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COVID-19 appeared to give the environment a new lease of life – at least that’s how it looked in the beginning. Transport halted, factories went quiet, and scenic locations looked immaculate for the first time in decades. Decreased activity at this scale saw carbon emissions drop drastically. 

This all sounds like a considerable win for the environment, and for people’s health. And it would be – if it were sustainable. 

Sadly, this isn’t the case. Pew Research Center found that many people globally are as concerned about climate change as they are about the spread of infectious diseases. As the world grapples to control the virus, the issue of sustainability and our impact on the environment continues to bubble under the surface.

Consumers felt more hopeful – but it didn’t last long.

COVID-19 initially led to much greater optimism about our potential impact on the environment. 

In Q2 2020, 53% of consumers globally said they think the environment will get better in the next 6 months, up from 41% in Q1 2020.

Across the majority of the 46 countries we track, consumers’ environmental optimism jumped up by at least 20 points during this timeframe. Only four markets had a slight decrease, or no change, in optimism. 

Despite this, it seems the positive developments have been short-lived – and overstated. 

Air pollution levels have already returned to pre-pandemic levels in 12 major world cities. Research also showed that the dramatic drops in air pollutants and greenhouse gases will have very little impact on global warming. This is because the changes made were temporary, and have come at the greatest possible cost.

Now, as the reality of the situation becomes clearer, consumer fallout is looming. In our Q3 2020 research, we can already see optimism about the environment has sharply declined. 

The outbreak has created its own environmental issues.

Aside from the very short-lived gains, which were quickly lost as economic activity resumed, the outbreak has created a whole host of problems. 

The production of single-use plastics and waste has increased considerably, especially as PPE usage surged. A study by SYSTEMIQ forecasts that the flow of plastic into oceans will nearly treble by 2040 if governments and industries don’t take greater action to combat the growing plastics crisis. 

At the same time, other changes in consumers’ behavior during the pandemic have contributed to the waste problem. Consumers are shopping online more and consuming more takeout food, both of which are still heavily reliant on overusing packaging or single-use plastics.

In February 2020, food delivery giant Just Eat partnered with sustainable packaging startup Notpla to trial tree and grass pulp boxes lined with seaweed, which decompose in around 4 weeks.

Meanwhile, companies in China – one of the world’s biggest users of plastic – are making headway in tackling the growing waste problem. Meituan Dianping, China’s leading ecommerce platform for services, is ramping up efforts to build a green supply chain for packaging. This shows the importance of continued business action, even during this time. 

As the mountain of plastic waste piles up, so will the pressure on businesses to take action.  

Increased waste due to COVID-19 has quickly become one of consumers’ biggest concerns, alongside air pollution, showing just how much the issues associated with COVID-19 are starting to play on their minds. 

When we asked consumers what impact COVID-19 will have on the environment, the majority were pretty pessimistic – a sign of the impending backlash to come. Just over 40% of consumers say the outbreak will have a negative impact on the environment, either short-term or long-term. Even among those who think it’s positive, 25% of them said the impact will be short-lived. 

Now’s the time for action, from all sides.

Understandably in the current situation, COVID-19 has garnered far more attention than environmental issues. But our research shows the importance of behaving sustainably, both at an individual and business level, has increased.

In July 2020, 72% of consumers across 20 countries said companies behaving sustainably was more important to them because of COVID-19. 

Consumers have high expectations of their own behavior too; around 70% said that reducing their own impact on the environment was more important because of the outbreak. They’re not prepared to forget about one crisis because of another. 

The Philippines and India post the highest figures across the board, reaching over 85%. Both countries are often at the sharp end of the waste crisis. 

Clearly, consumers’ positive intent is there, and so is their willingness to take action.

The top actions people say they plan to do in the next 6 months are: reduce food waste, walk or cycle more, and reduce the amount of plastic/single-use packaging they use. But they can’t do it alone. Governments, brands, policy makers, and manufacturers are all instrumental in making these ambitions a reality. 

For example, something as simple as walking or cycling more (a far more sustainable form of transport) requires cities to invest in dedicated cycling infrastructure and create more walking space. The outbreak has spurred many cities to take action, including London’s Streetspace and Mexico City’s commitment to create 54km of designated cycle lanes. 

We’ve got an opportunity to reset.

COVID-19 has shown us just how difficult it will be to address climate issues. Energy emissions are set to drop around 6% this year, but to reach the goal of keeping global temperature increases to less than 2 degrees, net emissions of greenhouse gases must fall to around zero by 2050.

We’ve got a long way to go. Analysis from The Guardian found that in at least 18 of the world’s biggest economies, pandemic rescue packages are dominated by spending that has a harmful environmental impact.

Making changes like this involves a complete reset of our economies and how we operate. 

Every industry – from aviation to manufacturing – needs to take responsibility to reassess their supply chains as well as their operations, and make tangible steps forward in tackling this growing problem. 

Several fashion brands have promised to make sustainability front-and-center to their recovery, while Shell plans for a major restructuring as it prepares to invest more in renewable energy. Unlike the outbreak, for which there will likely be some kind of a solution in the next two years, tackling climate change is a bigger, long-term battle that will take decades to improve – with catastrophic health, economic, and environmental consequences if we don’t. 

The outbreak has taught us so many lessons about our impact on the world we live in, and the changes we need to make. Don’t let this opportunity go to waste. 

Best case scenario (where normality is more plausible)

Even if the situation with COVID-19 were to drastically improve overnight, our fight against climate change won’t. We’re a long way off reaching the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

COVID-19 has shown us just how difficult decreasing energy output is and how much work there’s left to do. Businesses, governments, and policy makers need to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to double down on sustainability commitments and investments – inaction is not an option.

Worst-case scenario (involving more causes and restrictions)

If future waves of the virus come our way, or if a vaccine is delayed, there’s no doubt COVID-19 will be the primary focus again. While we need to be doing what we can to fight the virus, we also need to lay the groundwork to rewire the economy and make it more sustainable going forward.

Our impact on the environment was bad enough before COVID-19, without more collective action and awareness, it could be far worse.

2020 was a year of extreme upheaval – so much so that the word “unprecedented” now seems watered down and meaningless. 

There are of course the big changes – the disrupted work routine, the distance learning, and the isolation. But there are also more subtle trends emerging, and many of these will have lasting implications on our lives and our futures.  

One of these is the shift in perceptions toward online privacy. 

For years, our global research has seen internet users becoming more and more suspicious of how they’re being tracked online. In 2013, for example, 56% of people were concerned about the internet eroding their personal privacy. By 2019, this had climbed to 61%.

And people had a right to be concerned; years of data breaches and scandals had dented their trust, while finally governments were bringing data privacy into the spotlight by introducing regulation like GDPR and CCPA. 

2020 has disrupted all of this. What we’re seeing now is:

Many privacy concerns have actually declined in the wake of COVID-19 – this is despite consumers being less in control of their data than ever. 

Unraveling this trend and figuring out what’s next has many layers. It requires us to look at the increasingly complex relationship we have with our data and how that’s been impacted by COVID-19. 

In China, data sharing makes a pandemic recovery possible.

Declining internet privacy concerns, while perhaps not caused by the pandemic, are linked to it. 

This is clear when we look at how certain markets – particularly those that suffered through COVID early on – experienced this shift first.

In China, for example, the number of internet users who reported being concerned about the internet eroding their personal privacy dipped by 8% between Q4 2019 and Q1 2020. In Italy, it decreased by 4%. 

China is a particularly interesting model to look at. The country has been able to control the outbreak and stimulate an economic recovery, in large part due to increased surveillance tactics. 

Jingbo Cui, an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at Duke Kunshan University in China, describes how this is playing out: 

“This economic recovery comes at the expense of public information sharing. Everyone has to obtain a health access QR code – smartphone software that indicates in real-time whether someone poses a contagion risk. The QR code system is a cost-effective way to allow people without contagion risk to return to work.” 

As people around the world seek a return to normality, the data-sharing model being used in China offers us a glimpse into what post-pandemic life might look like elsewhere. 

Considering how internet privacy concerns are starting to relax, a future like this feels more likely as the pandemic – and the mental burden of isolation – becomes less and less bearable. 

In Europe, data privacy attitudes relax despite (or because of?) consumer protection laws.

For European countries, noticeable declines in privacy attitudes suggest a more long-term mindset shift. Among consumers in Austria, concern about the internet eroding personal privacy went down 7% between Q4 2019 and Q1 2020. In Switzerland it declined by 9%, and in Sweden, by 12%. 

Europe has been at the forefront of consumer data protection, setting a precedent with GDPR. 

Seeing this dip in privacy-consciousness across many of its markets begs the question: why? 

The root of this is likely twofold, with a growing acceptance of less privacy colliding with the acute impact of COVID-19. 

In terms of the former, Deloitte’s consumer trends research in the UK sheds some light on one particular region. Their study reveals, even as UK internet users are more connected now than before, the percentage who are “very concerned” about how companies have been using their personal data has dipped considerably since 2018. 

Being accustomed to stronger protection of their data, many Europeans might be the first to move into a new, more open and evolved relationship with online privacy.

To explore the COVID effect, we can turn to a study by the Center for the Governance of Change (CGC). CGC found that Europeans are quite likely to give up their privacy when the benefits on the other side are things like job creation, security, and – importantly – public health. 

Health is an especially strong driver of loosening internet privacy attitudes, as our research into both COVID-19 and broader health behaviors indicates.  

Data in the name of public health

App-based contact tracing represents perhaps the most direct and obvious link between data sharing and public health during the pandemic.  

Through this system, numerous apps allow registered devices to communicate with each other via bluetooth, logging potential exposures and notifying individuals if they’re at risk. 

From a privacy standpoint, this method of contact tracing is rife with potential issues because of how sensitive data would be identified, stored, and processed. 

But that concern has hardly made a dent in public demand for these apps, whose potential benefits to public health evidently outweigh the privacy risks. 

Across 18 markets, nearly 3 out of 4 internet users support government contact tracing apps/programs to curb the spread of the virus. 

What’s especially striking is the most privacy-conscious among us are just as likely to support contact tracing apps as the rest. 

Aside from COVID-19, technology’s capacity to improve our health seems to also mediate the usual suspicions. 

Among all global consumers, 30% say they trust new technology to improve their health. This is equally as high among those with strong privacy attitudes. It’s even higher, at 35%, for those with strong privacy behaviors. 

It seems that even the most privacy-conscious consumers are able to relax their fears when they know their data is being used for public good. 

Looking into the future of data privacy

So what does this mean for the future of data privacy? And, importantly, how can companies leverage these shifting attitudes to harness the power of consumer data in a way that people find acceptable? 

Much of it comes down to transparency. Consumers make decisions every day based on costs vs. benefits. They’ll pay for what they deem to be “worth it” as long as they know the terms. But how do they evaluate when it’s “worth it” to give up on some of their privacy? 

Despite GDPR and other efforts, this has been wildly difficult for most people, but for companies to nurture a more sustainable data relationship with their users, this has to change. 

Emphasizing the real tradeoffs between sharing your data and attaining a personal benefit – whether it’s free wifi or the right to get into an Uber safely – is crucial. 

Ultimately, the future of data for good is rooted in a data exchange that works for everyone. 

It’s nearly a year to the day that COVID-19 infected the person we know of as “patient zero”.

No one at the time could have known it would become the defining event of the next 12 months. And few would be able to predict what next year has in store. 

By crunching the numbers from our three data sets, custom studies, and our dedicated coronavirus research, we’ve identified eight trends we believe will shape 2021. You can check them out in full in our connecting the dots report.

The pandemic is global, but the outcomes are numerous, and look different in different countries. 

In this year’s report, we’ve offered some guidance on how to respond to these trends in the best and worst case scenarios of the pandemic. 

Get a taste of what’s ahead with these trends, taken straight from the report.

1. An environmental backlash is coming.

For a couple of months in 2020, the common thinking was that while COVID-19 was a desperate global crisis, lockdowns might just eke out a win for the environment.

Clean water in canals and sights of mountains from previously smoggy cities spawned a new phrase – “nature is healing”. It caught on so quickly it soon became a meme accompanying the return of dried pasta to grocery store shelves.   

If only it was that easy. The drive to reboot economies around the world has virtually wiped out any reductions in air pollutants, suspicion of public transport is driving car usage, and aspects of the response to COVID-19 are detrimental to the environment by their very nature. 

We’re confident we’ll see more images of beaches and beauty spots littered with single-use masks next year. 

This hasn’t escaped consumers’ attention. During lockdown, optimism for the future of the environment grew by 28% – a staggering, and unprecedented, increase for an attitudinal data point in our research. By Q3 though, this had decreased 12%. 

Consumer concerns closely mirror industry developments. Without further action on the environment, there may be a sense of “paradise lost”, that the rosy future for the environment briefly glimpsed during lockdown hasn’t been followed through. 

Consumers haven’t forgotten about one crisis in the midst of another. Businesses’ environmental credentials are still very much under scrutiny, and in the eye of the consumer, action on the environment is just as important as action on COVID-19. 

2. Cities aren’t dying, but they are changing.

Ongoing concern about the environment will be a trigger for another of our trends – the reshaping of the city. 

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve often heard cities around the world were poised for a mass exodus. 

Whether out of personal safety, or to find more room to work from home, the expectation was urban dwellers would be packing their bags and getting ready to leave. 

That isn’t going to happen. For one thing, cities still hold considerable appeal. 

The vast majority of urban dwellers chose to continue living in a city when asked where they would ideally want to live.  

What will change about cities is their shape. Instead of being built to serve commutes from outlying neighborhoods into the centre, they will be built around clusters of local neighborhoods where schools, retail, leisure, and work is all within easy reach – what urban planner Carlos Moreno has dubbed the “15 minute city”, an idea getting traction with city mayors even before COVID-19.

The pandemic has brought his vision to life, almost by default. 

We can see this in the changing interests of urban dwellers during the pandemic. They’re now less interested in “going out” activities, whether it’s going to restaurants, live events, museums or theaters, and more interested in their immediate environment through things like gardening, home decoration, cooking, and fitness.

Much writing about the future of cities has concentrated on places like New York, where some high-profile people opted to spend lockdown in a second home in leafy suburbs.

But these kinds of takes often miss the global context. In places like India and China, people may leave cities because of COVID-19 – but there will be many more going the other way. In these fast-growth markets, there is a considerable economic imperative to move to urban areas, looking for work and better opportunities. 

This trend will impact virtually all businesses, and marketers will have many questions to consider.

How does messaging change when neighborhoods become more important than cities? If journey times around cities are reduced, how can businesses and ad channels built to serve the commute respond?

3. 2021 could be the year of flexible working, not just remote.

2020 will be remembered as many things. For one, it led to the world’s biggest work-from-home experiment.

Even before COVID, our research had identified just how beneficial remote working could be. 

Those with a licence to work remotely rated their company higher on many factors; not just productivity but also collaboration, the very thing usually cited as a drawback to remote work. It’s not always appropriate in every single sector, but in the vast majority of cases, more is gained than lost when working from home. 

But there are two threats to this more effective working culture. One is that some decision-makers are effectively waiting for a green light on the back to normal, where employees can be summoned back to the office en masse. The other is that remote working is really only half the story. 

It’s not just about working remotely, but working flexibly.

WFH can mean freedom from a strict 9-to-5 schedule, as well as from a physical office. Providing workers with more autonomy to choose their hours and measuring their performance on productivity, rather than hours worked.

In many cases, remote work has simply moved inefficiencies and bad habits to a different place. 

In some cases, it’s made the working culture worse, creating a new kind of presenteeism based on always being logged-in. Our data highlights that working overtime has increased significantly since 2019.

Many businesses had to adopt crisis mode in the immediate response to the pandemic, and extra hours were a side-effect of trying to survive. But looking to the long-term, the WFH revolution won’t be fully complete until workers are able to work more flexibly as well.

Flexibility providers workers with more of a work-life balance, which has an enormous impact on other aspects of their work. Workers with a good work-life balance are more productive, more satisfied with their job, feel more empowered to pursue new business opportunities, and feel their company is better equipped to respond to industry changes.

The last two points are crucial. The economic climate is likely to be difficult for a while, and businesses will need innovation and agility to best cope with it. Enabling more flexible working helps make this happen. 

Businesses and HR departments still mulling over what the future of work looks like should consider extending remote work even further, not pulling back. And as and when they take the plunge, there will be opportunities for software companies that can help smooth the process.

Get the full view of 2021 trends

As promised, we’ve run through three of the biggest changes coming in the next year. For the other five (as well as more insight into these first ones), get the full report.

What comes to mind when you think about the modern professional?

What about the modern decision-maker? Perhaps someone who’s a tech-savvy digital native? Or maybe someone entrepreneurial, constantly working on a side-hustle on top of their 9 to 5?

According to our global research, the modern business decision-maker is all of the above – and more. 

To understand this cohort, we partnered with LinkedIn’s B2B Institute in a first-of-its-kind study on the rising generation of B2B decision-makers – those between the ages of 21 and 40 or, affectionately coined, The BETAs.

As they mature in their careers and assume executive roles, this group will become increasingly crucial for B2B brands to reach.

Let’s meet the BETAs through 5 key attributes. 

1. They live in a world where the personal and professional are blurred.

More than any other cohort, BETAs live in a world where the line between their personal and professional selves is increasingly blurred. 

This manifests in how they use technology, spend their time, and even manage their physical space.  

BETAs’ relationship with the internet – and especially social media – might be the most obvious place of conflation. Among all professionals, BETAs are the most likely to be following business-relevant individuals or organizations on social media.

This is important, especially considering the sheer amount of time BETAs spend on social media on a daily basis – twice as much as other groups. 

The blur is also evident when it comes to tools they turn to for both personal and professional needs. 

Over half say there are many services they use in both personal and professional capacities – think Zoom and Microsoft Teams. 

For 51-64s, this figure drops to below 4 in 10. Additionally, a fifth of BETAs say that existing personal usage of a product or service influences them to consider bringing it into their workplace. 

A loose personal/professional boundary can affect BETAs in less positive ways, however.

For this group, the workday often bleeds into their personal day due to the amount of time spent working late, working overtime, checking their emails outside work, and using their personal devices for professional reasons – all behaviors BETAs engage in more than any other cohort. 

Exacerbating this issue is the loss of a clear, dedicated work space due to COVID-19 and the widespread shift to remote working.

BETAs are the most likely to report not working in a home office, despite working from home. Almost 1 in 5 are in this situation, compared to just over 1 in 10 among other business professionals. 

2. They crave flexible working, but can’t always fully embrace it.

The BETAs have come of age in a rapidly changing workplace – the era of startups, the internet, and an increasingly globalized world.

As such, it’s probably no surprise they value a flexible work environment, both in terms of their place and hours of work, more than older professionals.

While this was the case even pre-pandemic, their demand for flexibility in adapting to the post-COVID world is remarkably high. 

When asked what they most want their companies to do to support workers during the pandemic, the top answer among BETAs is more flexible working.

In contrast, the top answer for other professionals is ensuring the workplace is safe for employees to return. 

While businesses have been forced to enable remote working due to the pandemic, flexible working – especially in terms of hours and schedule – is a different situation to accommodate. And most employers, it appears, are not so willing to do this.

In 2020, just 3 out of 10 global professionals report that flexible working is broadly permitted in their workplace. 

What’s more, this went up by only 2 percentage points year-on-year. In the context of the pandemic, this lack of real, increased provision of flexibility is telling. In fact, it’s only among 41-50s and 51-64s that we’ve seen these minor year-on-year increases; among 21-30s there’s actually been a slight decline. 

For companies seeking to attract and retain BETA employees, this will be a challenge. Embracing a more flexible work model will be crucial in enabling this rising cohort of B2B leaders to do their best work – and at their best time. 

3. They’re constantly on a mission to improve, adapt, and evolve.

BETAs express very strong views about the importance of professional development.

They’re the most likely to describe themselves as career-oriented, as wanting to achieve more, and wanting to challenge themselves. They’re also the most likely to expect promotions, and place a higher-than-average premium on job satisfaction. 

In part, a natural age effect is at work here; these values have always been most important for younger cohorts before gradually receding as age increases.

What is unique to BETAs is the way some of these attitudes are being manifested. No business generation before them will have had so many online resources or tools available for personal and professional development.

Employees don’t have to wait for learning to be organized (or even funded) by their workplace; they now proactively seek it out, whether in conjunction with their company or not. And BETAs are taking full advantage. 

BETAs are highly engaged with online learning, seeing it as a way to self-improve and boost their work portfolio cheaply and with flexability.

A sizable 4 in 5 BETAs are participating in online learning to learn/improve skills, and the correlation with age here is strong: the younger the professional, the more engaged they’re with the learning for all of the reasons cited below.

The circumstances around the pandemic have heightened both this desire and opportunity for BETAs even further.

Our research on coronavirus attitudes and behaviors reveals over 40% of 21-30s and almost a third of 31-40s were spending more time using online learning platforms during lockdown.

4. They champion an ethos of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, but feel a strong need for reassurance in decision-making. 

For BETAs in the workplace, a seemingly contradictory set of values exist: a dichotomy of innovation and experimentation that meets a need for reassurance, reliability, and safe decision-making. 

BETAs’ ethos of pushing the boundaries is evident both in how they see themselves and the companies they work for.

From an employer perspective, BETAs are much more likely to agree that their company has the tools and systems in place to adapt quickly to industry changes. 

From a personal view, they seek to innovate and stay cutting-edge when it comes to their own decision-making. This is evident in how they evaluate new products and services for their workplace.

Keeping up with the latest trends is a stronger driver for BETAs (30% of 21-30s vs 20% of 51-64s), as is trying a product because they know a competitor is using it (22% of 21-30s vs 10% of 51-64s). 

But digging further into the data we can see BETAs have a more complex perspective on innovation – one that’s best described as “safe” innovation. For example, while BETAs spend the most time researching vendors and consider the widest range of options, they’re ultimately the most likely to pick one they already know. 

Similarly, BETAs have the strongest levels of agreement for thinking that they’re quick decision-makers who make choices based on gut feeling. Yet simultaneously, they’re the most likely to seek expert opinions before making a purchase and to be swayed by other people’s opinions. 

This duality is crucial in understanding and communicating to BETAs;

This cohort wants to be (seen as) decisive, bold and innovative – reflecting that messaging back to them is key in appealing to their sense of self. 

But this must be balanced with providing tried-and-true, reputable solutions because, in reality,  BETAs will meticulously seek certainty before committing to a decision. 

5. They embrace activist values and expect the businesses they work for (and with) to do the same.

2020 has been a year of activism like no other, with the rise of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement around the world seeing both citizens and companies taking a stand toward racial justice. 

And while our industry has largely focused on consumers’ views on activism, our research into the BETA mindset reveals how important these values are in a professional context.  

According to one of our global studies, 83% of business professionals want to see companies taking brand-actions in response to the BLM movement – covering anything from reviewing hiring policies and ensuring diversity in leadership to supporting local initiatives and making charitable donations. Among BETAS, this is higher – at 88%. Among BETAs under 30, it’s as high as 92%. 

Cultural nuances are especially important here, and emerge in how different groups of BETAs want to see businesses living their values. 

On a global scale, the youngest BETAs are more likely than other professionals to demand companies show support for key issues via social media. 

The story plays out differently in the U.S. and UK – two markets where this social display of solidarity is one of the lowest-scoring brand actions.

This likely reflects the concern about performative allyship that many people express both in personal and professional contexts – social media posting without true accountability is often a hollow promise. 

Instead, BETAs in these markets prioritize internal reflection and change – with reviewing hiring policies and ensuring diversity in leadership being the top responses.

Putting values front and center

While it’s difficult to gauge to what extent BETAs – or any group – will truly act on their values, the intent is there, especially in the workplace. 

BETAs are the most likely to say they want to feel more aligned with their company’s vision, values, and operating principles.

Two-thirds express this – compared to half among business professionals aged 41-64. 

For B2B brands wanting to nurture real, lasting relationships with BETA decision-makers, it’s important to demonstrate a commitment to issues or values that resonate with them. 

It’s 1991: Nintendo accounts for 90% of the $3 billion U.S. video games sector and consoles are being sold on the prospect of fans racing through Green Hill Zone with Sonic, or hopping the flagpole with Mario.

Thirty years on and 87% of internet users play games on any device, steering a $150 billion gaming industry toward $359 billion by 2025. Mario and Sonic may have since made amends, but the console war still wages on.

With Sony and Microsoft ready to launch their 9th generation flagships – the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, respectively – we look at the console landscape using our Core survey and custom research fielded in October to answer the following questions:

• What factors are most important in future console purchases?
• How has the outbreak affected the gaming industry?
• Who’s the favorite brand, and how might this change?

1. Console interest favors Sony – but gamers like to play around.

Loyalty is especially important this time around.

Some eighth-generation console gamers will be expected to upgrade from devices they’ve been using for as many as eight years now – that’s quite the library of games and achievements made redundant if they choose to switch brands.

Retaining player bases should be as much a priority as acquiring new ones – for Sony, this will be a considerably important move. 

Globally, console gamers currently using the PS4 seemingly have their minds made up on Sony, with over 2 in 3 interested in purchasing the PS5.

Xbox One users, meanwhile, are on the fence; over half are looking to migrate to the PS5 and 1 in 4 are interested in the Nintendo Switch.

An audience drop off on this scale would be devastating for Microsoft, but there’s some important caveats to be aware of before Sony declares victory.

Nintendo is the one to watch as they’re still gaming in the eighth-generation. While Switch users currently skew interest in the PS5, a ninth-generation entrance from Nintendo may cause them to reconsider.

Sony shouldn’t get complacent – just 1 in 5 UK and U.S. console gamers say loyalty to a brand would motivate them to buy a new console.

And if history is anything to go by, the shift to a new device generation rarely favors the incumbent console king.

For example, among all console gamers, 16% still use a Nintendo Wii – launched in 2006. However, its follow-up, the Wii U, failed to match its success – a feat only later accomplished by the Nintendo Switch.

Additionally, around 1 in 5 say they use the Xbox 360 – first launched in 2005 – on par with the Xbox One, the latter having lost players to Sony in a brief, but memorable display at E3 in 2011.

2. Expect console gamers to use more devices.

It’s no secret the pandemic has led to a surge in gaming activity. Our data confirms this: 

44% of UK and U.S. console gamers are playing more games since the COVID-19 outbreak.

As such, the arrival of two new flagship devices couldn’t be more timely.

But it’s not just the act of gaming that’s increased – gaming on multiple platforms is now more common too, with 68% of all console gamers playing games on 3 or more devices as of Q2 2020.

Using our core data, 55% of console gamers say they’re interested in purchasing both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, signalling that devotion to one brand may become less common.

Developers no doubt want their device to be the console-of-choice under trees this Christmas, but if taking the secondary-console slot becomes an option, then they’ll have the Switch to compete with – of which 20% of console gamers currently use, on par with Microsoft’s Xbox One.

Contending with Nintendo’s unprecedented lockdown sales will prove difficult but after all, this is 2020.

3. Cheaper alternatives will likely overshadow hardware limitations.

As of Q2 2020, 23% of all console gamers expect their personal finances to get worse in the next 6 months – a 136% increase since Q1 2020.

While cost is always important in the case of big-ticket items, the devastating financial impact of the pandemic has only made this factor more concerning, subsequently, 43% of console gamers in the UK and U.S. expect to spend less this holiday season.

Among console gamers in the UK and U.S., 59% say price is the most important factor in purchasing a new console – rising to 61% in the UK where a second national lockdown is expected to harm retailers on launch day.

In response, Sony and Microsoft are releasing cheaper alternatives to their standard-edition consoles from launch – the PS5 Digital Edition and Xbox Series S, respectively – following Nintendo’s lead from the Switch Lite.

But there’s a catch.

Both Sony and Microsoft’s frugal-minded consoles are digital-only; no discs. Furthermore, the Series S, though significantly cheaper than its Sony counterpart, poses hardware limitations compared to the Series X – while each variant of the PS5 remains technically equal.

The question is, are console gamers willing to make the trade-off?

No matter what console UK and U.S. gamers are interested in buying; price and game availability always take priority over hardware.

This is noticeable among Switch intenders, where just under 3 in 10 say speed or processing power is important when purchasing a new console. 

While these technical features are considered more important among PS5 and Series X intenders, the message is clear – console gamers are willing to trade hardware capabilities for price and playability.

While we’re far from the epitome of what gaming technology can achieve, developers are relying on it less to sell consoles, as changing consumer priorities have warranted a rethink of what matters most in console adoption.

Microsoft’s recent commitment to lower priced hardware for the foreseeable future is an example of this, but it’s a greater emphasis on games that really stands out.

4. The console with all the games holds all the cards.

This year’s virtual showcases sought to emphasize each new console’s upcoming games in the hopes of tempting would-be console adopters ahead of launch. 

There were new entries from some familiar faces; Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed and even a new God of War – but not all viewers were looking at the games to come.

Backwards compatibility was a hot-topic this year, with Sony and Microsoft fans expecting a full back-catalog of titles from their respective libraries. 

And with 1 in 5 UK and U.S. 9th generation console intenders saying this is important in console adoption, cloud gaming will be crucial in achieving this.

In the past month, 20% of all console gamers considering a PS5 or Xbox Series X have used a cloud gaming service. They’re 25% more likely to have done so than the average console gamer – with Series X intenders 41% more likely.

Though they’re likely to have purchased games online or used a subscription service – where monthly free games are available – cloud gaming offers a larger selection of games without purchasing games individually.

This is ideal, considering price is so important this time around.

Such services only further benefit the cheaper alternative consoles – given their lack of a disc drive prevents owners from using physical games they already own.

Sony is banking on users playing a history of classic PlayStation titles through its PS Plus Collection service; but that’s exclusive for PS5 owners, meaning PS4 gamers will be left behind.

Gamers in the UK and U.S. interested in buying the Xbox Series X are 36% more likely to say consoles integrating with other devices is important.

Given this is integral to cloud-gaming, Microsoft’s Game Pass service isn’t just a tempting offer for playing thousands of games on console, but mobiles and PC/laptops too.

Here’s to the future

This generation will no doubt introduce new worlds, engaging narratives and – almost certainly – some lessons to be learned for developers too. Down the line, be sure to expect the following:

• Gaming will only continue to become more popular – While the outbreak has made for a more frugal holiday season, the gaming habits forged in the past year look likely to stay. In the long term, multi-platform ownership will become more common as console exclusives entice gamers between brands.
• Hardware upgrades are a certain down the line – These consoles will receive an upgrade during their lifespan – just as Sony did with the PS4 Pro and Microsoft’s Xbox One X. However, with gamers less enthusiastic about technical features this time around, expect them to focus on changes to how games are played, such as with VR or motion-control.
• Expect a LOT more games from the past – Game availability is vital to console purchase so expect cloud-gaming, backwards compatibility, and remasters to be a lot more common. Gaming’s rich history means gamers won’t be limited to the titles yet to come, but instead granted access to those they missed, loved, and lost.

The pandemic has completely turned the financial landscape in the U.S. on its head.

Until 2020, around 1 in 10 consumers in the U.S. expected their personal finances to get worse in the next 6 months. By June, this increased drastically to 21%. A further 27% of consumers also say their financial situation is either tight or struggling.

The outbreak hasn’t just impacted consumers’ financial situation and outlook, it’s also fast-tracked the move to digital and overhauled consumers’ expectations from brands. 

Our new data set, GWI USA, gives providers the full picture of consumers’ changing behaviors and attitudes. And with many American bankers using at least two banks (51%) and a similar proportion with multiple cards across the four major networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover), getting visibility over this spread is invaluable.

We track the nation’s biggest banks and payment services so providers can see how their consumers’ expectations are changing, who’s driving these changes, and what this means for their brand.  

Here’s what the data tells us about consumer perception toward retail banking today.

Financial providers should be more hands-on with younger consumers.

The playbook for understanding bankers is outdated when it comes to Gen Z (aged 16-23). While older consumers are relatively self-sufficient, younger consumers – Gen Z in particular – need a closer relationship with their bank. It’s far from a one-size-fits-all approach. 

And there’s a number of reasons for this.

They’re the generation most impacted by the pandemic. Our global COVID-19 research from July found that 16% of Gen Z have been temporarily laid off/placed on furlough – they’re 33% more likely than the average to say this has happened to them.

Right now, they’re the most likely to be struggling, and need closer support. 

Gen Zs in the U.S. are 40% more likely than baby boomers to say they look for advice when making big financial decisions.

They’re also the least prepared for the financial fallout as a result of the pandemic. Compared to older consumers, Gen Z are more likely to say they’re not as good at managing their money or saving.

U.S. Gen Zs are 10% more likely to want brands to improve their knowledge/skill-set. 

All of this points to the need for providers to be more supportive toward younger consumers. 

Many providers have already taken steps to help financially weary consumers right now.

Alongside the likes of Citi, Chase, Capital One, Discover, Apple, and American Express; Bank of America is offering financial relief to its cardholders during these unprecedented times. 

Through its Client Assistance Program, customers may be entitled to relief programs such as waiving certain account fees, like overdraft fees, and deferring payments on their credit cards, mortgage, and auto loans.

Providers that put the groundwork in now to support consumers and better understand their needs are not only set to build more meaningful relationships, but it could also do wonders for brand trust.

Digital banking gets fast-tracked, opening up opportunities among older generations 

Today in the U.S., 64% of consumers say they use online banking at least weekly. This isn’t restricted to younger consumers: it has a broad cross-generational appeal.

Just shy of half of the silent generation and the greatest gen – that’s those aged 78 and above – bank online every week.

The U.S. has an older – faster aging – population, and the growth of the fintech space has accelerated most quickly among older cohorts since the pandemic.

These generations have significant market power and a big impact on the broader consumer landscape. Signs that they’re adopting digital now are set to be decisive to the overall online/offline balance in finance going forward.

Digital banking helps alleviate some of the big pain points with traditional banking. In research from March, 32% of consumers who use traditional retail banks said they find them time consuming because of waiting in long lines or being placed on hold, for example. As banks develop their digital offerings, it’s vital they understand consumers’ expectations and adapt. 

Providing a seamless, easy-to-use digital service is absolutely key when it comes to onboarding, and keeping, new consumers – especially as many U.S. consumers report frictions when signing up to new services online.

Among those who – as well as other services – have created an online financial account (e.g. banking, insurance) in the past month:

• 45% said they read a lot of terms and conditions when signing up.
• 20% said there was a lot of information to remember.
• 18% said it took multiple attempts to complete.

This process can often be a considerable pain point for many consumers as they sign up for online banking with their current bank or join a challenger bank. It’s often these agile, young companies, such as N26, that have proven to be most successful here.

And their success hasn’t gone unnoticed. Older generations are taking note of how digital banking can make their lives easier. For instance, among traditional bankers in the U.S., Gen X and baby boomers are 13% more likely than average to say they find it frustrating when they can’t make pin changes or freeze/unfreeze their card.

But while more older consumers are recognizing how digital banking can improve their security, on the other side of the same coin, it’s unearthed another issue: data privacy concerns.

Among those who bank online weekly, 29% of Gen Z and millennials are worried about their data security.

This jumps up to 42% among Gen X and baby boomers.

This might help to explain why younger consumers are more likely to use mobile payment and money transfer services more generally. But it doesn’t mean older generations are staying clear of these services – far from it. 

Among those who use mobile payments or money transfer services at least monthly, 67% of Gen X/boomers say they’ve used PayPal in the past month, compared to 56% of Gen Z and millennials. Instead, younger users are more likely to be using a range of other payment services including Venmo and Apple Pay.

This trend is accelerated by COVID-19 and is also backed up by PayPal’s own data which says consumers over the age of 50 were the app’s fastest growing segment between March and April 2020.

While Gen Z needs more support right now, older generations are confident in managing their finances themselves. What’s important to them is that finance brands provide a secure, simple online infrastructure they can trust. Providers who manage to engage this very lucrative audience are only set to benefit.

Loyalty is far from guaranteed

Bank loyalty isn’t what it used to be. Now that branches are less prominent, it’s far harder for retail banks to build brand perception and reputation.

If consumers were to open a new bank account tomorrow the vast majority would consider another bank rather than remaining faithful to their current provider.

New research from Cornerstone Advisors found that just 7% of consumers are highly engaged with their bank – they have several products with it, a key sign of loyalty. That said, among the nation’s megabanks (specifically Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo), nearly half of their customers are moderately or highly engaged. It’s regional banks and credit unions that bring the average down. A trend that’s roughly mirrored in our data.

But what would lead to a consumer switching banks?

Just 19% of U.S. consumers say they’d switch banks if better deals/rates were available. 

It seems the biggest motivator to join another bank lies with practicalities, such as good service, rather than financial incentives.

In the U.S., 59% of consumers say bad customer service would concern them the most when deciding whether or not to buy from a brand. This is their primary concern, far above socio-economic concerns such as lack of diversity in senior leadership (11%) and a lack of political activism (10%).

40% of U.S. consumers say great customer service would motivate them to promote their favorite brand online – rising from 34% in 2015.

And great customer service isn’t just key for financial service users in the U.S., it has global appeal. At 44%, Visa users around the world are 17% more likely than the average internet user to say that this is a key driver for brand advocacy. 

Gone are the days when retail banks could mainly rely on in-person interactions to encourage customer loyalty. To really engage consumers, providers need to understand what they want and what matters to them, which can vary across generations.

For example, Gen Z are 37% more likely than the average American to want brands to offer customizable/personalized products. They’re also more likely to want brands to improve their status. 

Boomers on the other hand, are far more likely than average to want brands to contribute to the local community, reduce their environmental impact, and support local suppliers.

As boomers shift from branch to digital, finance brands should develop their purpose-driven banking. Good CSR practices are key to obtaining this generation’s loyalty.

63% of boomers agree that when they find a brand they like, they stick with it compared to 35% of Gen Z.

Revolutionizing digital offerings is only one part of a much broader picture. To really enhance brand loyalty and positive brand sentiment, retail banks and financial providers need to understand what drives different generations, what they expect from brands, and adapt their strategies as a result.

Above all, now is the time for empathy and support. This not only helps to build trust, and a more personal relationship, but it also helps to improve brand loyalty that’s so hard-won, and so easily lost.

Oracle may be hatching a deal with TikTok, but the frosty reception from U.S. policymakers hasn’t relented. The app is now forced to take drastic measures, including rebuilding code to meet security requirements. 

The U.S. is the eye of the storm for TikTok in its quest to conquer the Western social media landscape. Europe has put up less of a battle, but we shouldn’t understate the significance of TikTok’s interests on the other side of the Atlantic.

TikTok has experienced remarkable growth in Europe over the course of 2020, and the pandemic has been the catalyst. 

Among consumers aged 16-64 in Europe, TikTok monthly usage has grown by 93% between Q3 2019 and Q2 2020. Even more remarkably: 

Some European countries, including Denmark, Ireland and the UK have seen growth upwards of 170%.

This growth is thanks to Gen Z.

In Europe, the TikTok hype hasn’t been felt in all corners of society because the app is geared towards younger generations, specifically Gen Z (16-24 year-olds). 

Although we’ve all heard stories of parents jumping on the TikTok trend, in Europe their engagement hasn’t been substantial or frequent enough to have a material impact on user growth. 

TikTok engagement was fairly low before lockdown among older groups, and although usage growth was in the double digits during lockdown, engagement remains fairly low.

For a large share of Gen Zs, TikTok was already part of their social media portfolio before lockdown. Since then, growth has been in the triple digits, resulting in a very strong user base by the middle of the year. 

This younger skew in the TikTok user base helps to explain why European countries with younger populations like Turkey, Poland, and, to some extent, Romania, post the strongest monthly usage figures overall in the region. 

Frequency of engagement figures are a solid marker of a platform’s relevance to a specific age group, and European Gen Zs distinguish themselves again here.

So far in 2020, the number of Gen Zs in Europe who use TikTok at least daily grew by over 250%.

Some platforms fall short in daily usage despite consistently strong monthly engagement, but TikTok is fast becoming part of Gen Z’s day-to-day lives.

What’s boosting the surge? 

To understand what’s driving TikTok’s growth in Europe beyond the circumstance of lockdown, we need to look at content and user experience. 

Whether you’re an influencer, a journalist, an analyst, or anyone who needs to communicate with an audience, it’s well known that telling a story is one of the most powerful ways of doing this. 

TikTok’s content is highly story-driven, more so than other platforms, and each short video is packed with content. This feeds directly into Gen Z’s desire to kill time and find entertaining content on social media.

This is an audience who are as likely to watch vlogs each month as they are to watch TV on-demand services (around 60% do). 

From an entertainment perspective, user-generated content and conventional TV are on a much more equal footing. The impact of lockdown restrictions allowed TikTok to position itself as a means of sharing experiences and carve out its own unique value proposition in the media and publisher ecosystem.

What challenges is it facing?

Like with TV, TikTok content is aimed to reach incredibly large audiences, and it’s very viral in nature. 

But unlike TV, it’s user-generated rather than professionally curated. This puts it at odds with other platforms which tend to give rise to audience-specific content, meaning it’s operating in a space with few like-for-like competitors. But this is changing. 

Encouraged by backlash from Western policy makers, rival social platforms like Instagram and Snapchat are creating their own user features aimed at capturing some of TikTok’s market share. 

Social platforms have a reputation for replication and companies, like Snapchat, have felt the pinch from this. 

But this time there’s a more serious threat to he hero of this story thanks to aggressive moves from the U.S. government, and eager buyers are lining up to acquire TikTok’s regional operations.

What’s the scale of TikTok’s opportunity in Europe?

Europe is a highly important market for TikTok, and the growth figures in monthly engagement speak for themselves. 

While Europe might not have seen growth on the same scale as regions with younger online populations, like Latin America (+93% since Q3 2019 vs. +185%, respectively), its older population can mask the strong engagement seen among younger sections of European society. 

Certain European countries like the UK, Ireland, Poland, Romania and Turkey are emerging as strongholds in the app’s user base. These will be critical for TikTok’s future position as the Chinese app eyes up further growth in the Western world, particularly as it’s found a relatively safe haven away from the hardline stance of U.S. policy makers.

Each election season in the U.S. passes with tens of millions of American votes left uncast. 

According to Pew Research, the 2016 election was considered a high turnout year even though only 56% of the voting age population cast a ballot. 

It’s unclear whether 2020 will garner more or less votes than four years ago, but with the unprecedented amount of Americans expected to vote by mail, those who typically don’t vote could be swayed to cast a ballot.

And both sides have already invested billions, in part hoping to convince non-voters to cast a ballot. 

Time’s running short for organizations looking to galvanize this audience. With the debates in full swing, it’s crucial to understand this group of non-voters, who they are and what will drive them to the polls. 

Non-voters are a diverse, but uninformed group. 

According to GWI USA data, only 67% of voting-aged Americans say they typically vote in national elections.

Many different groups are represented in this massive portion of Americans who don’t engage politically, but generally speaking they have a lot more in common with one another than Americans on either side of the political spectrum. 

Compared to typical voters, non-voters are generally younger, unmarried, and slightly more likely to be Black, Hispanic or Asian American. 

They’re 40% less likely than typical voters to have a college degree, and financially, over 40% describe their financial situation as “tight” or “struggling”.

Unlike undecided voters, who hail mostly from the suburbs, non-voters are more likely to live in either urban or rural areas. This may offer unique opportunities to either candidate looking for inroads in hotly contested cities and towns across the country. 

Yet this may be easier said than done. In their day-to-day lives, non-voters do not engage with political content much at all, and in a typical month 45% do not engage with news sources whatsoever, whether online or in-print. 

It’s unsurprising, then, that a significant portion of this group don’t describe themselves as either liberal or conservative. For the most part they’re uncertain, unwilling to say, or moderate. 

Though this data reveals a relatively normal distribution of non-voters on the political spectrum, it also shows the size of the opportunity ahead for either party. 

The bulk of these potential voters can still be swayed one way or the other, and campaigns with the right calls to action could bring a critical amount of first-time voters to the polls. 

Non-voters are more distrustful of institutions. 

In practice, winning over these voters will be harder than nearly every other voting group, in a large part because non-voters show a great deal of distrust in many of the institutions currently attempting to register new voters. 

Non-voters are skeptical of “the system” overall, showing high levels of distrust in social media companies, large brands and religious institutions.

This means calls by these organizations to vote may fall on deaf ears. At the end of the day, these voters may be abstaining because they feel a single vote doesn’t matter or that the system is rigged. 

They’re slightly less distrustful than voters of the media, but this may be due to a lack of interaction. 

Even more so than undecided voters, non-voters show a great deal of apathy toward many of the issues currently being debated by the two sides. They’re less likely than voters to worry about the national deficit, climate change, or the U.S. healthcare system (even though the majority of them don’t currently have health insurance). 

Their own personal finances is the only issue they care more about than the average voting American. 

45% of non-voters say making money is important. Of all possible voters in the country, those who have yet to engage with the voting process may be most influenced by the economic record of either candidate. 

However, both sides must remember any economic rhetoric too far left or right may make this – largely moderate – group uneasy and will have an adverse effect. 

Non-voters can still be reached on social media. 

Choosing the correct messaging to inspire non-voters may be tricky, but finding where to put that message is an easier piece of the puzzle. 

Even though they’re less engaged with news and current events than the average American, as well as 25% less likely than typical voters to be subscribed to a cable TV service (still the largest financial arena for political ads), they’re quite active internet users, especially on more niché social media services. 

The opportunity for organizations attempting to sway first-time voters is abundant on these platforms. 

Non-voters not only use services like Twitch and TikTok in greater numbers than typical voters, they also spend more time on social media overall.

Non-voters are more likely to be using smaller, entertainment-focused social media platforms, like Snapchat and TikTok, and less likely to be using platforms more dominated by news and current events, like Facebook and Twitter. 

So while they may not be actively seeking out political content, the amount of time they spend on social media as a whole makes them an attractive audience to more targeted political messaging. 

Many political ad formats already reflect this changing reality, as Americans – especially non-voters – are less drawn to click on a long New York Times article detailing policy, and more easily swayed by a series of memes in rapid succession. 

Reaching these possible first-time voters, just like with other groups through social channels, will be a process of micro-targeting and understanding each of the issues that an individual could care about most.  

Driving non-voters to the polls is no simple task. 

Getting Americans to cast a ballot for the first time requires a ton of work. Unlike typical voters, this group is generally less informed, and less trusting of the institutions attempting to corral voters.

The chance of success is highest when one understands the many different ways to view such a large subset of the country. 

Race, age, financial situation, and social media usage are all important factors in meeting the right voter, with the right message, in time to make a difference. 

And although non-voters aren’t spending as much time in the traditional channels of political discourse in America, meeting them in their online environments with the right messaging will add much needed votes to either side of the election.