Quantifying Megatrends: Experience More – #IRL Reinvented

The pandemic disrupted all aspects of consumer lifestyles, so to help quantify the impact on long term trends identified as lasting the distance, Euromonitor’s Analytics team created a megatrends quantification model.

The Experience More megatrend encapsulates consumers’ desire to live their best lives to the full, engaging with brands online, offline or a combination of the two, to receive a curated and unique brand experience. The main pillars centre on living it, enhanced product and lasting brand engagement.

Dodging a bullet

The pandemic had the biggest toll on in-person experiences, leading to a decline in sales of -5.2% CAGR for Experience More categories, including travel, hospitality, experiential luxury and specialist beauty. This contrasts markedly to megatrends like Shopping Reinvented that enjoyed turbo-charged growth of 41.7% CAGR over 2015-2020, where consumers pivoted online during lockdown.

As societies begin to reopen slowly and regain some form of normalcy, the outlook is more optimistic for those looking for new thrills and spills, with Experience More set to grow annually by 4.7% CAGR over 2020-2025, faster than wellness (3.4%) and premiumisation (4.0%).

Experience More Value Sales 2020
Source: Euromonitor International – Megatrends Index
Note: Colour code from fast growth (blue) to slow growth (red) % CAGR 2020-2025

No barriers to experience

China and the US dominate Experience More expenditure, with consumers seeking out high value brand experiences, forecast to reach USD144.6 billion and USD133.9 billion, respectively in 2021.

In terms of per capita spending, there is an interesting mix of countries, led by Hong Kong (USD1,334) and Singapore (USD1,063) in 2021; the citizens of which are especially prone to jetting off for some well needed travel experiences abroad.

There is great potential in Asia Pacific, boosted by pent up demand and rising prosperity that will fuel a boom in quality, fun experiences, set to see the highest growth of 6.3% CAGR 2020-2025 in per capita spending. Besides, China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam are expected to witness an accelerated uptake of Experience More activities like eating out, travelling and buying enhanced products to boost brand enjoyment. Countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and India show extremely high levels of interest in real life experiences, with 81-84% of consumers saying they value them in 2021, according to Voice of the Consumer Survey: Lifestyles 2021.

Besides Asia, Scandinavian countries like Denmark and Sweden are expected to be among the fastest growing countries over 2020-2025, where hygge and Scandi lifestyle values resonate beyond borders, for consumers to seek a truly satisfying life with high eco credentials.

Latin America is predicted to enjoy the second highest per capita growth for Experience More, at 6.3%, led by Chile at 8.6% CAGR 2020-2025 where eating out, travel and hospitality are popular.

Experience More Per Capita Spending Forecast % CAGR 2020-2025
Source: Euromonitor International

Phoenix rising

In-person dependent sectors like travel and hospitality were decimated by the pandemic, as non-essential activities were banned. Recouping losses and regaining lost ground will take place over the long term, especially for tourism which is beset by confused, uncoordinated global action for reopening safely.

Consumer desire for experiences remains strong, boosted by pent-up demand for the old days, whilst in tandem, social lifestyles swing back to the real world. Virtual, blended experiences will continue to play a growing role, especially for younger generations like the Millennials, Gen Z and Alpha where the distinction is not so clear-cut and platforms like TikTok capture attention.

Advanced countries in the global north, like the US and UK, will continue to offer growth potential for Experience More, with per capita growth of 6.2% and 8.7% CAGR 2020-2025, respectively.

In the emerging and developing world, there is huge potential to mine in populous countries like China and India with hundreds of millions of middle class households coming of age, accounting for 48% of all the new middle income households globally by 2030.

Boosted by rising income growth, Asian consumers in particular love engaging and inspiring experiences that create strong emotional connections between brands and their customers. Despite the shift to online shopping, consumers in Asia Pacific increasingly seek out innovative in-store experiences, amounting to 58.7% of consumers in the region. The future of experiential retailing is therefore expected to be ever-more creative, blending online and offline seamlessly to capture consumers’ imaginations and ultimately build brand loyalty.

Adopting an experiential approach to all brand interactions will help to elevate the overall quality of engagement and interactions with brands, ensuring that the Experience More trend can continue to rise - like a phoenix from the ashes.

Source: Euromonitor International

For further information, please contact Caroline Bremner, Senior Industry Manager – Travel, on caroline.bremner@euromonitor.com