Consumer Behavior

The sustainability conversation is evolving as the intersecting crises of the past year–a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, a climate breakdown, and more–unfold. In a recent Wunderman Thompson report, 85% of respondents say people must be prepared to rethink the way they live and spend if we are to tackle climate change. In addition, 80% […]

We’re entering the next evolution of social connection. As technology continues to permeate every aspect of our lives–more than three-quarters (76%) of global consumers say their everyday lives and activities depend on technology, rising to 79% of gen Z and 80% of millennials–we wonder what comes next. In the company’s most recent keynote, Mark Zuckerberg […]

As we emerge from crisis, the identity of the nation, the brand, and the individual is quickly changing. In a series titled “USA: Can This Brand Be Saved?,” Fast Company recognizes that the challenges that America has faced recently–racism, climate change, income inequality, and political division, among others—have significantly diminished the American brand, and takes […]

Finding new ways to challenge the status quo, brands and consumers alike are forging a future they are proud to be a part of. Consumers are driving acknowledgment and acceptance of a wider range of experiences and demanding that brands do the same through innovation, redesign, and representation. Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient, […]

The pandemic has permanently changed the way we live. As consumers move away from major cities to the suburbs, they gravitate towards products that remind them of their childhoods. With the ability to work from home, a shift likely to stick around indefinitely, businesses are investing in the tools their employees need to do that. […]

COVID-19 and other recent events are exposing the many shortcomings of our nation’s systems as social, environmental, and economic injustices dominate the national conversation. As we emerge from what many are calling the ‘lost year,’ we are tasked with re-evaluating our priorities and rebuilding what was broken. A wave of innovative new initiatives and community-led […]

Life as we know it has been forever altered by COVID-19. Many pre-existing consumer trends were accelerated by lockdown, while others emerged as a complete shock to society. This new reality, and corresponding lifestyle, is not only defined by the apparel choices we make but how we choose to live (and die). The home is […]

The Pantone Color Institute has named not one but two colors of the year: PANTONE 17–5104 Ultimate Gray and PANTONE 13–0647 Illuminating. According to Pantone, the selection is “a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting. Each of them has their own emotional aspect, the gray […]

TikTok, the latest social media craze, was released four years ago in September 2016. Since its launch, the platform has gained a whopping 800 million active users. As of April 2020, the app had been downloaded more than 2 billion times worldwide on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The video-based content […]

COVID-19 has and will continue to affect the very foundation of our society. With more than 5 million cases worldwide, 165,000 Americans dead, and over 16 million US jobs lost, it has woken people up to some of the nation’s most glaring disparities. Cases are most densely concentrated in low-income communities of color and “essential” workers […]