Trends
Global Trends for 2020
Our trends are based on the values that unite – and divide – us around the world. By exploring global attitudes on brands, government, advertising, politics, social policy, technology and more, we have identified the strongest 36 values that people hold globally.
Global Values Map
This map shows the relationships between the values that people hold. The further apart two values are, the less likely it would be to find someone who shares attitudes from both. For example, someone who is
Trend Framework
The 36 values we have identified can be grouped into twelve global trends, or themes, presented in this report, representing the core issues of our time, including: climate, healthcare and tech, reactions to inequality,
Climate antagonism
Heatwaves, forest fires and extreme weather; school strikes organised by Greta Thunberg; and news that the Arctic permafrost is thawing decades earlier than predicted. These are just some of the reasons that
Conscientious health
As concern about the environment rises, or – more cynically – as marketers look for new ways to entice customers, the link between what is good for us and what is good for the planet has grown.
Authenticity is king
Authenticity is the retail and brand trend for the 2020s. Mass retail will need to acknowledge, build and embrace experiential spaces which bridge the digital-physical divide and give customers experiences
Data dilemmas
Global anxiety about the way companies use our personal data has risen by 8% since 2013. However, as we explored in ‘Trust: The Truth?’, even in the early 1990s, before the internet, the majority (66%)
The tech dimension
As internet usage keeps rising a key value is early adoption, the hunger for the next and newest technology. Globally, 7 in 10 try to keep up with technology (70%), and as many as 9 in 10 online
Peak globalisation?
The world remains starkly divided on the net benefits of globalisation. The ‘digital nomads’ associated with the values in this trend see the increasing travel and cultural exchange of a high-tech global economy as positive –
A divided world?
Overall, the world is becoming more socially liberal, but divisions across societies remain. In Ipsos Global Trends 2020, we trace four changing divides in personal values: individualism, support for democracy, attitudes to
Capitalism’s turning point
After a few decades of dominance, western liberal capitalism is now competing with authoritarian capitalism in China and Russia. The post-Cold War logic that ‘west is best’ has cracked. Inside western societies
Reactions to uncertainty and inequality
Despite continuing improvements in health and quality of life worldwide, anxiety about the future pervades in many countries. Seventy-eight per cent of people agree we live in an increasingly dangerous world and 52%
The enduring appeal of nostalgia
Ever since the economic crash of 2008, nostalgia has been a key trend for the established economies in the west. Half the planet wishes that their country was ‘the way it used to be’. However, those living in emerging
Search for simplicity and meaning
Simplicity is increasingly a luxury. The success of Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying’ demonstrates the stress consumerist culture can create; Black Friday and January sales offer cheap dopamine
Choices over healthcare
While technology has been a core part of the giant leap in global life expectancy and standards of health, it has also facilitated misinformation and anxiety. There is an enduring sense that health should be assessed face-to-