In this end of year report we highlight some of the key trend narratives and events that we think will be shaping the consumer landscape in the coming year as well as signposting the global economic outlook. We also review some of the biggest and most significant trend shifts and insights from 2013, identifying what happened across areas such as retail, technology and finance. Find out more about us at futurefoundation.net

1. Trends 2014:
I N S E RT I M A G E
Sample report
Identifying the key
narratives for
global brands
In this end of year report we highlight
some of the key trend narratives and
events that we think will be shaping the
consumer landscape in the coming
year as well as signposting the global
economic outlook. We also review
some of the biggest and most
significant trend shifts and insights
from 2013, identifying what happened
across areas such as retail, technology
and finance.

2. Contents (full report)
Page
Trends 2014: The headlines
4
Trends to Watch in 2014
6
Events 2014: Sport, Politics, Culture, Technology
43
Global Digital Download
47
Global Economic Outlook 2014
48
2

3. Trends 2014
The headlines
More affluence and rising or
reinvigorated consumer
aspirations everywhere.
Technological innovation
dramatically improving lifestyle
efficiencies.
Big Data and Predictive Analytics
starting to radicalise the craft of
marketing and the expectations
of shoppers.
Much creative disruption abroad
(eg Globalisation) but consumers
still aware of dangerous
instabilities (eg a perception of
increased threats to wellbeing).
3

4. Trends 2014
The warnings
Price sensitivity remains acute - especially in
those places where the scarring of the post2008 economy still runs deep and even in those
places (eg Sweden, UK) where recovery is real.
This is not going to change soon.
That said, the flamboyant consumerism of the
emerging economies seems irresistible : the
Chinese love-affair with brands, for example,
does not abate - and stimulates service
innovations for the whole global marketplace.
The indulgence-compressing spirit of
moderation and sobriety is everywhere
(specially for food and drink) - as public
authorities crack down on excess and
consumers evade risk.
Ethics and eco-sensitivity have taken a back
seat. It would be unwise to invest too much in
the belief that this will alter soon.
4

5. Trends to Watch in 2014
The Versat-aisle Shopper
Retail experiences that flow naturally between home
and store, street and aisle, mobile and market.
Fast Track Globalisation
The world gets smaller still, and with more creative
means of integration.
Probability Gets Personal
Consumers harness predictive technologies to
pre-empt and prioritise decisions.
Very 20th Century Feminism
The dilemmas once addressed by 20th Century
Feminism seem as stark as ever – and are primed
to internationalise as income improvement spreads.
Power of Anon
As Big Data becomes Big Reality, social networkers
will look to platforms that facilitate more selective
sharing – sharing that is public yet also private.
Catwalk Computing
Wearable connectivity allows technology to reach
into the very fabric of our lives.
5

6. Trends to Watch in 2014
Narrative Data
Consumers expect their data to be transformed,
real-time, into a personalised plan. We want
Big Data to tell us useful stories about our lives.
Once Is Not Enough
No single age – or life stage - is any longer defined by
a pre-packaged set of expectations and behaviours.
Wired Guanxi
A more human face – Soft Power – for
e-commerce and Big Data.
The Death of Risk
Risk is the new evil and safety the new morality,
with under-24s one of the least ‘leap-in-the-dark’
generations we have ever seen.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Brands create immersive experiences for
synaesthetic moments of delight.
Totally Bespoke
Techno-innovation drives ultra-personalisation and
a new route to premiumisation.
6

7. I N S E RT I M A G E
1 | Fast Track Globalisation
2014 is the year the world gets smaller still. Travel and trade are favoured as
the still bouncy Asian economies interact with recovery in the West. Dropped
from public debate in the EU while incomes drooped, globalisation as a
transformative social phenomenon is now spotlighted again.
This revitalises the paradox : yes, greater space across which big brands might
prosper but also fresh waves of inter- and intra-regional competition in
food & drink, tourism and perhaps (in the long term) financial services too.
7

8. 1
Fast Track Globalisation
More creative integration
Growth in the volume of
global merchandise trade (%)
TREND IN ACTION
There is a new superhero
joining the Marvel
Comics family. She is a
Muslim-American teenager
named Kamala Khan aka Ms
Marvel. The character is just
your typical teenager, battling
self-identity issues, family
problems and super-villains.
Khan, who is Pakistani, will
be portrayed as a teen who
looks up to Captain Marvel...
2011 : 5.4
2012 : 2.3
2013 : 2.5
2014 : 4.5
FOCUS FOR 2014
The prospect of revival in the EU inspires a modest amount of universal hope, given that the EU
consumes one third of all the world’s traded goods. Meanwhile, people flows continue to swell and
shift. For instance, inbound visitors to the USA from countries such as China, India and Brazil
increase by more than 10% per annum. (Visits from many major EU economies have been in
decline). Chinese socio-economic influence in Africa and Latin America expands. A pulsatingly
global middle-class, meanwhile, shares much of the same lifestyle agenda.
Source : Office of Travel and Tourism Industries USA / WTO Sept. 2013
8

9. 2 | Narrative Data
Our use of the online world grows a lot less frivolous.
Aware of the importance, private and commercial, of
the tracks they leave in cyberspace, consumers want
their own version of narrative science : data
accumulations activated to reveal the forward path to
more efficient living. Instead of going online to find a
treatment for an eating disorder, consumers expect
to be automatically and proactively provided with
a personalised plan for evading any such condition
long before it appears on the horizon. We want Big
Data to tell us useful stories about our lives.
I N S E RT I M A G E
9

10. 2
Narrative Data
Turning data into lifestyle accessory
“I would like more control over the
personal information I give companies
and the way in which it is stored”
TREND IN ACTION
US : 77%
Indonesia : 76%
China : 75%
France : 73%
Australia : 74%
Netatmo has developed the
pro-active thermostat. Apart
from real-time temperature
readings, the device can
memorise routines and
usage patterns, automatically
adjusting the temperature.
You always turn up the heat
when you get back from
work? The thermostat will
have it done just as you step
through the door.
FOCUS FOR 2014
We forecast that the Quantified Self will gain further momentum in 2014, creating a stronger
foundation for Narrative Data. This whole story beckons a new era of brand engagement
where personal data is analysed and tracked to create unique experiences tailored to the
individual. This is the gradual subversion of mass message marketing. This is about telling a
story about just one character - and using the information that is gathered in ways which
sedate consumer anxieties about so much data-mining.
Source: nVision Research | Base: 1,000-5,000 online respondents per country aged 16-64 (Mexico 16-54, Indonesia 16-44), 2013 Adjusted data
10

11. Trends 2014
I N S E RT I M A G E
3 | The Death of Risk
The information age has left us more sensitive to threats to our well-being and
more capable of assessing the negative value of any such threat. Thrill-seeking
has, for many, become synonymous with danger-courting. And so the quest
for excitement in our lives (in sports, holidays, career-building, financial
management...) has to be triangulated, organised, curated.
This fact opens the prospect of ever more anti-risk products and procedures
from brands - even those which directly address the under-24s - perhaps the
most cautious, least leap-in-the-dark generation that has ever been.
11

12. 3
The Death of Risk
The embourgeoisement of risk
“People should think about safety before
fun and adventure.” % 16-24s who agree
TREND IN ACTION
China : 79%
Indonesia : 78%
India : 73%
Brazil : 70%
USA : 68%
Joey Cofone has developed the
Car Mode. Drivers are still able
to receive calls and turn-by-turn
directions from Siri. But should
you get a text while driving,
your phone will automatically
send the correspondent a
message indicating you are on
the road. Your phone will
automatically switch itself to
Car Mode.
FOCUS FOR 2014
A greater ability to track the consequences of our behaviours is heightening a risk-driven
appetite for security. Safety is now the new morality, often silently shaping consumer
approaches to the consumption choices that can negatively impact on well-being.
The reality is such that we must enjoy our fun within ultra-safe boundaries - just as we
pretend in public that we are more fun-lovingly adventurous than we actually are. The thrust of
computerisation is to increase the personalised distribution of Méfiez-Vous signage in every
theatre of life and the awareness of the costs of ignoring them.
Source: nVision Research | Base: 1,000-5,000 online respondents per country aged 16-64 (Mexico 16-54, Indonesia 16-44), 2013 Adjusted data
12

13. Events 2014
The cultural, political and technological
landmarks to watch in the year ahead.
I N S E RT I M A G E
13

14. •
2014: some special things
SPORTS
14

15. •
2014: some special things
POLITICS
15

16. •
2014: some special things
CULTURE
La película de Messi
llegará antes del
Mundial 2014
JK Rowling to pen Harry
Potter spin-off film
16

17. •
2014: some special things
TECHNOLOGY
Wearable Technology diversifies
Connected Trend : Catwalk Computing
More Xbox One and PS4 gamers
hack their consoles
Connected Trend : Making it Mine
Biometric sensors revolutionise how
data is translated
Connected Trend : Narrative Data
3D printing gets affordable
Connected Trends : Totally Bespoke
Gutenberg gets Physical
Data Privacy Legislation Hardens?
Connected Trends : Power of Anon
Consumer Capital
17

18. For more information please contact:
Pippa Goodman
pippag@futurefoundation.net
+44 (0)20 3008 6102
LONDON | NEW YORK | STOCKHOLM