TrendKEY - 12 Values Trends

Adventure

The more cautious reader should look away now - this is life on the edge.
The life of the thrill seeker can look needlessly risky to average mortals, but for some the feeling of risk and the accompanying "buzz" of some new and dangerous pursuit is what gives life its meaning.
While extreme thrill-seekers may be few and far between, we also see a growth in mainstream adventurism – that is to say, ordinary people trying to get a little taste of adventure into their lives.

Changing Gender Roles

From the career woman to the metrosexual man, new stereotypes that are absolutely at odds with traditional gender roles are emerging. It is less and less rare, in developed markets anyway, to find households where the woman is the main income earner, and where the male takes responsibility for domestic chores and child care. But even in developing markets, gender roles are changing, though perhaps more slowly.

Desire for Authenticity

Some consumers exhibit resistance to what they perceive as the "overmarketing” of today’s world. Some show a preference for a focus on"real” products, "real” craftsmanship and "real”experiences rather than "fake,” "spun” or "over-marketed” ones.

Green Awakening

Before now the calls of environmental lobby groups had been regarded by many as exaggeration and scare-mongering. But something has changed. The majority of the world have woken up to the reality of global climate change.
Many find it important, though not all, are beginning to do something about it, even if it is only thus far a small gesture, like recycling or taking bags with them when they do the weekly shop.

Individuality

Greater creativity, rising familiarity with how people in other parts of the world dress, play or live and the absence of ridicule or censure all drive increased experimentation with our identities.

Looking for Success

In rapidly developing countries such as China and India, there has been a massive movement towards striving and achieving. In the rest of the world, the relationship between everyday and luxury is changing. The real prices of luxury goods have been bringing more and more items that were once restricted to the super-elite into the reach of everyday consumers—the so-called democratization of luxury.

Mixing Influences

As globalization continues its march, consumers around the world are exposed to tastes, flavors, products and ideas from everywhere. Increasingly they are open to trying things irrespective of where they originate.

Moving to Fun

Consumer escapism is on the rise in response to the fast pace of modern life. People look to relaxation as a way to de-stress after a busy day. The drive to enjoy life, has been high in developed markets for several years, particularly in Western Europe, but we are now starting to see the same evolution in emerging markets as a natural successor to the work ethic.

Scrimp 'n' Save

As the economy rises and falls it is natural for some to focus more or less on saving their pennies, but it is worth noting that this is a constant way of life for many. And it is not just those on the breadline who live frugally - the thrifty affluent are a well recognized market segment too.

Security for All

Global media and 24-hour-a-day news coverage have focused peoples’ minds on the serious issues of the day at an unprecedented level.

"Threats” can be health-related (SARS, H5N1), safety related (Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, etc.), economic (outsourcing), environmental (climate change) or personal (identity theft).

Simplicity
A growing counter-trend to the "inevitability of mass consumption", the opting out or downshifting philosophy calls for the rejection of many expected behaviors and attitudes in preference to a more considered, perhaps more traditional, but certainly simpler way of living. The extreme version of this - leaving the city to live on a farm - is rare, but more and more people are finding ways to introduce oases of calm into their busy lives.

Youthfulness

No longer are we content merely with the expectation of a longer life. Now the desire to maintain our youthful appearance and vigor into later life is the constant quest of many.

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