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The World in 2023: The Return of Optimism

It’s been a tough year. A land war in Europe, inflation at a 40 year high and the country slipping into a recession. Public services will be affected by waves of strike action this winter while the long impact of the pandemic continues to be felt in national health, standards of care and educational catch up. The UK economy is not expected to reach pre-pandemic size until 2025. Who knows how many more Prime Ministers we’ll see before then.

With all of this setting the tone, businesses and strategists can have little certainty – or hope – about what the next 12 months means for them. Our next webinar will look ahead at all that 2023 has in store for us – from prospects for the economic recovery, bitterly contested global elections, massive steps forward in technology and the continued impacts of the cost of living– to provide a little more surety – and positivity – about what is coming down the line, and how best to adjust.

As futurists, optimism is essential to us. Without optimism, what hope do we have? We won’t meet the grand challenges posed to us by climate change, polarisation and ageing without belief that better is possible. We won’t realise the opportunities of new technology without understanding that new technology always creates opportunities.

In 2023, we expect optimism to return to the consumer mindset. Although it seems distant now, there’s a case for it. During the pandemic, the nadir of sentiment was November 2020, as the UK slid inexorably into the third lockdown. But by January 2021, with people now in lockdown and Christmas cancelled for most, Optimism started to recover. People saw the light at the end of the tunnel – there was a roadmap for reopening. Consumer optimism reflected the anticipated future rather than the miserable present and sentiment improved as a result.

Join us for our next webinar when we’ll explore how and why the consumer mood will change next year and what this means for attitudes, values and spending behaviour.

Jan 26, 2023 09:00 AM in London