List of 400 Factors for PESTLE Analysis

What is PESTLE Analysis in Marketing?

The letters of PESTLE represent the broad categories of a macro-environmental scan for marketing purposes. The letters stand for:

• P = Political factors
• E = Economic factors
• S = Social factors
• T = Technology factors
• L = Legal factors
• E= Environment factors

While you’re here, grab the Free PESTLE Analysis Template

List of Possible Factors to Use in PESTLE Analysis

Here is a list of ideas and thought-starters to help you build out a list of suitable factors for your PESTLE analysis. Scan through the list and choose the ones that are more relevant for your firm or industry.

POLITICAL FACTORS

• Unstable government
• Stable government
• Political unrest
• Upcoming election
• Recent/upcoming change of government
• Significant political corruption
• Increase in government taxation
• Decrease in government taxation
• Increasing government spending
• Decreasing government spending
• Increased trade restrictions
• Decreased trade restrictions
• Higher trade tariffs
• Lower trade tariffs
• Government controlled media
• Independently operating media
• Broad improvements to labor conditions
• Tougher labor conditions
• Open election system
• Non-transparent election system
• High levels of government spending
• Restricted government spending
• Good investment in infrastructure
• Under investment in infrastructure
• High levels of defense spending
• Low levels of defense spending
• High level of government welfare support
• Low level of government welfare support
• Strong overall health system
• Weak overall health system
• Level of anti-government protests
• Single political party system
• Dual political party system
• Multi political party system
• Favorable trade agreements
• Unfavorable trade agreements
• Lobbying pressure on the government
• Low level of government subsidies for businesses
• High level of government subsidies for businesses
• Government focus on overall economy
• Government focus on specific industries
• Strong trade barriers
• Weak trade barriers
• Open to international investment
• Closed to international investment
• Supportive of the business community
• Lots of government invention in business operations
• Supportive of the business community
• Large overall government budget
• Small overall government budget
• Decreasing government debt levels
• Increasing government debt levels
• Very high government debt levels
• Conservative political focus
• Liberal political focus
• High levels of “red tape” for business
• High levels of personal freedom
• Low levels of personal freedom
• High levels of government grants for businesses
• Low levels of government grants for businesses

ECONOMIC FACTORS

• Strong economic growth
• Weak economic growth
• High inflation rate
• Low inflation rate
• High interest rates
• Low interest rates
• Favorable exchange rates
• Unfavorable exchange rates
• Easy to borrow money
• Tight lending conditions
• High levels of disposable income
• Limited amount of disposable income
• Economic wealth is distributed across the population
• Economic wealth is concentrated among the very wealthy
• Consumers are confident and willing to spend
• Consumers are nervous and are reducing their spending
• Businesses are borrowing for investment
• Businesses are paying down debt
• Stable stock market conditions
• Fluctuating stock market conditions
• Banks are expanding their lending availability
• Banks are tightening their lending
• Households have high levels of debt
• High unemployment rates
• Low unemployment rates
• Certain regions have high unemployment
• Economy is in recession
• A recession is likely
• High purchasing power parity
• Low purchasing power parity
• Relatively equitable GDP per capita
• Inequitable/concentrated GDP per capita
• Stable input costs to business
• Rising input costs for business
• Rising average wage levels
• Stagnant average wage levels
• High level of government spending is supporting the economy
• Rising commodity and oil prices
• Falling commodity and oil prices
• Some large businesses have gone bankrupt
• A predominantly service-based economy
• A predominantly manufacturing-based economy
• A predominantly agriculture-based economy
• Business is reliant on international investments
• Easy access to ‘start-up’ funding
• Hard to attract ‘start-up’ funds
• Is a developed economy
• Is a developing economy
• Has a potential stock market bubble
• Has a potential housing market bubble
• Home ownership is affordable
• Home ownership is challenging
• Tightening tax is reducing spending
• Lower taxes are increasing spending
• Skill shortages in key industries
• Economy operates as part of a trading block
• Is a closed economy operating relatively independently
• Most industry sectors are growing
• Economic growth is industry-specific
• The economy is subject to trade embargoes

SOCIAL FACTORS

• Fast growing population levels
• Stable population levels
• Declining population levels
• Increasing family sizes (more children per couple)
• Decreasing family sizes (less children per couple)
• Increasing marriage rates
• Decreasing marriage rates
• Increasing divorce rates
• Decreasing divorce rates
• Stable family structures
• Fluctuating family structures
• Accepting of same-sex families
• Not tolerant of same-sex families
• High life expectancy levels
• Relatively low life expectancy
• Relatively older average age
• Relatively younger average age
• Has strong immigration levels
• Has low immigration levels
• Has high emigration rates
• Clearly defined social class structure
• Relaxed social class divisions
• Society enjoys a work-life balance
• Society has a strong work ethic
• Society has a live for today outlook
• High levels of religious engagement
• Low levels of religious engagement
• A multi-cultural society
• A mono-cultural society
• A bi/multi lingual population
• Positive attitudes to health and diet
• People are generally open to new experiences
• People are mostly closed to new experiences
• Local brands are preferred by consumers
• International brands are preferred by consumers
• Multi-generation households are common
• Both partners in the household have careers
• Mainly males are the wage earners
• Males and females have equal access to education
• Males tend to have higher education levels
• People tend to spend their disposable income
• People tend to save/invest their disposable income
• There is significant lifestyle diversity
• Most of the population have similar lifestyles
• Consumers tend to be loyal towards brands
• Consumers are happy to switch between brands
• Consumers are willing to spend money on luxury goods
• Most households own a car
• Most households cannot afford a car
• Most people are environmentally conscious
• Many people are socially conscious
• There are high rates of crime
• Older people prefer to remain in the workforce
• Older people prefer to retire from work
• There is financial equity between the generations
• Financial wealth in concentrated in older people
• People tend to quite social with friends
• People tend to stay within their family circles
• Authority figures are respected
• Authority figures are treated with suspicion
• Most people have open access to the internet
• People have limited access to the internet
• Home-cooked meals are common
• Eating out of home is common
• Religious diversity and choice is possible
• There are restricted religious options
• There is a good level of racial equality
• There is a degree of racial inequity
• Most people have a good level of education
• Most people have limited formal education
• Most people have travelled internationally
• Most people rarely travel
• Social media influencers are well regarded
• Advertising is seen as credible
• Most people ignore advertising messages
• Local customs are common
• Society adapts quickly to new products
• Consumer buying habits are slow to change
• People have a broad range of lifestyles (segments)
• People tend to have a similar lifestyle (mass market)
• High uptake of online shopping
• Preference for in-store retail shopping
• Reliance on online reviews of firms
• Preference to deal with known brands
• Change in clothes and fashion
• Change in eating habits
• Increased expectation for environmentally products
• Shift to natural foods
• Greater importance on health and wellbeing
• Consumer preference to deal with start-up firms

TECHNOLOGY FACTORS

• Rapid technology change
• New generation technology advancements
• Shortening technology lifetime
• Escalating technology costs
• Broadening social media platform options
• Data security concerns
• Greater access to big data
• Access to analytical tools
• Advancing AI tools
• More sophisticated machine learning
• Improved process automation tools
• Break-through technology available
• Growing R&D investment requirements
• Advancing customer self-serve technology
• New/improved raw materials and inputs
• Faster rate of software updates required
• More sophisticated software available
• Greater choice of technology providers
• Changing manufacturing processes
• Improved business process automation tools
• Expanding online channel options
• Technology costs are increasing
• Technology costs are enabling economies of scale
• Older technology not supported
• Growing risk of hackers
• Growing risk of online fraud
• Major shopping platforms expanding
• Latest tech demanded by consumers
• Increasing level of new-to-the-world products
• Harder to gain advantage with product innovators
• Increasing impact of start-up disrupters
• Shortening product lifecycles
• Shorter payback period on tech investment
• Shorter payback period on new product investment
• Increase in direct channel usage by firms
• Reduced need for channel partners
• Increased need for channel partners
• Disintermediation of many channels
• Amazon (and similar) driving sales to online channels
• Greater smart phone capabilities
• More powerful smart phone apps
• Enhanced computing power and memory
• Ability to access third-party data
• Greater data storage capability
• Greater data analysis capability
• Too much data to effectively analyze
• Purchase ‘experience’ becoming a key differentiator
• Can track the customer journey online
• Richer customer information
• Ability to develop 100s of segments with data
• Some start-up techs firms are seeking acquisition
• Improving logistics systems
• Shift to just-it-time inventory
• Greater cross-docking facilities
• Improved marketing modelling software
• Improved CRM software capabilities
• Access to automated marketing tools
• Faster market take-up of new products
• Slowing market take-up of new products
• Harder to obtain patents
• Media fragmentation
• New products are quickly copied
• Product piracy in increasing
• Increased risk of IP being stolen
• Harder to protect new tech and IP
• Greater access to strategic alliances
• More challenging strategic alliances
• Greater use of outsourcing
• Shift to open innovation
• Shift to closed/in-house innovation

LEGAL FACTORS

• Complex laws and requirements
• Costly compliance
• Direct government regulation
• Industry-based regulation
• Strict regulation
• Limited/no regulation
• Degree of government control/access in business
• Strong copyright and patent laws
• Weak copyright and patent laws
• Little enforcement of product piracy
• Strict anti-trust laws
• Weak anti-trust laws
• Challenging/tough employment laws
• Weak employment laws
• Regulation for product safety standards
• Regulation for food safety
• Regulation for staff safety at work
• High costs of legal actions
• Easy and low cost legal actions
• Strict consumer protection laws
• Active government consumer protection agencies
• Strict data protection laws
• Accreditation requirements for staff
• Licensing requirements for companies
• Required to have local partners internationally
• Tough takeover/acquisition rules
• Ownership limits in international markets
• Monopoly/dominant company restrictions
• Public liability costs
• High frequency of litigation
• Low frequency of litigation
• Frequency of legal class actions against firms
• Growing advertising restrictions and rules
• Easy to commence franchising
• Legal hurdles to commence franchising
• Easy to open a new business
• Red tape and legal obstacles when opening a business
• Onerous taxation rules
• Changing industry regulation
• Cost burdening regulation
• Zoning laws impacting location choice
• Burdensome compliance reporting requirements
• Employment laws around wages and conditions
• Growing internal policy needs for staff
• More disclosure documents required
• Increased disclosures required for consumers
• Laws restricting pricing flexibility/changes
• Advertising regulations
• Discrimination laws, for staff and customers
• Differing international trade rules
• Abuse of market power limitations
• Trading quotas and excise duties
• Growing consumer protection laws
• Challenging privacy and data protection laws
• Significant tax and reporting laws
• Imposed climate change targets
• Strict rules around competitive behavior
• Regulation around dealing with customer complaints
• Differing laws per region/country
• Equal opportunity targets
• Potential/emerging legislation challenges
• Frequently changing legislation
• Minimum wage levels
• Modern slavery and child labor laws
• Limits on competitor acquisition
• Laws around corporate social responsibility
• Need to supply recycling facilities
• Limits on use of fossil fuels
• Potential fines and penalties for non-compliance
• Potential loss of business for non-compliance

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

• Negative impacts from climate change
• Increasing rate of climate change
• Fluctuating weather conditions
• Changing temperatures of regions
• Pressure to move to a zero carbon footprint
• Pressure to be seen as environmentally friendly
• Shift to recyclable packaging
• Push for better material design for product disposal
• Consumer preference for green products
• Lobby group pressure to support the environment
• Banning of key materials, ones not environmentally friendly
• Higher climate change targets being set
• Increased frequency of natural disasters
• Importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Scarcity of clean water
• Increasing air pollution
• Increasing water pollution
• Change in eco-environments
• Reduced efficiency of farmland
• Pressure to shift to renewable energy sources
• Unreliable energy supplies
• Increased cost of energy supplies
• Potential liability for environmental damage
• Higher standards for recycling
• Pressure to be seen as an ethical company
• Need to engage with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Increased sustainability focus
• Pressure to shift to a societal marketing focus
• Pressure to support social causes
• Increased interest in eco-tourism
• Pressure to involve staff in volunteering
• Expectation to offer options to low income consumers
• Need to be seen as paying a fair rate of tax
• Responsible sourcing of materials expected
• Need to pay fair wages in all situations
• Need to avoid suppliers with unethical practices
• Expectation to support developing economies
• Increased use of wind and solar energy
• Attractive tax incentives for environmental actions
• Cost savings for environmental actions
• Increased alternate energy options
• Increased uptake of electric vehicles
• Infrastructure for electric vehicles
• Increased demand for natural foods
• More people on vegan (non-animal) diets
• Shift to minimalist lifestyles by consumers
• Controls on burning fossil fuels
• Landfill concerns of product disposal
• Staff diversity targets
• Risk of being seen as not supporting the environment
• Possible consumer boycotts of some products

Video on How to Use the Pestle Analysis Template

• Get the Free PESTLE Analysis Template

Related Articles

• Introduction to PESTLE
• List of Political Factors for PESTLE
• List of Economic Factors for PESTLE
• List of Social Factors for PESTLE
• List of Technology Factors for PESTLE
• List of Legal Factors for PESTLE
• List of Environmental Factors for PESTLE
• Understanding and Using SWOT Analysis
• Free SWOT Maker (Using Excel)