Euromonitor International has revealed the top 10 global consumer trends likely to affect you and your business this year.
The market research company’s latest report identifies emerging trends that provide insight into changing consumers’ values and explore how their behaviour is disrupting business globally.
Euromonitor International director of lifestyles, Gina Westbrook, says “intelligence is the common thread linking all trends in 2019”.
“In a world full of choices, consumers’ needs and wants are fast-changing,” she said.
“How we live is so centrally dependent on the choices available that the biggest issue we face is how to make sense of it all.”
According to the report, older consumers should be at the centre of business strategies as “later lifers are in better financial shape than the rest of the population, boasting the highest spending power among all age groups”.
Indeed, 50-59 year olds earned 28 percent above the average income of all age groups in 2018.
“As people live longer and take better care of themselves, seniors feel and want to be treated as younger,” said Westbrook.
“Older consumers today have much more in common with the values and priorities of younger generations than one might think.”
The top 10 global consumer trends in 2019 are:
1. Age Agnostic
Boundaries of old age are shifting. As people live longer and take better care of themselves, older consumers feel and want to be treated as younger.
2. Back to Basics for Status
Shoppers are searching for authentic products and experiences, moving away from overt materialism to simplicity as well as from generic to higher quality products.
3. Conscious Consumer
What used to be the domain of ethically-positioned, niche producers is now being embraced by conventional companies through higher welfare products.
4. Digitally Together
As our digital capabilities and comfort using new technologies grows, so will the potential of what can be created or experienced together, but remotely.
5. Everyone’s an Expert
Whereas previously shoppers relied on a certain brand or information source, now companies must constantly innovate to entice more inquisitive shoppers.
6. Finding My JOMO
The Fear Of Missing Out has now given place to the Joy Of Missing Out. Consumers want to protect their mental wellbeing, disconnecting from technology and prioritising what they truly want and enjoy doing.
7. I Can Look After Myself
As people become more self-sufficient, they take preventative measures against illness, unhappiness and discomfort without consulting a professional.
8. I Want a Plastic-free World
The push for a plastic-waste-free society has gained momentum, creating a virtuous circle where businesses gain by improving sustainability.
9. I Want it Now!
Consumers seek instant gratification and frictionless experiences that mesh with their lifestyles, allowing them to dedicate more time to their professional or social lives.
10. Loner Living
More people, especially older consumers, across the world break the stigma of living alone and embrace their independent lifestyles.