2021 was to be the year we returned to a post-COVID normal however the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way many of us operate in our personal and work lives. Here is some of what we can expect in the year ahead, 2022:
Federal Election
The Federal election will be held between March and May 2022. Annoying text messages, robo messages and advertising are on their way!
Federal Budget in March
The timing of the election will bring the Federal Budget forward to March 2022. It’s an election year; expect many of the productivity based tax concessions to be extended.
Lock-in digital gains
McKinsey & Company reports that consumer digital adoption rates accelerated dramatically during the pandemic.
· Many sectors will lock in the digital gains they made. Some, however, will see a decline in digital sales as consumers are no longer forced to shop online – groceries for example.
· To lock in the gains of digitalisation, consumers expect trust, end-to-end digital service (from start to after sales service), and an improved online experience.
· Forced online adoption has changed the consumption habits of an older and wealthier portion of the market. The average age of online users in the McKinsey Global Sentiment Survey increased by around 3 years and spend around 4% more.
· Coming off a lower base, developing nations have experienced a much higher growth in digital adoption than developed nations; evening out global access.
Going green
Business and consumers will be expected to be mindful of their carbon footprint. A wasteful process is likely to diminish consumer appeal.