Even in the midst of national and global instability, the major insight from Ford’s 11th annual Trends Report is that much of the world’s population has a positive “every cloud has a silver lining” sentiment.
The findings from the survey are generated from 16 120 online interviews in 16 countries across the world. Ford says the survey is open to diverse opinions and curious about the consumers’ thought process. It analyses consumer preferences and behaviours influenced by external factors across a range of themes. The survey, Ford adds, attempts to look into the future through an analysis of the findings.
“The participants of the survey believe society will be stronger in five years. Consumers have not given up on the notion of a ‘happily ever after’. But for now, they will gladly settle for some silver linings wherever they can find them,” says Jen Brace, from Ford’s Global Trends and Futuring Team.
“The future of Ford centres on a purpose bigger than building vehicles,” says Sheryl Connelly, former chief futurist at Ford. “We are helping to build a better world. In the survey a range of themes are explored: from consumers taking stock of their fears, reconsidering reliance and the safety of technology, practising escapism, and cautiously leaning into optimism while searching for inspiration and joy.”
Some of the trends highlighted in the report include:
Facing our fears
The 2023 Trends Report reveals that 65% of South Africans say that they have lost trust in political structures – and 57% have a growing scepticism in financial systems. In another question about what consumers fear the most, 88% of South Africans resonated with the “inflation and high prices” response.
These insights from the report correlate with a recent BusinessTech article stating that electricity price hikes and the ongoing power crisis in the nation have led to an upsurge of costs for consumers and businesses from a microeconomic perspective. However, looking into the future, the survey reveals that 66% are hopeful that their financial burdens will be lifted in the year ahead.
Taking a stand
A global average of 64% of respondents believe that political representation is deficient in their respective countries, while 82% of South Africans think that there is more being done to cause division in the country than there is to unite it. The report states that political protests have initiated consumer boycotts, in particular towards brands that remain neutral on social and environmental issues.
According to the data, 89% of South Africans agreed with the following statement: “We need more laws and policies to hold companies accountable for their environmental and social impacts”. As a result, consumers believe that companies should have to be accountable for any environmental or humanitarian harm they cause.