Thrifty, value-seeking and health-conscious: Euromonitor picks top 10 consumer trends

More experience-based consumption, less materialism, says Euromonitor

Euromonitor has highlighted economic uncertainty, ageing populations and a growing middle class as macro global trends – but what about consumer trends? Analyst Gina Westbrook has picked her top ten consumer insights for the next five years.

“Conspicuous consumption is out,” says Euromonitor International’s editorial director Gina Westbrook, who predicts that consumers are likely to remain thrifty over the next five years.

However, despite continued interest in value for money, there is also evidence that people have become more socially responsible during the recession, and compassionate values in consumption are on the rise.

Other global consumer trends include less reliance on credit facilities for smaller purchases, greater use of mobile technologies, and blurred lines between the fashions and lifestyles considered suitable for different age groups as populations around the world are getting older.

People are also making more effort to research marketing claims amid growing concern about artificial food additives, and health and wellness and the fight against obesity are also set to be major drivers of consumer behaviours over the next five years, Westbrook said.

Her full list of top trends is:

1. The search for value

2. A more cautious approach to credit

3. People power

4. Multicultural consumerism

5. The fight against obesity

6. New attitudes towards growing old

7. Experience-based consumption

8. The rise in social responsibility

9. The chemical backlash

10. Mobile cocooning

Further information on Euromonitor’s top ten consumer trends is available here.