Who will be the consumers of 2026?
StudiesIn an ever more complex global landscape, getting a handle on today’s crucial issues is becoming a critical competency. The quintessential tool for decoding this ever-changing world, our 2026 Life & Style edition explores the diversity of consumer profiles, new behaviors, and new esthetics, a look into what is to come, immersing you in a not-too-distant, not-too-near future, to respond to the major challenge that all companies are up against today: how to anticipate with clear-sighted accuracy.
Discover 2 of the 4 major consumer profiles for the year 2026!
The Whimsicals
Because in the word “revolution” there’s “reverie”, the Whimsicals endeavor to change society by unlocking the field of possibilities and filling it with wonder and enchantment, mischief and playfulness. In an effort to preserve their sensibility in these gloomy times, they imagine escape mechanisms and choose frivolity, fun, candor and cuteness as antidotes.
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They relish everyday escapades and are playful – or rather “play-geeks” – using technology and digital channels to create fabulous worlds, and populate their imaginations with adorable creatures, unicorns and other avatars. They merge the real and the virtual; live augmented, filtered and enhanced reality; and invent memories of the future, blending the imagery of the past with more contemporary magic. They have a passion for stories and love those myths and legends that allow them to escape from the everyday and suspend time, proclaiming the right to dream and affirming everyone’s need for happiness that is simple, accessible and free. They stand behind this seemingly naïve, yet bittersweet, attitude: it’s all about mismatch, dissonance, impertinence and a cheeky, “happy with a twist” philosophy.
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Nicely boisterous, sweetly rebellious, they shake up convention but with no provocation. They love to be surprised and titillated, to charm and be charmed, and stage enjoyment, delight, desire, exquisite pleasure and sensuality from a poetic perspective. Although full of fantasy, these feel-good addicts aren’t averse to a form of nonchalance and boredom that frees their minds to wander through their protected world and nurture their creativity.
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The Radicals
The aesthete Radicals are dedicated to saving the world through excellence and intelligence. They challenge society and call attention to its dysfunctions, choosing to operate at the heart of the system and help it evolve, rather than stand on the sidelines. These true theorists (of craft, fashion, gastronomy, etc.), deconstruct codes to propose new ones. Determined to solve tomorrow’s food, environmental and societal challenges, they bring into play forward thinking, high technology, engineering and artificial intelligence
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They are “research & development” enthusiasts who turn problems into solutions. For example, recycling waste from industrial pollution to produce new materials, or exploring the field of genetic mutations and the augmented body to push human limits. In fact, anything that might give them superpowers, satisfy their need to excel and surpass themselves, and allow them to live – or survive – better. Partisans of the “free”, “no” and “zero” concepts (allergen-free, silicone-free, gluten-free, alcohol-free, meat-free, sugar-free, child-free, brand-free), they eliminate the superfluous to focus on purity and integrity.
Because their driving force is use, not desire, products must meet a dual requirement: that of usefulness, functionality, practicality and ergonomics – in short, high design; and that of virtuosity, preciousness and perfection – in other words, high craftsmanship. Somewhere between technical and aesthetic mastery, these defenders of a new exclusivity reject the anecdotal and the futile, and question our tendency to overproduce goods. And, after thorough research and an almost spiritual commitment, they always put quality first.
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