Dentsu has launched its landmark global study Consumer Vision 2035: The Era of the Insight-to-Foresight Pivot, surveying 30,000 people across 26 countries, examining the long-term trends shaping the future of technology, culture, consumers, and brands on the pathway to 2035.
The research shows a growing comfort level among consumers for an increasing number of administrative and shopping activities being managed by AI on their behalf.
As per the report, half of global consumers say that by 2035 they would like to have an AI clone of themselves to take care of shopping, admin, and communications tasks on their behalf and the coming decade will see the expansion of ‘AI Gatekeepers’ that consumers will look to take charge of recurring purchases, vetting ads and promotions sent by businesses, and take part in focus groups on their behalf, so they can more easily make their preferences known to brands.
The report also shared that 4 in 5 global consumers expect that by 2035 they will need to shift some of their daily activities due to how the climate will change and brands will need to become more perceptive to garner consumer attention in the AI-filtered and culturally reshaped reality on the horizon.
Furthermore, in the future, technology will envelop consumers’ lives, while nature will constrain them as societal conventions around growth and prosperity will be further unseated. This will create a landscape where assumptions that previously sustained culture and business are re-examined.
Additionally, consumers will lean further into their emotions and passions when actively engaging with brands. The report stated that 7 in 10 consumers say that already today a significant share of their shopping decisions is influenced by the mood they’re in at the time of purchase.
The study also shows that most consumers wish they were more impulsive and actively seek experiences that elicit ‘visceral’ emotions.
Each of the forces outlined in the research carries implications for brands, but across the entire study, the ability to pivot from insight to foresight was identified as the crucial quality needed to anticipate and deliver on predicted emotional states, a new requirement to thrive as a business by 2035.
On the launch of the report, Jeff Greenspoon, Global Practice President, Integrated Solutions, Dentsu, said, “What is very clear from the findings of the Consumer Vision 2035 study is that we are only now just entering the next era of transformation across technology, culture, and consumer expectations. An AI-filtered world might seem far into the future, but it is already becoming a reality today and consumers’ interactions with brands will fundamentally shift within the next 10 years.”
“Business leaders and brand builders must start preparing for this new landscape today with both technology and creativity. These provocative insights are the starting point to guide people-centered transformation efforts that create long-term brand opportunities because those that push the boundaries to innovate now will undoubtedly see the biggest impact through the next decade,” Greenspoon added.
