As they look to 2022, consumers around the world expect continuing disruption in many facets of their lives. And more than ever, they’re looking to brands and companies that stand for something.

See Ad Age's 2021 Year in Review here.

For the past 10 years, Ford Motor Co. has surveyed consumers around the world to get a sense of how they are feeling and what’s important to them. In an interview with Ad Age, Ford corporate futurist Sheryl Connelly shared the insights and headlines from the most recent research, conducted this year among people in 14 countries and scheduled to be released today.

Like a 'low-grade fever'

In 2017, the company asked survey respondents whether they were overwhelmed by changes in the world, including Brexit and a bitterly contentious U.S. election, 66% said yes. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, to Connelly’s surprise, that number went up to only 69%. “Why? I think we’ve become accustomed to disruption, and immune to the chaos around us,” she said. “It’s like having a low-grade fever all the time.”

A less tolerant world

Despite the proliferation of strong and loud opinions on social platforms, 42% of people say they won’t speak up about their beliefs if they think others will disagree with them—and that number was even higher among Gen Z respondents. Worldwide, 64% of adults agree that “In the future, people will be less tolerant of opposing viewpoints than they are today.”

Back to normal?

When asked last year, mid-pandemic, when life would return to “normal,” 8% of respondents said “never.” What got Connelly’s attention: This year the number is even higher, with 13% of people saying that life will never return to normal. “Work is the most likely element of life influencing that number, but it’s more than that. Some 12% of respondents said travel will never return to normal, and 11% said the same about retail,” she said.

Future climate fear

Across the globe, 81% of respondents say climate change makes them worried about the future. Even more startling, a large percentage of women—more than 40% in Canada, and more than 30% in France and India—say they don’t want to have children in a world whose future is jeopardized by climate change.

Meeting consumers where they are

At the same time, 70% of people say they are changing their behaviors to fight climate change. “But when we dug deeper, we found that people might say, ‘Sure, I’ll give up my plastic straw’ or ‘I’ll carry my own bags to the grocery store,’ but they’re not willing to make any sacrifice that’s inconvenient to them,” Connelly says. In terms of electric vehicles, she and Ford hope that consumers’ lukewarm interest will heat up with a broader and more affordable portfolio of EVs. The all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E crossover, for instance, “tells car buyers they can have beautiful design with zero emissions,” she says. “It’s how we can meet consumers where they are.”

A new future for cars?

The future of transportation, of course, is of prime interest to Ford. In looking at private ownership of cars, Connelly says, “When we think about the future, there are signals to suggest that people are becoming less dependent on it.” For instance, she says, 31% of Gen Z and millennial respondents say today’s kids will not need to learn how to drive. And when asked about owning or sharing a vehicle, one in four among that age group said they’d rather use some sort of car-sharing option in the future, instead of owning a car—assuming cost neutrality.

“People love cars. We’re enchanted by this romantic vision of putting the pedal to the metal. But the reality is that the average speed traveled around the world is about 30 miles per hour. When you’re stuck in traffic, it comes down to thinking: I’ve got better things to do with my time,” Connelly says. And although the industry has suffered from bad publicity connected to self-driving technology, consumers acknowledge the fact that human error is the biggest factor in traffic accidents. Some 45% of consumers say they think they’ll feel safer in a self-driving vehicle, and two-thirds of parents say they’d rather have their children driven in a self-driving vehicle than by a stranger.

Outdated concepts

Respondents expect more changes in their personal lives. Some 52% of Gen Zers and millennials believe that gender assignments will be gone within their lifetime—and 46% of that group say marriage will become an outdated concept by 2035. Among Gen Zers and millennials who don’t yet have children, 27% say they don’t want to have children, with 61% saying they’re just not interested in being a parent.

One final headline for marketers looking ahead to 2022: Connelly says brand values and purpose matter for consumers. “Our relationships with brands can be really important when this chaos exists around us,” she says. “Brands can be a lighthouse in the storm.” She goes on to say to marketers, “The values of your brand and your organization are going to be increasingly important in terms of who wants to work for you, buy from you, be part of your supplier network. They need to know where you stand. For decades, people thought it was safe to stay on the sidelines during contentious political or religious or social debates. But today, people want to know your values. And when you find yourself caught in the crosshairs, brands don’t have time to figure it out.”

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