WGSN Trend Confirmations WGSNʼs forecasts in action – from the moment we spotted the trends to when they hit mainstream The Sleep Tech Boom In 2016, WGSN identified early signs of interest in sleep tech, highlighting key product opportunities at their emerging stage. Over the next few years, sleep tech moved into the spotlight for brand strategy, marketing and product launches, with mainstream applications driving mass consumer adoption in 2021 and beyond. 2016 2019 In our Design Futures: Smart Sleep Sleep tech moves more mainstream, report, WGSN outlines the early influencing brand activations, movers in the space – then valued which we analyse in The Sleep at $7.1bn in the US – and highlights Economy: Shifts & Strategies. product opportunities for The sleep economy was valued innovators, including sleep audio. at $40bn, and is growing 8% YoY. Sleep tech takes over the As sleep tech hits the Less invasive sleep-tracking show floor at CES, the worldʼs mainstream, the market products are emerging to leading tech trade show. In makers move in. Apple Watch monitor sleep from afar, rather CES 2020: Home & Lifestyle introduces native sleep tracking than needing to be worn on the Trends, we report on the with OS7, Googleʼs Nest Hub body. Weʼre also tracking a rise most important product incorporates radar-based sleep in sleep-friendly sensorial settings, launches that are taking tracking and Bose launches including white noise, sleep stories the trend mainstream. new Sleepbuds. and calming lighting and scent. What’s next 2020 2021 for this trend? Tech Warms Up Back in 2016, WGSN tracked early signals at trade shows, exploring how the trend towards warmer design for tech was driven by more comfort-focused consumer lifestyles. By 2020, the trend had hit mainstream – all major brands are on board and consumers have bought in. 2016 2018 2019 In CES 2016: Colour, Our CMF Design: Tech We track the move from Material & Finish, we show & Electronics report high tech to ʻshy techʼ, how textile textures are highlights how fabric is outlining how new consumer introduced as a key material “helping tech to fit into the electronics are using rounded trend for tech accessories, home”, including on the shapes and warm colours and “adding inviting tactility first-gen Google Home materials to fit into subtly to products to make tech smart speaker. smart interiors. Invisible Major product launches warmer, softer and interfaces such as voice confirm the trend: Apple more human.” and touch are highlighted launches the HomePod as a future focus. mini, a small sphere clad in tactile grey mesh. Amazonʼs new Echo and Echo Dot are similar in design, showing The next stage of the how major brands have trend will see technology embraced this more become ambient – interiors-influenced embedded, ubiquitous design approach. and even more discreet. What’s next 2020 for this trend? Air Purifiers In 2018, we identified air purifiers as a key item and highlighted portable formats as the newest trend to focus on within the category. Two years on, the trend came through at mainstream level in trade show launches, and significant sales growth for the category confirms consumer demand. 2018 2019 In our 2020 Lifestyle Forecast: The trend moves closer to market. Code Create, we identify protective Our Key Trend: Pollution Protectors product design as a priority, report outlines increasing demand specifying that “clean air will be for home filtration and air purifiers increasingly important, including for out-of-home use, such as cars portable purifiers.” and prams, as well as face masks. Air purifiers see rapid growth – up 57% in 2020, with Panasonic seeing 5x sales YoY. As air purifiers and conditioners At German appliances trade show IFA, continue to be an important product brands launched wearable air filters and for consumers, weʼre tracking the improved air conditioners. Our report on rise of more design-led formats that the show highlights the importance of people are happy to place within these hygiene heroes. homes and and even wear. What’s next 2020 for this trend? Gaming Lifestyles WGSN has been tracking the growing importance of gaming since 2014. As gaming culture skyrocketed, we identified the opportunity for brands to develop gaming furniture, accessories and lifestyle items. In 2020, a major hardware launch boosted consumer adoption of VR headsets, followed by high sales during the pandemic, and brands started to launch more gaming-focused products to meet demand. 2018 With global gaming spend expected to hit $180bn by 2021, our A/W 20/21 Lifestyle Forecast: Tech-tility highlights the rise of gaming lifestyles and identifies the opportunity for brands to develop full ranges of gaming chairs, accessories and more. Interiors brands expand into gaming; key collaborations to launch include More immersive hardware will bring The Oculus Quest 2 is the most IKEA x Asus ROG and Logitech x gaming to life sensorially, adding in accessible VR headset yet; sales Herman Miller. For next-stage NPD, haptics and a greater sense of ʻphysicalʼ rose 350% in 2020 as global our report Key Trend: Gaming Gear presence. As VR and AR headsets see lockdowns boosted the gaming outlines key areas of innovation, more adoption, brands will increasingly market. New game consoles – PS5, including inclusive design and a wider invest in designing virtual worlds – and Xbox S and X – sell out instantly. range of design and CMF aesthetics. the metaverse will open up. What’s next 2020 2021 for this trend? Robot Pets At the start of the 2020s, we forecasted robot pets as one of the ten key trends for brands to have on their radar for the decade ahead. This long-term product trend is already coming through to the market at early adopter level. With product launches from major tech brands coming up, it is set to grow and evolve over the next ten years. 2020 We highlight robot pets as a product trend for the decade ahead in 10 Key Trends for 2021 & Beyond due to an increasing need for companionship among a range of consumer demographics, from teens to seniors. In Key Trend: Friendly Technology, we explore how home robotsʼ design aesthetics are softening to help people feel comfortable living with robots. By 2025, the global market for household robots Robots proliferated at CES 2021, from kitchen The pandemic has accelerated consumer is poised to grow to $6.8bn. helpers to pet-like companions. Moflin, a adoption of tech, including our use of robots new robot pet with emotional capabilities, is and our trust in them. Design Futures: Life crowdfunded and heads to market. Rumours with Robots looks ahead to outline how robots swirl that Amazon is launching a home robot will increasingly take up roles across society code-named Vesta this year. The product will in the 2020s, from carebots to entertainers be its biggest launch since the first Echo in 2014. and home assistants. What’s next 2021 for this trend? Tactile Terracotta In 2014 we called out terracotta as a key material for the future. Across 30 reports, spanning 15 seasons and over six years terracotta continues to engage and enchant consumers. From walls and floors to decorative items, terracotta will continue to drive design in the coming years. 2014 2015 2017 As consumers start to We call out terracotta tones as a key Terracotta enters new territories, acknowledge the need for colour direction for 2015, confirmed by including architecture, as we call out in balance between nature and a Trend Alert as well as by the ever- our Advanced Colour 2022, while our industry, our Confluence A/W directional Milan Design Week that year inspiration report on Australian Interiors We confirm our forecast 15/16 and Eco Active S/S 16 – where a growing number of designers highlights an earthy pigmented direction predictions as terracotta themes highlight terracotta experiment with marrying this ancient as key from walls to furnishings and explores raw and artisanal and earthy hues as an material with the latest technologies. matte, dry ceramics. designs, also at the last Maison important material and colour & Objet. According to Domino As we develop our forecasts, Artisan coming into focus. magazine, Pinterest states that A/W 16/17 highlights terracotta and Terracotta is here to stay. Etsy terracotta bedrooms are seeing The September edition of clay as two key directional calls out Burnt Orange as its a 341% increase YOY. Maison & Objet 2014 sees the colours for the season. colour of the year. Its emergence of terracotta 2018 marks must-have status relevance is confirmed in yet Google Trends visualise how in and clay, featured across a for terracotta. Pinterest another WGSN key colours the past 5 years the interest in growing number of reports in July that searches report, and Milan Design terracotta has remained steady product categories. The message carries on strong with the for it had gone up 95% since Week highlights how worldwide, with an all-time high Earthed A/W 17/18 nature-focused January. WGSN lists terracotta designers and brands are in May 2020. Our Restorative palette. A broader audience is starting to as a driving material and starting to push the materialʼs Colour report calls out how its take interest in the appeal of terracotta colour in both the Buyersʼ boundaries towards tactile and natural qualities have thanks to its earthy and tactile qualities, Briefing S/S 19 Key Items as unexpected applications that a restorative effect on anxious and we include it as a key material as well as the Colour Ranges: Key experiment with its decorative consumers, and bring warmth well as a key colour for the year. Directions reports. yet functional qualities. and comfort to interiors.