WGSN’s new report Home Lifestyles 2025 predicts how businesses can adapt their products and services for the new resting, playing and working home-body
There’s no denying that the last few years have been tumultuous. First dealing with the consequences of Covid-19 then seamlessly traversing into a period economic uncertainty. Thus, it’s no surprise that consumer intentions and behaviours have shifted.
What’s more, 84% of workers have continued to carry out a mix of working at home and in their place of work since the first lockdown. Meaning that not only are people purchasing more intentional and resourceful products, they are expecting more from their homes than ever.
In its recent Home Lifestyles 2025 report, trend forecaster WGSN, predicts what new consumer routines in the kitchen, bathroom, living room and garden might look like in two years time.
Revolving around on four consumer behaviours, the 38-page white paper is a key resource for beauty brands strategising for the coming years. Here’s a sneak-peek into the insights:
1. Live intentionally
As we all know, consumers have become increasingly conscious when it comes to protecting themselves and the planet through the things they buy. These ethics has now become mainstream and beauty buyers want brands to go further.
Instead of stopping at reducing impact, people want regeneration to be the next big thing. Put simply, consumers are willing to work with, and buy from, brands that leave the planet even healthier than it was before.
For this, the forecaster looks to refillable body wash brand Kankan as a success story. Not only are its refill solutions completely plastic free, they are infinitely recyclable. The brand also incentivises bulk purchasing with 15% off people’s final basket.
2. Work dynamically
With murmurings of four-day weeks and flexi-hours becoming the talk of the office post-Covid, it’s beauty products not just CEOs that have to adapt.
One of the biggest innovations that WGSN predicts as a reaction to increased home-working is blue-light resistant skincare. More consumers will check the labels of their eye creams, SPFs and skin tints for zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or iron oxide, all ingredients that block out the light from their computers.
3. Rest restoratively
The pandemic saw parents take on educating their children on top of their not-so nine-to-fives and the cost of living crisis is driving people pick up side hustles in numbers we’ve never seen before. As a result, rest is becoming something we have to schedule in and carve out time for.
The bathroom is becoming a hotspot for restoration – meaning beauty is in for a win. In fact, WGSN’s social media date saw 22% of the influencers talking about the bathroom in relation to self-care in 2022, up from 19% in 2021. And, grand View Research predicts that the global market for luxury bath and body products will be worth $28.65bn by 2030.
The report also covers the power of crackling body washes and fizzing lip balms due to the consumer’s interest in ASMR.
4. Play immersively
WGSN’s prediction that 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse to work, shop, attend school, socialise or consume entertainment by 2026 comes as no surprise.
With beauty brands including Avon, Charlotte Tilbury and Estée Lauder all embracing the opportunities of Web 3, NFTs and avatars the shift is taking beauty by storm too. It’s time for brands to start thinking about how consumers can embrace beauty buys as part of their every-day home lifestyles now and in the future.
