“Mild Currents.” Han Da-hye, a researcher at the Consumer Trend Analysis Center at Seoul National University, described the economic trends of 2025 in these two words in an interview with KBS on October 18th. She emphasized that the ability to detect subtle and minor changes will be more important than ever before due to this reason. In this article, we will examine the consumption trends of 2025 and its three main characteristics.
[A Very Normal Day]
“Small but definite happiness” was a keyword that the Consumer Trend Analysis Center focused on in 2018. Yet, they introduced ‘Aboha’, which stands for “a very normal day," as the keyword for 2025. What is the difference between the two keywords that sound quite similar? Researcher Han Da-hye explained the difference by noting the “desire to be seen.”
If the previous one tended to be conscious of other people's eyes, the “Aboha” in 2025 is about being fully satisfied within yourself. Therefore, in 2025, we suggest creating content under the theme of “mindfulness”, portraying people focusing on their peace and the people who are helping them to achieve it.
[What is your favorite combination? Please Comment Below!]
Jeon Mi-young, a researcher at the Dong-A Ilbo's Consumption Trend Analysis Center, recently focused on the concepts of consumer customization and “topping economy” from the commonalities of Malatang, Bubble Tea, and Yoa-jeong (name of yogurt ice cream franchise), which are loved by Gen Z in Korea. “If pepperoni goes up, it's called pepperoni pizza, and bulgogi goes up, it's called bulgogi pizza.” A new consumption trend to pay attention to in 2025 is to express one's individuality by the factors that one can choose from.
The topping economy has a significant impact not only on the aforementioned F&B and Beverage markets but also on the fashion industry. As a reminder of the “diary decor” craze, which devotes its efforts to recording the day with various artistic methods, many young people are adding dolls, “charms”, and stickers to their fashion accessories, and fashion brands are launching lines where consumers can “play” decorating within their brands, inspired by this trend. Design your stock content under the theme of Gen Z's food and fashion lifestyle, expressing their personality within the topping economy.
[Unlike Before: Digital Native]
According to a trend report published by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the generation that is actively forming the new consumer culture in the U.S. is Generation Z, which was born between 1997 and 2012. Considering the ’new generation’ discourse in Korea is centered around the 'MZ Generation', which combines the Millennials, which were born from 1981 to 1996, and Generation Z, this analysis of the domestic consumer base needs to be subdivided as in the case of the U.S.
Gen Z has been exposed to the digital environment since birth is a distinct characteristic of them. 93.2% of them have seen advertisements on social media and purchased products before, and the fact that their online purchase unit sales have increased about twice as fast as other generations will be the most important implications for future marketing strategies. Putting these together, strategies are needed to study and design an environment optimized for mobile and mobile devices during the planning stage of advertising content templates or resources.
References
1. [사사건건] 2025년 경제 · 트렌드는?
2. 나만의 ‘최애’를 찾아서… 부상하는 ‘토핑경제’
3. Z세대와 소셜미디어의 만남…미국 Z세대, 소비 트렌드를 만들어가다
Comments