Marketing perspectives in 2026: The forces shaping demand

    Oluwole Dada | Insights | Jan 21, 2026    
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Every organisation must understand that demand will not be captured through competition alone but will be shaped or granted by external forces outside the market’s control. These forces include inflation cycles which affect consumer purchasing power, interest-rate regimes, regulatory posture, demographic shifts, technology diffusion, energy transitions, geopolitics, and cultural re-prioritisation. These forces, which cannot be controlled but navigated, now determine who can afford what, what feels necessary, why purchases are delayed, and why loyalty fractures. Organisations that still treat the macro environment as an externality to be reviewed annually will misread demand, misallocate capital, and over-invest in tactics that cannot overcome structural headwinds.

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