Macrotrends reveal how consumers are responding to the global drivers of change and represent the value shifts defined according to emerging attitudes and behaviour among people globally. These shifts are supported by consumer-facing innovations, products, services, experiences and communications that address a need.
At The Future Laboratory we define macrotrends by using intuition, our experience and data. We use four stages of research to identify and qualify a macrotrend – inspiration, validation, interrogation and finally the strategic implications of the trend for businesses and brands.
Every year we publish over eight global macrotrends exclusively for members of our trends intelligence hub, LS:N Global.
Find out more about our macrotrend services below, or please click the link to book a meeting with our team.
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From geopolitical uncertainty to a widening economic gulf and an unceasing climate crisis, the threats we face are now truly existential. Our new macrotrend examines key cross-sector shifts emerging from a world in transition.
The macrotrend explores how brands must step up and become forces of change, no longer making pledges for 2050, but instead drawing on their expertise, assets and reach to equip, collaborate and horizon-map together with citizens.
The macrotrend is currently available exclusively to members of LS:N Global. Get in touch below to find out more about subscribing.
The Future Laboratory has been identifying and tracking macrotrends for two decades. As The Transformative Twenties begin, we have mapped out how all these trends have evolved.
Presenting the trends as a timeline from the year 2000 to 2030, users can learn how Experience, Brand and Consumer behaviours have changed – and what this means for the future.
Featuring trend summaries, expert quotes and links to full trends on LS:N Global, visitors can navigate through a visually driven and chronological view of industry shifts and evolving human behaviour.
Use our bespoke Trend Tracker to discover 20 years of macrotrends.
Our global clientele is made up of owners and employees from over 350 leading brands who use our macrotrends on a daily basis to future-proof their business.
For those of you wondering what macrotrends are going to have the biggest impact on your business over the coming years, our Strategy team are here to help.
The Future Laboratory’s Strategy department works directly with global brands and businesses to turn our LS:N Global foresight into a strategic decision-making tool that aligns clients’ current business objectives with these future scenarios.
The aim: to equip clients with the cultural insights, strategic implications and solutions that enable them to navigate change, unlock opportunity and thrive in a world of continuous uncertainty.
Find out how you can use our Strategic Services to future-proof your business strategy.
Book one of our world-class speakers to deliver an in-house or virtual presentation or workshop for your business.
Discover each of our macrotrend presentations below – or book them together as a presentation collection
Despite current doom-and-gloom scenarios we are about to be catapulted into a 20-year cycle of unrivalled innovation and new market opportunities. But people will be very wary, so it’s time for brands, businesses and Neo-collectivist communities to rebuild a society where the four 4Ls - legitimacy, leadership, longevity and legacy – matter.
This presentation explores how brands are stepping up to realise this future, counter-pushing doomsayers, short-termism, indifference and helplessness to re-establish common ground and embark on a journey of radical progression.
As real-world uprisings rage on and our journey to the metaverse accelerates, global consumers are busy forming new types of alliance. Losing their sense of individualism, they are engaging in new forms of collective thinking, doing and consuming.
As our new macrotrend presentation reveals, brands will need to change from sellers to coordinators, blurring the boundaries between how we define a company, a community and a collective.
This presentation helps businesses tap into these community spaces, understand their massive potential and explore why we need to prepare for a neo-collectivist future.
From direct-to-creator culture to platform cooperatives, the internet economy’s established value exchange is evolving to become more equitable and diverse. In this presentation, we present trends such as Post-social Creators, Cooperative Media and Direct-to-avatar.
Forget advertising campaigns and branded content. As the power dynamic shifts between brands and consumers, all eyes are on the inner workings of your business – and how seamlessly it can respond, recalibrate and adapt. Moving beyond reactionary thinking, this is a chance for brands to pilot a truly transformative future for business.
In this presentation, we examine how as the power dynamic shifts between brands and consumers, all eyes are on the inner workings of businesses, and how seamlessly they can respond and recalibrate. We also delve into the future of Chief Disaster Officers, Mortal Commerce and Dynamic Democracy.
The pandemic has sapped the energy of urban life. Revealing stark inequalities between global citizens, Covid-19 is exposing issues with urban safety, public services and access to green spaces in our cities. This demands new and urgent approaches to how our streets and spaces are used, alongside a reframing of who and what are the priorities of our future city. In the 2020s, we anticipate the rise of Equilibrium Cities.
As we move through The Transformative Twenties, data-first digital systems will enable people to shape and experience their cities remotely, possibly even in alternative realms. This presentation explores trends such as Blended Cultural Realms, Salubrious Streets and Natural Foundations.
Facing a medley of expectations, consumers are realising that the self-actualising activities they have bought into are mentally and physically draining. We are now entering a period of reflection, selfishness and solitude in which intensified notions of achievement are proving counter-productive, and consumers are now pressing pause.
From the celebration of Slacker Culture to the allure of the Homebody Economy, in this presentation we present key insights for brands in sectors such as wellness, leisure and the workplace. Discover why we must untangle guilt around free time, upend modern work rituals and champion the post-capitalist act of opting out.
Consumers are tiring of photogenic pop-ups, immersive events and mass tourism as a form of social currency. In the next decade the focus will shift to places, processes and practices that cultivate quiet, intimacy and introspection, with consumers seeking to balance their emotional, physical and spiritual states.
From Psychonautic Therapy to Neuromedia, we looks at the shifts redefining entertainment and leisure, as well as health and wellness. Find out how the concept of experience as a form medicine will drive a new age of self-discovery and enlightenment.
Brands are on the brink of a post-purpose era as consumers challenge hypocrisies in messaging, product and brand behaviour. At the same time, a generation of entrepreneurial activists are becoming workers, shareholders and boardroom members, reshaping brands in their image by promoting a culture of continual regeneration.
We present the Sacrificial Brands setting strict environmental business goals, alongside the rise of Problem Evolving strategies that utilise insights to enhance and advance business operations. And as technology progresses, learn how 5G will allow brands to serve and support the public more intuitively.
Get in touch with our specialists if you are interested in discussing the research or if you have a press enquiry. Speak to our experts
Martin is editor-in-chief of Viewpoint magazine as well as LS:N Global, the online lifestyle news and consumer insight portal. Having written several books on trend forecasting, including The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook and The Tomorrow People, Martin contributes regularly as an expert on trends and business for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV.
Christopher Sanderson is co-founder of The Future Laboratory, where he is responsible for delivering the company’s extensive global roster of conferences, media events and LS:N Global Trend Briefings, which he co-presents with the team in London, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Stockholm and Helsinki. Clients who have booked one of his inspirational keynotes include Gucci Group, the European Travel Commission, Retail Week, Selfridges, M&S, Chanel, Harrods, Aldo and H&M.
Fiona is a trends and insight consultant who delivers innovative strategic insight and creative content. Having spent 20 years working in leading forecasting and insight agencies and as a journalist, Fiona draws on considerable cross-sector expertise, ranging from consumer lifestyle, media and marketing and digital commerce to fashion, beauty and technology. Fiona brings valuable insight, clarity and direction to our LS:N Global team.
Olivia joined The Future Laboratory in early 2018 and is responsible for leading the creative development of LS:N Global. As Deputy Creative Foresight Editor, she ensures the platform’s written and visual content sets new standards for the digital communication. Olivia is also known as The Future Laboratory’s go-to expert for consumer trends in Beauty, Health & Wellness.
Savannah leads the research and design for food and drink and retail content for the LS:N Global. With a background in creative strategy, anthropology and graphic design, Savannah curates and contributes to the visual narrative of LS:N Global, alongside leading visual research for a number of annual macrotrends and sector reports. Savannah is a regular contributor to LS:N Global’s daily news and weekly articles, as well as being the team’s regional expert for Africa.
Martin is editor-in-chief of Viewpoint magazine as well as LS:N Global, the online lifestyle news and consumer insight portal. Having written several books on trend forecasting, including The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook and The Tomorrow People, Martin contributes regularly as an expert on trends and business for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV.
Fiona is a trends and insight consultant who delivers innovative strategic insight and creative content. Having spent 20 years working in leading forecasting and insight agencies and as a journalist, Fiona draws on considerable cross-sector expertise, ranging from consumer lifestyle, media and marketing and digital commerce to fashion, beauty and technology. Fiona brings valuable insight, clarity and direction to our LS:N Global team.
Christopher Sanderson is co-founder of The Future Laboratory, where he is responsible for delivering the company’s extensive global roster of conferences, media events and LS:N Global Trend Briefings, which he co-presents with the team in London, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Stockholm and Helsinki. Clients who have booked one of his inspirational keynotes include Gucci Group, the European Travel Commission, Retail Week, Selfridges, M&S, Chanel, Harrods, Aldo and H&M.
Olivia joined The Future Laboratory in early 2018 and is responsible for leading the creative development of LS:N Global. As Deputy Creative Foresight Editor, she ensures the platform’s written and visual content sets new standards for the digital communication. Olivia is also known as The Future Laboratory’s go-to expert for consumer trends in Beauty, Health & Wellness.
Savannah leads the research and design for food and drink and retail content for the LS:N Global. With a background in creative strategy, anthropology and graphic design, Savannah curates and contributes to the visual narrative of LS:N Global, alongside leading visual research for a number of annual macrotrends and sector reports. Savannah is a regular contributor to LS:N Global’s daily news and weekly articles, as well as being the team’s regional expert for Africa.
