Create Tomorrow, The WGSN Podcast

In our final episode of the year the tables are turned as David Davies, Ascential's Chief Content Officer quizzes WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi on her high and lowlights of the year. They discuss the innovations Carla was most proud of and what kept her and the wider WGSN team going through the past 12 months.

The holiday season this year is going to be an incredibly complex one. People are dealing with restrictions on movement and gathering while still looking to find moments of joy and connection after an incredibly difficult year.

It goes without saying that the holiday season this year will be fundamentally different and companies hoping to win in this season will be required to adapt their conventional thinking.

Cities are locations which take up and outsized space in our imaginations. They are places that ambitious and creative young people aspire to go to in order to succeed and find their place in the world. Perceptions about cities in the wake of the pandemic have changed.

The forecasts that deemphasize a physical presence in city offices are creating space for new visions of the city to emerge, ones that build towards a more humane sustainable and equitable future.

This week WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi is joined by Andrea Bell, WGSN's Director of Insight. Over the course of the conversation they discuss the impact of the pandemic on consumer behaviour, both this year and into the future, what that means for brands and businesses and how the design industry has to change as a consequence.

One of the places where we have seen some of the largest shifts over the past year has been in the home. Once a place where we might have just slept, it's now the centre of our worlds, becoming a place where we live, educate, eat, work and if we're lucky, have a little bit of time left to play.

While attitudes to space are changing, so too are the lifestyles around that space. This week Petah Marian is joined by the Lifestyle and Interiors team ahead of the product's new launch on November 2nd.

This week WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi is joined by Director of Beauty Jenni Middleton. The pair discuss the immediate impact that the beauty industry has seen from the pandemic, from the impact of masks on makeup to at home salon treatments and much more.

The global shutdowns earlier this year and continued restrictions on movement have plunged much of the world into recession.

As we operate through a difficult landscape for businesses, consumer behaviour is changing rapidly. Even for those that remain financially stable, the broader economic environment is making people feel more concerned about their financial circumstances.

In this episode we explore what this will mean for brands and businesses moving through this period.

This week, WGSN MD Carla Buzasi is joined by Director of WGSN Food and Drink Kara Nielsen.

The pair discuss how the global pandemic has influenced not only what we eat, but how we think about food and drink as well. Carla and Kara also divulge some of their lockdown discoveries.

Prior to the pandemic, we were facing an intimacy recession. Coronavirus has accelerated this shift even further, with lockdowns putting physical distance between us, and as people start to come back out into the world, there is a fear of contamination or transmission.

In this episode, we explore what the fear of touch looks like for consumers, and what it will mean for the beauty and retail industries. How can we remain safely apart while also finding ways of maintaining an emotional connection?

This week, WGSN MD Carla Buzasi is joined by Director of Lifestyle and Interiors and leader of the Creative Forecast team, Lisa White.

The pair discuss the acceleration of consumer trends for the interiors category, such as buying less but better, the importance of combining eCommerce with bricks and mortar showrooms, plant power, and the restorative effects of colour in your home.