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are currently aspiring to the same thing at the moment and that’s finding a better way of living. “People, wherever they are, seem to have the same perception of the world. And they believe the world is not heading in the right direction,” she explains. “We have asked Europeans, Americans, Chinese people their opinion on our economic model and consumption, and, more often than not, they say that things are not working anymore. People are disorientated because the economic narrative they are told does not match their feeling of unease. They generally have less faith in progress.” COLLABORATIVE ECONOMYThe current malaise about consumption is coupled with a reality across the developed world: purchasing power was severely damaged by the 2008 financial crisis. OECD says disposable income per capita only rose by 8.1% between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2015 with some countries registering no growth at all. “Patterns diverge across countries as purchasing power still remains below pre-2007 levels in a number of countries, including Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain,” the organisation points out. It is in this context that consumers are turning to alternative economic models where the income they dispose of will go further. “All around the world what people really want is to save money and resources. They are turning to sharing and collaborative models – not just because it’s ‘nice’ in terms of community building and socialising – but because it’s cheaper. Ownership is not a strong imperative anymore,” says the advertising guru. Whether the success of the poster children for the collaborative economy – Uber, Airbnb, Blablacars – results more from financial needs than pure altruism is open for debate but this economic trend is definitely here to stay: PWC estimates that the five main sharing economy sectors (peer-to-peer finance, online staffing, peer-to-peer accommodation, car sharing and music/video streaming) will be worth US$335 billion by 2025, compared with US$15 billion in 2013. BETTER CONSUMPTIONSeventy per cent of the 10,574 people surveyed by Havas around the globe believe that overconsumption is putting our planet and society at risk. Half say they could happily live without most of the items they own. “People do not want to consume more but better. They believe in quality – or what they perceive to be quality. The problem is, it is just that: a perception. They see➤ EUROPEAN CAN MARKET REPORT 2016 23TREND SETTERS