Accenture Song, the advertising and marketing services arm of Accenture, has unveiled its five global macro trends for businesses. People’s mindsets, life goals and priorities are changing, says the consultancy firm’s annual Life Trends report.

“We’re entering a decade of deconstruction spurred on by changing consumer values and AI’s explosive growth,” said Mark Curtis, global sustainability lead for Accenture Song. How will this impact businesses?

Here are five trends that it says businesses need to watch out for. Accenture surveyed 15,227 respondents across 21 countries in August 2023 to validate the trends.

1.Where is the love, the customer asks: For years, companies held the customer at the centre of every decision. Now, economic considerations are forcing cuts at enterprises, driving friction between customers and brands across channels — in the form of price increases, reduced quality and poor customer service. Nearly half of customers feel less valued. Quality or size reductions (‘shrinkflation’), declines in service (‘skimpflation’), are adding to their dissatisfaction. For companies these are actions for survival, but customers see this as greed. Companies need to address this perception problem urgently.

2.The great interface shift: Generative AI is upgrading people’s experience of the internet from transactional to personal. Nearly half (42 per cent) of consumers would be comfortable using conversational AI like ChatGPT for product recommendations, completing tasks at work (44 per cent) and wellness and healthcare advice (33 per cent). This technology will eventually change most of the interfaces we use and has implications on products and services development.

3. Is creative ‘meh-diocrity’ looming? The chief aim of creativity used to be to inspire an emotional response through imagination and human connection. Now that algorithms and tech often sit between creator and audience, it’s influencing the end product — sometimes for the worse. In entertainment, there is a sequel syndrome. Broadly, 35 per cent of respondents feel app designs are indistinguishable across brands. A period of cultural stagnation appears to be with us. Unless businesses invest in creative talent and originality.

4.Error 429: Human request limit reached: People’s relationship with technology is at a critical juncture. Nearly a third of consumers say that technology has complicated their lives just as much as it has simplified it. Organisations must be thoughtful about how their use of technology will fit into people’s lives and what it will demand of them.

5.Decade of deconstruction: Traditional life paths are being rerouted by new limitations, necessities and opportunities. The impact on systems and services will be far-reaching. For example, people are now living life less than one year at a time — 48 per cent make plans for their lives less than 12 months ahead or don’t plan at all. In the past three years, there is a drop in the value placed on traditional milestones including marriage (from 30-21 per cent), graduating from college (from 30-24 per cent) and moving out of the parental home (23-17 per cent). David Droga, Chief Executive Officer, Accenture Song, says, “Consumers today are not linear, they are changing faster than businesses can, so keeping pace is a constant challenge.”

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