Trends, trajectories and sustainable truisms. Who’s looking at this kind of trend for you?
A guest article from Tristan Allen, room44 Ltd
In the early 1980s, a gallon of petrol crossed the 70p price barrier and everyone thought the world would come to an end. Just a few short years later, crisps breached 10p a bag and the grocery trade predicted the end of independent convenience stores. In fact, new generations of shoppers didn’t know any different, so they drove their cars and ate crisps regardless.
Since then, prices have risen, inventions have become innovations and we’ve all moved on – but the world can’t sustain the consumption habits that have continued to worsen since the 80s.
It’s a mega-trend that’s easy to ignore.
Recent events have taken the environment off the front page but they will have a lasting impact on the way we live and do business. Trading outside the UK is difficult and costlier than it once was.
Fuel is more expensive than ever and sometimes not reliably available. The price of food is heading north. Interest rates are rising. Housing stock is in short supply and house prices have increased exponentially. The continual rise in electricity costs may mean your electric vehicle is turning out to be less economical than you thought it would be.
Trends are always readable. If you use someone to keep an eye on the world outside your business, it’s possible to anticipate changes and see opportunity before others do.
The effects of macro factors reach deep into our pockets.
This isn’t a dissertation on world affairs but consider this: the war in Ukraine looks set to run on. The short-term effect may not be easy to see for those of us lucky enough to be distant from the fighting. But it’s going to have an impact on everyone in the coming months, from shortages of wheat and sunflower oil to access to gas supplies and beyond.
There has never been a better time to have a really good look at the probable impact of the macro-trends that will affect what you do. As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now – metaphorically and practically.
It’s what room44 does.