Safety Society, Solming Out, Self-Investment, Inspirience, Focus on Digital Equality Trends
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Shinhan Card announced on the 14th that it has selected 'reVALUE' as the consumer trend keyword for 2021.
ReVALUE means to re-evaluate, reflecting the era of 2021 where existing fixed ideas are broken and values in various areas are newly defined in the non-face-to-face era accelerated by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute forecasted five detailed keywords according to each letter of VALUE: Safety Society (Vary the standard of Safety Society), Solming-out (Attracted to one’s frankness), Self-Investment (Love me, Investment for myself), INspirience (Upgrade of Inside Experience), and Equality of Opportunity created by digital as this year’s consumer trends.
The first keyword, 'Safety Society,' represents the consumption purpose of willingly opening wallets and paying costs to obtain safety. Through the COVID-19 era, safety has led not only to changes in consumption but also lifestyle changes. In particular, new terms such as Ga-an-bi (consumption where people open their wallets considering health and safety even if it costs a bit more) and Safe Restaurants have emerged, greatly increasing interest in quarantine and safety management in the food service industry.
Despite a decrease in restaurant startups due to the spread of COVID-19, solo dining and single-person table specialty restaurants that emphasize safety have greatly increased. According to Shinhan Card’s analysis of the increase and decrease rates of new merchant registrations by restaurant type from January to October last year, the number of new general restaurant merchants decreased by 9.3% compared to the previous year, whereas solo dining and single-person meal specialty restaurants increased by 282% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the use of delivery applications (apps) also increased significantly by 78% compared to the previous year. Especially during lunchtime (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), there was a 101% increase. Solo dining usage during lunchtime (payment amounts between 7,000 KRW and 12,000 KRW) also increased by 18%.
The second keyword, 'Solming-out,' is a combination of honesty and coming out, referring to focusing on consumption values that acknowledge revealing one’s true self honestly and sincerely. Honest communication leads directly to consumption and also influences brand images.
Looking at the usage changes of a cosmetics company that appeared on YouTube’s representative front advertisement channel, Nego King, usage increased by 143% in November after the appearance compared to the average from January to October last year before the appearance. Especially, the proportion of users in their 20s increased by 16 percentage points from 42% to 58% after the appearance, indicating that the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) accepts front advertisements without resistance.
The third keyword selected by Shinhan Card is 'Self-Investment.' Self-investment, choosing oneself as the consumption target, is diversifying into financial technology for economic stability, body care for a healthy daily life, and proactive learning for growth.
An increase in the use of resale markets, which add premiums to rare products as part of financial technology, is representative. The number of uses of specialized resale platforms from January to October last year increased by 15% compared to the previous year, and the amount per transaction increased by 34%. During the same period, the total number of uses of online premium lectures where users can learn know-how from top industry experts surged by 222% compared to the previous year. As an investment to manage a healthy body, a boom in personal body profile photography has occurred, and mentions of body profiles and health in social data increased by 84% compared to the same period last year as of January to October last year.
The fourth keyword is 'INspirience,' a combination of Inside and Experience. Due to COVID-19, many people have chosen inside (IN) instead of going outside, and the concept of inside has been redefined. Instead of overseas travel, domestic travel is preferred; instead of downtown, the neighborhood where one lives; instead of outside the house, inside the house is chosen as the consumption space, creating a new consumption trend that values experiences inside.
Shinhan Card data shows a tendency to replace overseas travel with domestic travel, especially visiting small towns rather than famous tourist spots. Looking at the increase and decrease rates of merchant usage amounts in other regions by residents of the metropolitan area from 2018 to January-October last year, there is an increasing trend in small towns with low population density such as Goseong, Gangwon (47%), Yangyang, Gangwon (44%), and Goheung, Jeonnam (25%).
The last consumer trend keyword is 'Equality created by digital.' Digital and online have become part of life and powerful consumption channels, providing equal information and opportunities in living areas that were inevitably unequal due to physical, technical, and time conditions.
The number of paid Shinhan Card transactions for Zoom, a video conferencing app that can be accessed regardless of region, increased by 87% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter last year. Also, as online concerts increased, the number of performance ticket payments by the 20s and 30s living outside the metropolitan area increased significantly during the same period, with Chungbuk (79%), Gyeongnam (54%), and Chungnam (47%) showing large increases.
Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute said, "We will keep pace with changing consumer trends to understand the deep needs of customers internally, provide new customer experiences, and lead the acceleration of the data economy by utilizing meaningful financial data."
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