Human8, a marketing insight consultancy, has released its 2026 "What Matters" trend report. Building on six years of exploring what matters to people, the report has aimed to explore eight trends shaping consumers today and their expectations towards brands.
The 2026 trend report, titled "Recalibrating identities", aims to highlight how identities are evolving, not just as surface-level shifts, but as expressions of deeper human needs for meaning, connection, recognition and empowerment, says Human8.
Human8's research, conducted with more than 13 000 consumers across 16 markets, including 800 South African respondents, aims to reveal a world defined by contrasts.
Human8 provides examples of its research in South Africa:
- 62% feel happy and satisfied with their lives, yet trust in institutions remains low (40%)
- 90% believe technology can make life easier and 63% say AI is having a positive impact on their daily lives, and
- 62% worry the human touch will be lost as AI advances and 56% worry about its impact on society.
Within this context "Recalibrating identities" aims to explore how people in South Africa and globally are redefining belonging, visibility and authenticity, says Human8.
"This is not just a trend report; it is a story about what truly matters. Rooted in deep human understanding, revealing profound human truths that transcend surface-level change to uncover our intrinsic need for meaning, connection, recognition and empowerment," says Marlé Mans, Senior Research Team Director at Human8 South Africa.
Human8's 2026 trend research aims to identify eight key consumer trends. Here are a few of its highlights from the South African market:
- Human Pride: The revaluation of being human in an AI-powered world, with 81% of South Africans believing human creativity, craft and imperfection will always matter more than what machines can generate.
- Shouting Economy: The idea the brands and creators are becoming louder and bolder, with 70% of consumers saying only loud, bold voices get noticed and quiet, subtle messages are lost.
- Hyper Blanding: How hyper-connected global culture and AI are accelerating sameness, pushing styles and ideas into the mainstream faster, with in South Africa, 57% agreeing from the clothes they wear to the content they consume; everything is starting to feel the same.
"As people recalibrate their identities Human8's What Matters report shows brands how to remain relevant, trusted and culturally connected," concludes Mans.
The full report can be found here.
For more information, visit www.wearehuman8.com. You can also follow Human8 on LinkedIn, or on Instagram.
*Image courtesy of contributor