Millennials, Women, and Seniors to Lead Consumption Over the Next 10 Years

The most striking trends in the next 10 years are expected to result from changes in consumer and producer behavior. (image: Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A business forecast argues that consumers including millennials, women, and seniors, and enterprises focusing on digital innovation will lead business trends in the 2020s.

Woori Finance Research Institute, a research unit of Woori Financial Group, introduced seven keywords for future business in a report released on Sunday.

The seven keywords are I-Doctor, My Media Life, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Factory, Gender Equality, Information Technology (IT) Security, Nice Consumer, and Evolving Mobility, with the initials combined to form the term ‘IMAGINE’.

The most striking trends in the next 10 years are expected to result from changes in consumer and producer behavior. One of the keywords, ‘Nice Consumer’, refers to millennial consumers.

Millennials have suffered from lower disposable income due to economic struggles that they have seen since the start of their careers, forcing them to prefer affordability over brand value and individual over organization.

The culture of consumption deriving from such trends comprises the critical part of future demand, the report argues.

Another keyword, ‘Gender Equality’, refers to the expansion of ‘SHEconomy,’ a term that indicates women’s economic power. The report anticipates that women will go from consumers to producers in the near future.

‘I-Doctor’ refers to the dawn of an era in which a patient can receive a doctor’s treatment via a mobile app or other networks without having to visit a hospital, technology which could serve as a primary component of the ‘silver industry’ bound to expand as wealthy baby boomers are reaching retirement age.

In terms of technology, AI-based factories will replace the current industrial ecosystem and lead the trend for the 2020s.

‘Evolving Mobility’ refers to the fusion of the millennial generation that calls on experience rather than possession and the advancement of autonomous driving/electric vehicle technology that will lead the future automobile industry.

‘My Media Life’ refers to a form of media that can be enjoyed anywhere at any time, as reflected in internet TV which consumers can access regardless of time and place.

H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)