The Outdoor Era

As the world emerges from the disruption and constraints of the pandemic, people will focus on self expression, optimism and balance, helping people focus less on consumerism and more on mindfulness, meditation and self-care. As the Pandemic continues on, people are finding solace in the outdoors as part of their personal wellness routines. 2020 has been dubbed “the first year of the outdoor era” with trail usage up by at least 200% and camping sales going up 30%. We will be seeing the glamorization of rural living and gardening amongst younger generations and a new form of “hip-steading” taking hold.

What this means: The outdoors are in! More companies are trying to get into the outdoor space. We will see more crossover and collaborations between outdoor brands and fashion brands, such as the North Face/Gucci colab, the Patagonia/Palace colab and many more, and we will also see outdoor product become more transitional lifestyle products as a result.

Behavioral Drivers:
Time Perception- Pandemic induce uncertainty has altered our perception of time. This phycological shift is being studied and our lack of time perception is being coined the “Quarantine Paradox”. And the passing of time has been a collective focal point. In part this is related to The concept of the reminiscence bump- Studies show that our most vivid memories are formed between ages 15-25. In part this is because this is a formative time, and there are many firsts in these years. As we age we have less firsts, and in the past year, many people have fallen into a pattern of no first, giving them a lack of overall time perception.

Numbness – the past year and half has been a a year of emotional plurality, meaning we have had to occupy more emotional states at a single given moment, leading us to emotional exhaustion. Research shows that when we are feeling this level of burn-out we become emotionally numb as a psychological defense mechanism. This in turn is forcing a social reckoning and has made people begin to question their life’s purpose on broad global scale. In other words- we are having a large-scale global identity crisis.

Hope -There is still hope and many are starting to feel a renewed enthusiasm for what the world could look like if we could band together and create a new future. Neuroscientists have actually been investing in the concept of hope, as they have proven again and again that hope and optimism are the true cure for anxiety and depression. From a business perspective, those companies that invest in a culture of hope and optimism experience greater productivity, as reports show cynicism decreases productivity and retention.

Cautious Motivation – many consumers want to dip their toes back into normalcy, but we should not expect them to dive back in. most are approaching with caution. Financial studies predict spending on tourism will not return to pre-covid numbers until at least 2024 and perhaps much longer. In fact, surveys show that 41% of people will travel less frequently in the future.

-Busy Brain