Yesterday's Omakase Brag, Today's Cup Noodles... The 'Contradictory Consumption' Trend

Daehong Planning Publishes '2024 Trend Report'
Preferences and Behaviors Change with Trends Without Consistency

One of the recent characteristics of consumer trends is the 'normalization of contradictions.' This refers to the rapid changes in preferences, behaviors, and attitudes depending on situations and current trends, without consistency.

On the 8th, Daehong Communications published the '2024 D.Life Signal' report, which comprehensively analyzed big data (social media) and small data (surveys). According to the report, phenomena such as the coexistence of completely opposite consumer behaviors or the sudden decline of previously booming trends were analyzed as characteristics of current trends.

For example, fields like golf and omakase, which recently grew rapidly due to enthusiasm among young people, suddenly turned into a downward trend, and people who were shouting 'flex' (a neologism referring to conspicuous consumption culture) until yesterday decided to spend nothing in open chat rooms called 'Geojibang.' Despite reducing spending due to high inflation, tickets for concerts costing tens of thousands of won continued to sell out, and expenditures on travel and accommodation sharply increased.

Additionally, while spicy foods like malatang and tanghulu are trending, the food industry is experiencing a 'zero' craze to reduce artificial sweeteners and chemical additives.

The report defined such inconsistent and polarized consumer perceptions and behaviors as the 'normalization of contradictions.' It further diagnosed that consumer interest and curiosity are rapidly and diversely changing amid the prolonged recession and rapidly changing social conditions.

Daehong Communications emphasized, "The key to responding is who can associate, connect, and produce more interestingly, unexpectedly, and intelligently," adding, "Ultimately, what is most needed is 'Human Thinking,' the thinking and planning ability that only humans can do."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.