Over the last few decades, businesses have struggled to keep up with our demand for more. Supermarkets provided us with a dazzling selection of affordable ready meals. Online retailers gave us a fresh look at the click of a button. We bought new phones every year, sipped lattes from plastic cups and splurged on the latest beauty products without thinking twice. 

But things are beginning to change. The research shows that we’re thinking more carefully about where and how we spend our money. Thrifting is on the rise, meat consumption is down and businesses are under pressure to reduce their use of plastic. We’re more interested in experiences than products and, when we do splash out, we want to know that the products we buy are sustainable and that the companies we’re buying from align with our values.

So what does this all mean? Are we really buying less, or just spending in ways that make us feel good? Can consumerism ever truly be sustainable? Or are shopping sprees now a thing of the past?

If our consumption is finally slowing down, what does that mean for consumer business? Should they focus more on quality than convenience? How can they create the experiences we’re looking for, while remaining profitable? And have they left it too late to try?

This week we talk to Ben Perkins, Head of Consumer Business Research at Deloitte, and Philli Boyle, Co-Founder of Choose Love.

Tune in to find out:

• Why people are queuing round the block to buy gifts for refugees
• Why Ben thinks shell suits should make a comeback
• How George’s new toilet roll could save the planet
• Whether re-commerce could be the future

Hosts: George Parrett and Lizzie Elston

Guests: Ben Perkins and Philli Boyle

Technical support: Deloitte’s Creative Studio

Original music: Ali Barrett