Five consumer shifts set to shape 2023—and what they reveal about the new expectations people will bring to brands, products, services, and everyday choices.
Mildberry
December 2022
7 minutes
Consumer habits are flexible, but the shifts emerging now may influence how people think, choose, and relate to brands for much longer than the next 12 months. The past three years have changed the context of everyday life. The pandemic, geopolitical instability, climate pressure, rising living costs, and an endless flow of digital content have made many people feel more exposed and less certain about the future. In response, consumers are reassessing what matters. They are looking for ways to protect their well-being, make spending feel more rational, find accessible pleasure, reconnect with their local environment, and play a more active role in the economy around them.
The consumer of 2023 is not just looking for more. They are looking for more control.
We identified five trends that will shape the direction of more human-centered business in an increasingly unstable global environment. The report draws on signals identified by Mintel, WGSN, Trendwatching, Nielsen, Ipsos, and other leading research platforms.
Consumers will move from self-improvement toward a broader search for physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being.
Price will matter, but consumers will make more deliberate decisions about usefulness, affordability, and long-term value.
Accessible indulgence will become more important as consumers seek everyday moments of comfort, reward, and escape.
Transparency, local relevance, and visible accountability will strengthen as markers of credibility.
Consumers will become more active participants in brands, communities, and new forms of micro-entrepreneurship.
The ambition to achieve more and continuously improve will give way to a broader idea of self-transformation. Well-being is no longer defined only by physical health. It increasingly includes mental, emotional, spiritual, and social health. 76% of people worldwide say that mental and physical health are equally important.
Consumers will look for ways to recover, reconnect with their surroundings, and create more sustainable routines. They will take digital breaks, set personal physical and mental health goals, seek out nature, and look for communities that provide a sense of belonging.
For brands, this raises the bar. Wellness cannot be reduced to functional claims or aesthetic codes. Products, services, and communication will need to demonstrate care in a way that feels useful, humane, and emotionally credible.
Of people worldwide say mental and physical health are equally important.Source: Global Wellness Institute
SIGNALS TO WATCH
Restorative experiences · Nature and reconnection · Supportive communities · Softer communication
Good well-being is no longer about optimization alone. It is about helping people feel whole again.
Security is one of the most basic human needs. Yet financial, informational, legal, and social security increasingly feel fragile. Nearly one in eight people worldwide is displaced or away from home. 92% of people are concerned about the risk of recession, and 66% of users believe companies have too much control over their personal data.
The cost-of-living crisis will make consumers more cautious. In the UK, 23% of adults report that paying regular household bills is difficult or very difficult, while 43% say they will be unable to save money over the following 12 months. In India, 84% of urban residents are concerned about their ability to pay bills. In the United States, nearly half of adults say rising prices are constantly on their minds.
This does not mean consumers will simply choose the lowest-priced option. The more important shift is toward a more deliberate evaluation of value: what does this purchase do for me now, and will it still feel worthwhile later?
Brands will need to make convenience, relevance, and economic value easy to understand. Clear pricing, loyalty ecosystems, tailored offers, affordable entry points, and practical service models will matter more than broad promises.
Of people are concerned about the risk of recession.Source: Ipsos, What Worries the World, 2022
SIGNALS TO WATCH
Convenience at a fair price · Price-freezing initiatives · Private-label growth · Loyalty and personalization · Accessible entry points
Price matters. But the real question is whether the purchase still feels worth it.
Economic pressure weakens consumer loyalty. Only 31% of shoppers say they buy everything advertised to them, while 27% pay closer attention to lower-priced alternatives and 26% stop buying certain product categories altogether. Yet people are unlikely to abandon every non-essential purchase. When larger spending decisions become more difficult, small moments of pleasure can become more important. Consumers will still look for products and services that offer comfort, reward, escapism, and emotional release. This creates space for affordable indulgence: small luxuries that make an ordinary day feel better without requiring a major financial commitment. In food, beverage, beauty, and everyday consumer goods, brands can respond through sensory experience. Nostalgic or experimental flavors, richer textures, premium packaging cues, and more indulgent positioning can make accessible products feel more rewarding. Payment is part of this shift, too. Buy now, pay later services such as Klarna make it easier for consumers to spread the cost of non-food purchases, including electronics, clothing, and accessories. Around 360 million people used BNPL services in 2022, accounting for nearly $160 billion in consumer spending.
Consumer spending through buy now, pay later models in 2022. Source: Kaleido Intelligence, Buy Now, Pay Later Market Report
SIGNALS TO WATCH
Sensory indulgence · Everyday luxury · Nostalgia · Flexible payment
When big spending feels risky, small pleasures become more valuable.
Global uncertainty is strengthening the appeal of local business, local resources, and local identity. Mintel describes this shift as an era of localism, shaped by the pandemic, geopolitical change, and a growing demand for authenticity, sustainability, and transparency. Consumers often associate local products with shorter supply chains, more responsible production, and a closer relationship between maker and buyer. But proximity alone is not enough. Local brands will be expected to show where products come from, how they are made, and who benefits from their growth.60% of online shoppers across markets consider reliability and transparency the most important brand characteristics. This expectation extends to global companies as well. International brands will face growing pressure to demonstrate how they support employees, customers, suppliers, and communities in the places where they operate. At the same time, the return to public life is increasing interest in offline experiences. Consumers will value local spaces that give them a reason to gather, explore, take pride in their city or neighborhood, and feel part of a shared cultural story.
Of online shoppers across markets consider reliability and transparency the most important brand characteristics.Source: Statista
SIGNALS TO WATCH
Locally rooted brands · Transparent production · Local collaborations · Community support · Shared local spaces
Local is not only about where a product is made. It is about whether a brand feels accountable to a place.
The tools for earning, creating, and building independent businesses are becoming more accessible. As a result, more consumers will see themselves not only as buyers, but as creators, contributors, entrepreneurs, and participants in the brands around them. Whether through content creation, selling products and services, or renting out space and assets, more people will establish micro-businesses in 2023. Three in 10 people worldwide have started a business at some point in their lives. This shift creates a new role for brands. They can become enablers: providing tools, platforms, resources, visibility, and opportunities for people to earn, create, and express themselves. TikTok has made creativity more visible and participatory. Brands are following the same logic by involving outside voices in product development, using user-generated content, and giving creators, communities, employees, or everyday customers more visible roles in campaigns and innovation. The deeper shift is cultural. Consumers will become more closely connected to the aesthetics, values, and worldview of brands in which they invest not only money, but also time, creative energy, and personal attention.
People worldwide have started a business at some point in their lives. Source: Ipsos, Global Trends 2021
SIGNALS TO WATCH
Creator tools · Participatory product development · User-generated content · External perspectives · Values-based communities
The strongest brands will not just speak to people. They will create space for people to take part.
The changes ahead are not temporary reactions to a difficult moment. They point to a deeper shift in what consumers expect from commercial relationships. People will look to brands for practical support, emotional reassurance, fair value, credible transparency, local connection, and meaningful participation. The brands that respond best will not treat these as separate trends or campaign themes. They will build products, services, experiences, and systems that give people a more useful role in their own lives.
Move beyond functional wellness claims and create experiences that address physical, mental, emotional, and social needs.
Use pricing, service design, loyalty, personalization, and product architecture to make affordability and usefulness feel tangible.
Create accessible moments of reward through sensory product design, emotional relevance, and everyday premium experiences.
Show where products come from, how they are made, and how the business contributes to the places where it operates.
Give customers, creators, communities, and employees meaningful ways to contribute, create, and shape what comes next.
The opportunity is not simply to react to uncertainty. It is to give people something more valuable: a practical tool for feeling more capable, more connected, and more in control.
The brands that matter most will help people navigate change— not just sell to them through it.
Pay attention to changes