I try to stay on top of what’s going on in the world but in all of my reading of Web sites and magazines and blogs I had never come across the term midorexia. It’s a word – largely pejorative, from what I can tell – for middle-aged and older people, most often women, who try to act or appear younger than their years by wearing clothes that are too tight or not age-appropriate or just generally engaging in activities that others deem outside of their current life stage.
The word popped up as I was perusing Euromonitor’s report Top 10 Global Consumer Trends for 2017 under an entry on the trend Euromonitor calls “Aging - A changing narrative: Transforming what it means to be older.”
The report, which you can download at http://bit.ly/2jg8bJI (registration required), draws from a variety of media stories and Euromonitor’s own research to flesh out the 10 trends in a loose, conversational style. As with a lot of trend-related pieces, there isn’t too much focus on next steps to take but its 50 pages give you a good overview and could serve as an idea-starter for those in a variety of industries.
A few that stuck out to me:
Extraordinary: Expanding the mass to accommodate needs of a larger consumer base
While much of the section on this trend focused on how everyone from clothing firms to aircraft makers is reacting to consumers’ expanding waistlines, one interesting note touched on “healthwear,” an apparel niche that adapts the techniques and trends of fashion and applies them to the challenges created by illness and disability. The term was coined by Maura Horton, CEO of MagnaReady, whose shirts with magnetic closures were inspired by the challenges of her husband’s Parkinson’s disease. U.S. shirt-maker PVH has worked with Horton to incorporate her technology into its Van Heusen dress shirts, the report says.
Post-purchase: Beyond fulfilling to predicting
In 2017, the report states, shoppers will be paying more attention to their post-purchase experience, increasingly an important part of the value offer of a product or service that will shape their view of the business. “[B]rand willingness to address post-purchase queries and complaints will influence whether a consumer recommends or criticizes it to fellow consumers and considers a repeat purchase,”the report says.
Privacy and security: Personal safety and the allure of home and mobile cocooning
This one struck a chord with me, as, if the early weeks of the Trump administration are any indication, bellicose rhetoric and the potential for conflict are on the rise and the general mood of many segments of the population is one of nervous uncertainty. Therefore it seems only natural that consumers might turn to other aspects of their lives to regain some control. “Goods and services – anything from smart home tech to insurance, organic food to travel upgrades and investment in education – which help consumers feel they can buy back control as pilots rather than passengers will hold a strong appeal.”
Wellness as a status symbol: Looking wellness-ready and the rise of boutique health
Perhaps an analog to midorexia, this one is also ripe for derision. “The spectacle of those willing to throw money at their quest for spiritual improvement is widespread enough to provide an easy target for humor, as are the frequent consumer Instagram posts of retreat experiences, expressing wellness by clichéd images of fitness-wear and toned bodies posing against scenic backdrops. At a time when consuming ‘stuff,’ once an indicator of wealth, is now taking a backseat, the lack of things – of excess fat, of wayward thoughts even – now defines aspiration and is at the heart of the consumer interest in wellness.”