Connecting the Dots: A Glance at the Biggest Consumer Trends of 2022

Audience market research company GWI has come up with its annual report, Connecting the Dots, that unearths how changing consumer attitudes and behaviors will shape the year ahead. The report sheds light on various aspects like job satisfaction among consumers, how they perceive self-care, their media preferences, etc. The report aims to educate the marketers on the upcoming trends that will gain traction in the coming days so that they can better prepare themselves for the times ahead.

Here are the major highlights of the report.

1. Taking Back Control

The pandemic has made many hit the reset button at various points in their lives. Not only did it catalyze business and digital innovation but also spurred personal innovation. Thus, the pandemic has brought about seismic changes in the collective mindset. Consumers today are much bolder, more empowered, and more adventurous.

This has also led to a diminishing need to be responsible and careful with regard to one’s finances. This is because there has been a 55% increase in consumers feeling more optimistic about their personal finances.

2. 77% of Professionals are Satisfied with Their Jobs

While the work-from-home model certainly has its benefits, it has robbed our lives of socializing in varying degrees. Difficulty in communicating and bonding with their colleagues is one of the biggest challenges of working from home. Therefore, it’s no wonder that employee turnover is being increasingly affected by a company’s work arrangements.

People who are looking for a new job in the next six months are more likely than average to feel more stressed in a WFH arrangement to work longer hours than before. On the other hand, people working from their company’s office are less likely to be looking for a new job.

3. Explosion in the Male Personal Care Market

The pandemic challenged what we thought about the target audience of the personal care industry. Male interest in beauty/cosmetics increased at a rapid rate in early 2020, when much of the world was under lockdown. This was most evident in the APAC markets such as China, Australia, and Indonesia. However, North America and Europe also registered impressive growth, which shows that this was a truly global trend.

However, as new beauty audiences came into the spotlight, purchase behaviors have failed to match their level of interest. Therefore, it is wholly up to the marketers to change this trend by reaching audiences and adapting strategies to their needs.

4. Interest in News Has Dropped Significantly

The news was the most consumed media type during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. But after the initial burst, interest in news began to dwindle.

Consumers in the UK have consistently reported less concern about COVID-19 since March 2020- even when the country was struggling against a deadlier winter wave driven by the Alpha variant. A similar trend was observed during the emergence of the Delta variant in India. The sheer volume of the coverage might have proven detrimental. Consumers who stopped watching news cited excessive negativity and too much coverage of the COVID content as the main reasons for doing so.

5. Perceptions Changing Around the Cost of TV

While consumers in the U.S. have gotten increasingly optimistic about their finances over the last year and are more willing than ever to spend, a high 26% of the consumers feel that TV services are too expensive. Another quarter of consumers was either considering canceling service or had done so already.

The dwindling interest in TV must be seen in the context of the economy as a whole. The perception of TV being expensive might not only persuade consumers to drop their subscriptions but also spend time with other media instead.

Bottom Line

The GWI report unpacks the reasons and motivations behind the big changes happening in various industries across the world. This will help brands form a better sense of consumers’ behaviors and attitudes to stay ahead.

To delve deeper into the findings of the report, download the full report here.