Future Jobs to Be Done

Ipsos spins the traditional “Jobs to Be Done” framework forward with future Jobs to Be Done (fJTBD). This builds on the theory that people buy products and services to fulfill certain needs or accomplish specific tasks. For example, we don’t buy a pair of shoes online, we hire the brand’s website to provide us comfortable and trendy apparel to wear every day.

To bring it into the future, we envision powerful and plausible scenarios through strategic foresight. While many needs are enduring and do not change over time, the context of that job will change along with the potential solutions and alternatives. These scenarios help us define the circumstances in which people may find themselves, like considering whether to pay for a an expensive good in full or use a short-term installment loan to pay over time.

We use fJTBD to tie these scenarios to actions that organizations can take to help people meet future needs. While it’s typical in foresight to create fJTBD clusters, we’re sharing one scenario here as an example.

Help me shop with less stress and more fun

In a world where people are anxious about the cost of buying and are unsure of what or whom to trust to make decisions, they will seek curated and relatable guidance for convenient and gratifying shopping.

Potential fJTBD:

• Help me feel like I’m an informed shopper by giving me trustworthy information, reviews and trends
• Help me select the best option for me
• Provide me with affordable options and variety to stay in control of my budget
• Help me express myself and my identity through my choice of brands, products, and services

Imagine a world where … you could filter the overabundance of information online and in-store to find products that work for you without repeated trial and error.

For further reading

• Ways to make tech advances feel more personal to purpose shoppers
• How new obesity medications could transform the grocery landscape
• Insights to Activate: Gen AI