated Worn Wear store to sell second-hand products and reduce waste. These are important steps. 

53% of shoppers who buy sustainable products think it’s important to use  recycled materials.

Many of the desired factors go beyond the material qualities of the product itself. Eco-friendly/carbon-neutral shipping, sustainable packaging, and part of the proceeds going to eco-friendly causes are all important factors to consumers. 

It’s not just high street retailers who are well positioned to make these investments. Luxury retailer Moncler is regarded as one of the world’s most sustainable brands due to its material tracing, recycling, and investment in charity projects, such as their Warmly Moncler for UNICEF campaign. Burberry have transformed its branded retail and digital packaging, with at least 40% of the packaging material made from recycled coffee cups. 

If there’s one thing to learn, it’s that brands should put people and the planet first.

Fashion brands/retailers should take these factors into account when planning their sustainable strategies, but should be wary that the price of a product is important to over a third of sustainable shoppers, and not all are comfortable with the additional expense. 

The challenge they face is justifying to consumers why the increased expense is worth it, communicating why they’re investing in sustainable production methods, and why consumers should buy in too. Marketing teams should not just be involved in the end-sale of a product, but throughout conception, production, and distribution. 

As Vogue Business highlights, “the fashion industry will only achieve its sustainability targets if brands dedicate communications to making sustainable lifestyles desirable.”

Making sustainable products accessible to everyone

Nearly 2 in 3 consumers who describe themselves as fashion-conscious would rather pay more for an eco-friendly product. The challenge for brands and retailers is to make such products available at scale, and now we’re seeing the industry starting to meet these needs.

H&M is taking positive steps in sustainable fashion, and it’s one of the major retailers trying to tackle the issues of pricing and availability. Its Conscious products, using recycled and sustainably-sourced materials, are sold at a more accessible price point. If they can bring such changes to the high street, then other retailers could follow, although in some cases significant investments may be needed.

There are many ways that fashion brands and retailers can work toward creating sustainable and accessible products.

Recycled materials, selling secondhand goods, and collaborating with other industry thought leaders are just some of the ways to encourage a culture shift. Consumers’ eyes are open to sustainable clothing, but it’s down to the brands and retailers to make the offering accessible and attractive to everyone.

To gain consumer trust, brands should be transparent and accountable for their operations.

But there’s a danger that sustainability data is used as a vanity metric, and doesn’t represent the full business picture. 

While companies are becoming more environmentally and socially conscious, greenwashing is becoming a common issue, with studies suggesting as many as 40% of environmental claims could be misleading to consumers. 

Retailer OVS is an example of the steps fashion brands can take to lead sustainable change. The Fashion Transparency Index 2021 ranks OVS as the leading fashion brand for transparency, as it provides consumers with information about suppliers and products to help them make mindful purchase choices. 

Brands need to look inwards to address their own sustainability issues, but communicate it in a way that provides value so consumers can make informed decisions. Social media puts brands under a sustainability spotlight, and those who are lagging behind need to adapt or risk falling out of favor with sustainable shoppers.

“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore”.

Often attributed to Mark Twain, it’s a quote usually offered as investment advice. 

You could come up with something similar for time. Just as there’s only so much land on the Earth’s surface, there’s only 24 hours in a day. Even before COVID, the concept of the attention economy, where publishers of all stripes fight to conquer time in the day, was gaining currency. 

In 2022, vaccines will usher more consumers into the pandemic endgame, making that competition even more fierce in what some are labeling an “attention recession”. 

With our 360-degree perspective on the consumer, we’re uniquely placed at GWI to track the attention battle during the pandemic so far, and provide insight into where it might head in 2022.

Attention deficit

By some measures, the attention recession is already here. 

Q2 2020 of our Core research saw an unprecedented spike in virtually all media activities, prompted by widespread lockdowns. This then died back, and we’re now in a kind of interim period where it’s not immediately clear if they’ll return to their previous levels, or reach new heights. 

But while time spent is a useful metric, it’s only part of the picture. Without understanding how consumers feel, you’re unlikely to know their next move, the reasons behind it – or what to do about it. 

With that in mind, a good place to start is news.

The newsiest event of all time

Rewind back to early 2020. The world is being rocked by a once-in-a-lifetime event. 

Information is in high demand and short supply. 35 million viewers break France’s record for the most-viewed TV broadcast ever when they tune into President Macron’s press conferences on COVID-19. The Netherlands and the UK see similar peaks. 

As our research showed at the time, news was the media type consumers were most likely to consume more of during the first wave of the pandemic. But after its initial burst, it began to decline. Unlike other media, interest couldn’t stay at those levels. 

Here’s a very important point to remember: nothing compares with the sheer sense of shock consumers experienced at the beginning of the pandemic. Consumers in the UK have consistently reported less concern about the virus since March 2020 – even when the country was in the grip of a deadlier winter wave, driven by the Alpha variant. The same thing happened in India when Delta emerged – though it remains to be seen if the response to Omicron will follow suit. 

The sheer volume of coverage may have actually been detrimental.

Consumers that have switched off news cite too much negativity and too much COVID content as their main reasons for doing so. 

News media is also struggling with the historic challenge of persuading people to pay.

A decade ago, consumers were as likely to be paying for digital news each month as they were TV or music. Now, consumers have embraced subscription models for the latter two, but news has barely moved. 

The most popular reasons why someone would subscribe are better quality news, exclusives, and in-depth analysis. These seem like obvious points but they point to embracing the fundamentals of good journalism – something made plain in recent rebrands, and arguably the success of certain Substack newsletters too.

News media should also think long-term. Unpredictable, “black swan” events like COVID may appear, but one of the dominating issues for the next 10-20 years is likely to be the climate crisis. Bespoke research we conducted in July 2021 offers some lessons for how to tackle it – all age groups want more positive stories, though there’s a sharp divide between younger readers, who want more global coverage, and older readers, who prefer stories with a local focus. 

More positive stories does not mean painting a falsely optimistic picture. Solutions journalism is one way to approach such issues, as it avoids making readers feel powerless and therefore disengaged. 

Channel hopping

At first glance, COVID has been a boon to TV, particularly the online kind. Minutes watched are up, while watching it was one of the most popular lockdown activities. 

But at the same time that eyeballs were going toward The Last Dance and co., other changes in the market were impacting consumers. TV streaming is now a much more crowded space and this is pushing up the cost needed to access the most talked-about shows. 

Consumers in the U.S. have grown more optimistic about their finances over the past year, and more willing to splash out too. So the fact that the number who think TV services are too expensive has grown 26%, is pretty telling. 

Some are already thinking about switching off – in May 2021, a quarter of consumers were thinking about canceling a service, or had already done so. 

Recent earnings calls show how squeezed the TV market is becoming, but also how unpredictable it can be. Disney’s Q4 2021 earnings showed a slowdown from early success in the pandemic, while Netflix’s outlook was more optimistic, though this was in part due to Squid Game becoming an unexpected hit. 

We should consider this in the context of the attention economy as a whole.

The perception of TV becoming more expensive might not just persuade consumers to drop subscriptions, but to spend time with other media instead. 

Netflix famously said that it competes more with Fortnite than HBO. And gaming is definitely something that streaming services need to keep an eye on. 

Change AV input

If Google Trends is any judge, then the most significant release of the pandemic’s early days was a video game. Animal Crossing saw a higher peak of interest in 2020 than either Tiger King, Tenet, or Taylor Swift’s Folklore – all canonical lockdown releases in their own right. Moreover, while the others had relatively short-lived peaks, Animal Crossing’s decline in popularity came down a more gentle slope. 

With gaming, those watercooler moments last longer. Just look at how the Animal Crossing’s November update has led to several pieces about gamers returning to their islands after a long time away. 

The fates of gaming and TV are likely to be deeply intertwined. To see this in practice, we can turn to young people in the U.S., where something extraordinary has happened in the past year. 

In summer 2020, gaming sat just behind TV in Gen Z’s list of personal interests, and well behind movies and music. Gaming has since drastically overtaken TV, and is now breathing down the neck of both the other two.

For young people, gaming’s increasingly becoming the central medium around which others revolve.

We got confirmation that gaming wasn’t just a lockdown fad with our Q2 2021 release of GWI Gaming. It showed that interest in gaming, and time spent on it, have continued to grow, even with more out-of-home activities available. 

We could also peer into something of a crystal ball with data from Israel and the UAE, countries that in the summer of 2021 were among the first to lift restrictions due to the success of their vaccination campaigns. 

While local factors come into play, one of the most striking signs was that gaming continued to grow in those countries as a personal interest. Even as lockdowns were eased, it continued to make headway with consumers.

Music to audio’s ears

At the time of writing, with workers tentatively returning to offices, it wasn’t hard to find articles recommending podcasts to listen to “when you return to the commute”. 

Podcasts have always been linked closely with traveling to work, but that overlooks how much they’re ingrained in domestic environments. Exercise (and likely sleep) are also currently more important contexts for podcast listening than the oft-heralded commute. It’s partly because of this that audio of all kinds has thrived under lockdowns, and will continue to do so. 

Based on average time listening per day, music streaming is the only media type to be outperforming its lockdown peak from Q2 2020.

One of the other reasons for audio’s success – and something that may have knock-on effects for other types of media through this attention economy lens – is screen fatigue. 

Our GWI Work research allows us to glimpse into what people do in the workplace, in addition to their behavior as consumers. From it, we find that use of video calls exploded in 2020 but then dialed back in 2021 – with screen fatigue the likely culprit.

Little wonder that Google traffic for “eye strain” and “glare” reached all-time highs at the back end of 2020. Here we can also project forward to a world where many work in a more hybrid way, combining office days with WFH days. It may be that issues around looking at different screens in quick succession boost audio media at visual’s expense. 

Attention tension

Each media channel faces individual challenges, in addition to the re-appearance of out-of-home activities. But some principles can be applied across the board to retain or win back customers. 

1. Focusing on distinctive assets, and becoming more than just another timesink. Media providers can’t just promote their brand; they also have to promote the value of spending time with their medium in the first place. Gaming has thrived in part because of its hybrid social and competitive online spaces; what unique qualities can others draw on? 

2. Adding value to someone’s life beyond just capturing their attention – whether by offering more curation, boosting discovery, or cultivating fandom. Giving consumers an emotional stake in media will boost loyalty, and in a recessionary environment, focusing on true engagement – beyond time spent metrics – may well be necessary.

3. Providing escapism – which gaming and audio are almost by default. Transitioning from a pandemic to an endemic context is likely to be an emotionally fraught process for many. Escapism is a quality that could well remain in high demand.

The beauty industry is making a fast recovery, but the same can’t necessarily be said of its consumers. Concealed by the pandemic, new routines, behaviors, and attitudes are redefining the landscape.

As part of our annual trends report, Connecting the dots, we took a deep dive into the lives of beauty buyers this past year, and how 2022 will offer new opportunities – and challenges – alike.

The lockdown “groom-boom”

Lockdown was a chance to experiment. There were no professionals to cater for specific regimes meaning consumers had to take matters into their own hands.

This doesn’t mean people became beauticians overnight (one look at #lockdownhaircuts will tell you that) but it was an opportunity to learn something new. 

One of the most visible signs of this was the shift in purchase behavior. 

In Q1 2020, 18% of consumers purchased skincare products every month – behind the likes of makeup/cosmetics (23%). In this timeframe, consumers now consider both as important as one another. 

In fact, there’s clear evidence that these behaviors have stuck even 18 months since the first lockdowns began. Amazon, for example, continues to see considerable growth for beauty and cosmetics products as consumers keep to their online shopping habits.

For some audiences in particular, this was a long time coming.

Since 2018, the fastest-growing interest among male consumers is beauty and cosmetics – climbing 21% in this timeframe.

Male interest in beauty has exploded in APAC markets such as China, Australia, and Indonesia, but impressive growth in North America and Europe also, shows it’s truly a global trend.

There are, however, signs that this trend could be starting to slow down. 

While male interest in beauty and cosmetics has grown female interest has shown early signs of stagnation. Brands have left themselves work to do if they’re to keep pace with the trend.

Let’s be clear, this doesn’t mean consumers will abandon their new routines. Male (particuarly those who are heterosexual) and LGBTIQA+ consumers still continue to pip their pre-pandemic beauty interest and purchase figures, but this is changing – growth is slowing and, without intervention, risks declining too. 

There are several possible explanations for this. For one, there’s always the possibility that there simply aren’t enough products available for some audiences.

As new beauty audiences were brought into the spotlight, purchase behaviors failed to match their level of interest – the onus is now on marketers to change this; reaching new audiences and adapting strategies to their needs. Brands urgently need to match this enthusiasm with product variety in order to avoid a similar pattern of decline witnessed among female consumers.

There’s also a sense that some brands aren’t doing enough to challenge existing concerns within the industry. 

Stigma toward male consumers buying beauty and cosmetic products, for example, is a very real concern and brands have a role to play in changing this – instead of leaving it up to social media users or challenger brands.

Actor and singer, Harry Styles, recently revealed the launch of his own beauty line, Pleasing. Styles joins a growing list of celebrity-owned beauty brands (including the likes of Machine Gun Kelly and Pharrell Wiliams) that offer unisex products, catering specifically to the rise of inclusive beauty.

If you’re not convinced, then figures for people of color should set alarm bells ringing; interest and purchase figures have fallen 15% and 13%, respectively, since 2018 – the majority of which occurred shortly after the pandemic began. 

Scrutiny toward a lack of products suited to darker skin tones is nothing new but extra scrutiny on racial representation has only further highlighted this problem – particularly in the wake of global protests in 2020.

Beauty brands shouldn’t shoulder the blame alone but, as figures with the power to promote diversity, they have a responsibility to address these problems. Moreover, a failure to act will inevitably inspire more newcomer brands to address this matter. 

As the profile of beauty buyers changes, catering to their individual needs will be crucial in 2022, and beyond.

Fostering inclusion

For the most part, we can sum up changes to consumer beauty and skincare preferences as an effort to “ditch the glam” and focus on simplifying things a little. A quarter of consumers say this, with other leading changes to do with buying more products that maintain natural beauty as opposed to enhancing it.

With time on their hands to become more acquainted (or, in some cases, unacquainted) with beauty products, consumers actually had a chance to find out more about their preferences. It was an opportunity to “be themselves”.

Society is even changing to reflect this. Some workplaces have loosened dress codes to relieve some of the pressures that existed pre-COVID – an example of how expression and uniqueness can be promoted in the future.

But there’s still work to do.

The number of consumers who say beauty standards are changing for the better sits at 19% and brands can help to raise this by listening to what consumers want, and adapting their messaging to ensure beauty standards are inclusive of all types.

This mostly has to do with representation. We’ve seen a steep decline in interest and purchase figures among people of color and LGBTIQA+ consumers but our data also revealed distinct calls for more diverse models from either of these groups too.

There are challenger brands like Fenty Beauty that already do work to address this, but others are following suit, doubling down on commitments to support inclusive beauty.

In the last month, just 1 in 5 of those who purchased any beauty products say they feel represented in the advertising they see, falling to as low as 13% among LGBTIQA+ consumers in this group. 

In response, marketers can be more representative in their casting; featuring models with disabilities, skin conditions, and of different sizes to expand their appeal among these disengaged audiences.

Once again, the onus isn’t necessarily on beauty brands alone to change this, but calls have been growing for some time now; ignoring them is becoming less of an option. 

There’s also a need for models that look like regular people – 35% say this, climbing dramatically among people of color and LGBTIQA+ consumers. Steering away from filters or retouched images on social media is a budding trend which not only makes campaigns more authentic but relatable.

Diversity and representation can extend far beyond advertising, provoking food for thought among retailers of all kinds. For consumers coming in-store, speaking to employees who can reciprocate their concerns and suggest products they use themselves will make a massive difference.

In some cases, it means rethinking terms that could be polarizing. Take “normal” for example, with several brands having opted to remove the word entirely from their packaging. 

If beauty brands want to encourage consumers to keep to their beauty routines, they not only have to listen to their needs but show they’re willing to adapt to them too. 

After all, if they don’t, then challenger brands will.

Keeping the momentum

A change in attitudes may have brands scratching their heads about how these apply in the future. Will consumers care less about appearance going forward, and how will this affect their routine? Moreover, what does this suggest about the products they buy?

Consumers may certainly be calling for more accurate standards of beauty in the media they see but this doesn’t mean they’ll spend any less time on their own appearance in turn – if anything, they’re anticipating taking longer.

For starters, it’s been a long time since March 2020 – many of us don’t look the same as we used to. Now’s the time for consumers to showcase the new styles, looks, and techniques they picked up during the past year. 

Time spent getting ready for work is expected to be a lot longer than elsewhere. This makes some sense; employers may be reevaluating their dress codes, but not their standards.

We also need to consider the context of who consumers spend their time with. 

Appearance is seemingly more important in the company of colleagues than it is among family and friends – given estimated time spent getting it ready falls ahead of a social gathering or a night out. The bottom line for brands is to think about where consumers will be spending their time and how their specific needs are likely to change in context, ensuring they have access to products that cater to these varying routines. 

We also need to consider social attitudes and behaviors in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. Many consumers will still have reservations about attending social gatherings – perhaps for some time.

As a result, products that improve or maintain appearance in the long-term should be considered just as important as ones that enhance it. There’s still every opportunity to look your best, and plenty of time to do it.

Keeping up appearances in the year ahead.

2022 has a lot to live up to; you can thank hopes of a new “roaring 20’s” for that. 

While the idea of a new Jazz Age likely has businesses in the retail, hospitality, and nightlife sectors giddy with anticipation, marketers need to wise up to a change in consumer mentality. There’ll certainly be a resurgence in appearance-based behaviors but, this time, it’ll be on a much larger scale. People don’t necessarily look at beauty products in the same way they used to, granting new opportunities for brands and doing away with pre-COVID challenges.

This means drafting campaigns that speak to everyone; levelling the playing field through tailor-made products, and utilizing campaigns that highlight everyone’s individuality.

Let’s be clear; beauty standards won’t change overnight, but enthusiasm for these kinds of products can.