The World in 2022: The Return of the New Morality
Trends Briefing: 27th January 2022 | 9am-10am | Register here
Much about our current situation feels eerily familiar. A new strain of Covid sweeping the country, Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, scandals engulfing institutions in Westminster and beyond, new restrictions on daily life and the prospect of sharp rises in the cost of living in the months ahead.
Despite this familiarity, businesses and strategists can have little certainty about what the next 12 months means for them. Our next webinar will look ahead at all that 2022 has in store for us – from controversial sporting events, bitterly contested elections and the next phase of the pandemic – to provide a little more surety about what is coming down the line, and how best to adjust.
One reference point will be the many parallels with the situation a decade ago. As the world started to recover from (what was then) the biggest economic shock in living memory, scandals engulfed Westminster and just about every other institution while consumers felt the impact of the downturn on household budgets, jobs and spending.
Back then, we saw a powerful new mood emerge: The New Morality. Consumers’ ethical concerns narrowed, an at-times spiteful Us vs. Them attitude pervaded and value became the key driver of spending – even for those who didn’t need to save. On these lines the population fragmented, often bitterly.
In 2022 echoes of this mood will emerge again. The next phase of Covid will bring with it greater economic challenge and more social fragmentation. Division and contest – for example, between the vaccinated and unvaccinated – will seem a world away from the social togetherness and unity present while Captain Tom fundraised and we clapped for carers at the start of the pandemic.
Join us for our next webinar where we’ll explore these emerging trends and reveal what they mean for the national mood and consumer behaviour. As ever, our insights will draw on hot-off-the-press data from our monthly consumer sentiment barometer and come with implications for businesses, strategists and policymakers.