Looking further into the 2020s, new research from WGSN highlights how brands and retailers will have to adjust their product and service offering to meet global consumer needs around the home.
London, October 31, 2020 – The future is home in the 2020s, according to new research from the global authority on consumer and design trends, WGSN. Driven by consumers’ increased time spent at home, and accelerated by the global coronavirus pandemic, new priorities are emerging around how consumers will shape their spaces and spend their time and resources, including investing in more sustainable, flexible and emotion-driven products and systems.
Building on the Home Hub forecast, first announced by WGSN in 2015, the Future of Home 2030 report looks at what the next 10 years will bring to the lifestyle and interiors space, including evolving consumer attitudes to comfort and safety, advances in home AI and automation, and the need for radical climate adaptation across architecture and interior design.
Among the key findings:
- Protection is paramount: Safety, security and protection will be key factors across homes and neighbourhoods in 2030. Communities will be connected like never before to sense threats, with smart home tech that can identify and scare off intruders. Homes will not only be pandemic-proof, but even ‘zombie-proof’ with unbreakable walls, and will include health-boosting features literally embedded into the walls and floors.
- Home, grown: Grow-your-own systems will be central to kitchens and across living spaces, as consumers look to increase their self-sufficiency and bring their diets closer to home. Beyond rows of micro herbs, consumers will be growing mushrooms, cultivating algae and keeping their own personal ‘digesters’ of microbes, which can then fertilise waste and provide heat and energy sources for the home. Radically natural biomaterials will be used to create homewares – from plant-based leathers to ‘hempcrete’ furniture.
- The new making: As conscious consumption continues to grow, open-source and hands-on design techniques will make their way into the home. Craft and DIY will be key, for creativity and for mindfulness, and consumers will be able to make and remake objects, recycling and reprinting their resources into new items or styles on-demand.
- Entertainment evolves: Upcoming advances in VR/AR, coupled with the rise of gaming culture and spatialised home audio, will lead to a new wave of immersive entertainment that will provide next-level relaxation options in the home of 2030. This will include multisensory experiences – think music that streams across your living room in a rainbow of colour, and digital textures that you can physically touch – as well as personalised entertainment that’s offered up to you based on your mood that day.
“Brands must explore what home will mean to their consumer,” said Lisa White, Creative Director and Director of WGSN Interiors. “In the private space sector, home is now considered a sanctuary. We see an increase in demand for soft, reassuring and tactile products. In the public space arena, we’re tracking how consumers expect these environments to feel like homes away from home. Going further as an extension of home, neighbourhood and community services are being designed to aid interaction and relationship-building, creating a sense of belonging just outside your door.”
According to Carla Buzasi, President & CEO at WGSN: “There are dramatic accelerations happening in everything we do at home and outside: from work to exercise, to entertainment and self-care. As a consequence, in 2021 and beyond, we will see consumers develop new priorities and behaviours, building new relationships with home and public spaces.
“With more than 20 years’ experience as change forecasters, we at WGSN have embraced this moment to innovate and adapt our products to the changing needs of the industries we serve. We’re proud to introduce a renewed WGSN Lifestyle & Interiors. By providing global trend insights, expertly curated data and industry expertise, we empower our clients to develop today the products and services that will help people live, work and play in tomorrow’s world.”
Latest research supports WGSN’s Home Hub 2015 forecast that the changes in consumer behaviour were likely to drive a boost in homewares, driven by social media’s role in opening up the home and the need to ‘feel at home everywhere’. As a sense of home becomes more valuable to consumers, public spaces will continue to soften, taking on designs and amenities inspired by the comforts and conveniences of the home. WGSN has been tracking the rise of this trend in retail as well as automotive designs, hospitality and co-working spaces.
You can download the Home Hub timeline at no cost at http://bit.ly/WGSN-Home-Hub
NOTES TO EDITORS
To get access to quotes and interviews with WGSN’s top home and interiors experts Lisa White, Gemma Riberti, Sarah Housley, Allyson Rees and Harriet Kilikita, contact press@wgsn.com.
Lisa White, Creative Director and Director, WGSN Interiors
A future thinker with over 25 years of experience, Lisa is an expert in lifestyle and design and has predicted key long-term trends such as experience design and the home hub. Her industry knowledge, creativity and cutting-edge eye drive WGSN’s future innovation and macro trends, as well as product development forecasts.
In demand as a speaker, Lisa curated the 2019 International Design Biennale in Saint-Étienne, France. She has been quoted in numerous publications, including the WSJ, Le Monde, Corriere Della Sera and the South China Morning Post.
Gemma Riberti, Head of WGSN Interiors
Gemma leads WGSN’s design and product development directions, overseeing how consumer macro trends impact the interiors industry across categories and market levels. She has 15 years’ experience in trend forecasting and design research, and her knowledge of colour and material applications makes her integral to WGSN’s global colour team.
Gemma consults for brands, retailers and manufacturers around the world, and speaks at industry events to discuss trends in residential and commercial environments. Her experience includes roles at A+A Design Studio in Milan and Studio Contrepoint in Paris.
Sarah Housley, Senior Strategist, WGSN Interiors
Sarah has 10 years’ experience in trend forecasting, spanning product design, materials innovation and technology. She specialises in lifestyle futures, design innovation and consumer tech trends, and is part of the macro forecast team, which distils reams of global research into future trends each season.
Sarah has spoken on design trends worldwide. She has worked with clients to teach trend forecasting workshops, and consulted on topics from CMF innovation to the future of water.
Allyson Rees, Senior Strategist, WGSN WGSN Interiors
A passionate researcher and journalist, Allyson tracks retail, lifestyle and interior design directions, paying special attention to growth areas in the home, decor and gifting markets.
Allyson is frequently called to comment on the latest ongoings in interiors. She has written for publications including WWD, Fashionista and The Impression, and has consulted for Fortune 500 brands and retailers around the world, helping them distil high-level trends for the mass market.
Harriet Kilikita, Senior Strategist, WGSN WGSN Interiors
With a background in cultural strategy, Harriet’s understanding of how emerging lifestyle trends affect product design and development enables her to create actionable, data-driven reports to inspire clients. She covers a wide range of lifestyle topics, with particular focus on the impact of wellness, hospitality and dining trends.
Harriet has worked on bespoke projects and presentations for major global brands, and her trend insights have been quoted in publications including The Washington Post, Grazia and Vice.
ABOUT WGSN WGSN Interiors
WGSN Interiors helps you design for current and future consumer lifestyles.
By providing global trend insights, expertly curated data and industry expertise, we empower you to develop today the products and services that will help people live, work and play in tomorrow’s world.
ABOUT WGSN
WGSN is the global authority on consumer, lifestyle and product design trends, helping brands around the world create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer.
WGSN’s trusted consumer insights and product design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, food and drink, and interiors forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory.
Visit wgsn.com