Marketing insight agency Human8, has released its 2026 ‘What Matters’ trend report. Building on six years of exploring what matters to people, the report explores eight trends shaping consumers today and their expectations towards brands.
- Human pride: Revaluing creativity, imperfection and distinctly human presence in an AI-saturated world.
- Achievement zone: Redefining ambition where effort and visible progress become central to self-worth
- Hyper blanding: Seeking comfort in familiarity while craving sparks of distinction
- Future tradition: Reinventing heritage and rituals to anchor identity in continuity that feels relevant today
- Retail fandoms: Reshaping belonging through brands and commerce, centred on community, play and cultural participation
- Shouting economy: Cutting through the noise with louder and bolder voices, flavours and identities
- Health unscripted: Redefining wellness as personal, plural and playful, breaking free from rigid ideals and one-size-fits-all rules
- Lightspeed living: Demanding instant solutions that deliver control, clarity and momentum in a reality that won’t slow down
Human8’s research, conducted with more than 13 000 consumers across 16 markets, including 800 South African respondents, reveals a world defined by contrasts.
The 2026 trend report, titled ‘Recalibrating identities’, highlights how identities are evolving, not just as surface-level shifts, but as expressions of deeper human needs for meaning, connection, recognition and empowerment.
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
- 62% worry the human touch will be lost as AI advances and 56% worry about its impact on society
Within this context ‘Recalibrating identities’ explores how people in South Africa and globally are redefining belonging, visibility and authenticity.
According to Marlé Mans, senior research team director at Human8 South Africa, “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.”
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,” added Mans.
More information and the full report is available here.
