By 2030 there will be an even greater premium on human skills such as creativity and compassion—and the brands that successfully embody those traits.

Embedding and nurturing human skills and traits across a customer base and workforce will become a dominant brand attribute.

Human vs. automated services will become a key factor in consumer choice, with humanised service will be at the centre of premium brand propositions by 2030.

Consumers will seek serendipity and surprise in how they spend their free time, providing new opportunities for brands willing to curate seemingly spontaneous moments of discovery.

The rise of immersive leisure experiences will drive renewed appeal for offline, human-led fun. Expect the growing appeal of sustainable and social purpose led experiences, providing new opportunities for brands as curators of offline experiences.

By 2030, appealing to emotion will become an even more powerful way of asserting truth than objectivity or rationale/critical thinking.

Fuelled by social media and the development of AI-generated deepfakes, the blurred lines between fact and fiction will make many consumers more inclined to go with their gut and prioritise emotional responses in decision-making.

This complex terrain will make it increasingly important for brands to focus on transparency to substantiate any claim they make about their products or services, as well as providing novelty.