---
title: "4 Consumer Trends for the Second Half of 2022"
description: "As 2022 enters its second half, the consumer market remains sluggish due to the pandemic. This article identifies four small trends—shopping behavior, public sentiment, brand preference, and lifestyle—that offer potential opportunities for brands to find new growth."
author: "岚岚"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2022-08-03"
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# 4 Consumer Trends for the Second Half of 2022

> As 2022 enters its second half, the consumer market remains sluggish due to the pandemic. This article identifies four small trends—shopping behavior, public sentiment, brand preference, and lifestyle—that offer potential opportunities for brands to find new growth.

********Click to read the original article for details********
2022 enters the second half.
In the first half of the year, with the recurrence of the pandemic, demand contracted, supply was disrupted, and expectations weakened, leading to a bleak consumer market. This year's 618 shopping festival was arguably the loneliest major promotion in history; despite significant discounts and simple rules, it failed to stimulate sales.
This year, due to both subjective and objective constraints, most businesses and products face a weak consumer market and cannot invest too many resources. To survive and grow, they must find new perspectives and growth methods:
**That is, to uncover potential opportunities within consumer trends.**
In fact, changes in the macro environment have a huge and complex impact on people's consumption mindsets, and it cannot be simply summarized as "downgrading."
When we look beyond the surface and observe more carefully, we find that these changes and trends hide both risks and opportunities.
Today, we will discuss four small trends, covering purchasing, emotions, brand preference, and lifestyle.
**About Shopping Behavior**
  * Flexible and adaptive solutions
  * Cross-category substitutes
**About Public Sentiment**
  * Collective narratives in the same time and space
**About Brand Preference**
  * Liking "simple and straightforward"
**About Lifestyle**
  * Scene-based healing

**01** **About Shopping Behavior**
In the first half of the year, due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and various epidemic prevention policies, consumer behavior itself underwent significant changes.
**1. Flexible and adaptive solutions**
We all know that once consumption habits are formed, changing them is very difficult. This includes usage habits, familiarity, user stickiness, etc.
There is a famous formula: **User Value = New Experience - Old Experience - Switching Cost**
Then, driven by strong external forces (the pandemic), many consumption habits have changed accordingly. Especially in task-oriented purchases, for the same need, people tend to be more flexible and proactive in adopting new purchasing solutions—**meaning that switching costs are reduced, and new experiences gain greater value.**
For example: During this year's 520 promotion, Taobao bicycle sales increased by over 50%. JD.com's 618 pre-sale data showed that pre-sale orders for cycling categories increased by 240% year-on-year, including bicycles and road bikes, making cycling one of the best-selling categories.
Notably, mid-to-high-end brands such as Specialized and Trek ranked at the top, with prices ranging from 2,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan.
Previously, media reported that road bike prices range from 5,000 to 100,000 yuan, with models above 5,000 yuan being the mainstream consumption range. Among them, the 5,000-8,000 yuan tier is the best-selling, and models in the 10,000-15,000 yuan range are also seeing rapid sales growth.
Why have high-end cycling become popular?
It is not an upgrade in outdoor consumption, but a flexible and adaptive substitute consumption:
**Users are transferring the cost of gym annual memberships, which were affected by pandemic closures, to investing in cycling exercise.**
In fact, there is a clear shift between going out to stores for consumption and having no fixed space for experiences, professional at-home services, and doing it yourself at home:
  * Camping replaces cross-city travel
  * RVs replace hotels and short-term rentals
  * Door-to-door cleaning services are being taken over by floor washing machines and professional robot vacuums
  * Home steamers and high-end hair dryers replace regular salon spa treatments
  * Simpler nail stickers replace nail technicians and nail salons
  * Massage foot baths, massage chairs, and fascia guns replace massage services
......
Home standing hair dryers, featuring salon-level hair care
These are already happening, and some are still emerging:
For example, regular pet grooming and pet beauty services at pet stores may be replaced by professional pet care small appliances and devices.
For brands, on one hand, there is an opportunity to break users' existing habits and find opportunities for new products and services, that is, to provide consumers with "flexible and adaptive solutions." On the other hand, at the marketing level, there is also an opportunity to explore new usage scenarios for existing products and proactively adopt a new positioning of "some kind of substitute solution."

**2. Cross-category substitutes**
The usual meaning of "pingti" (substitute) refers to affordable alternatives to big brands, that is, products in the same category with similar effects but lower prices.
However, in an increasingly competitive consumer market, substitutes have also become dazzling and mixed in quality. This year, we have found that more "substitutes" are not simply imitations or cost reductions, but rather more cost-effective solutions in cross-category tracks.
  * For example, Proya invented the "early C late A" skincare routine, making dual anti-oxidation essence a new skincare concept rather than a simple substitute for big-brand essences.
  * The small appliance sector is also familiar with this approach: simply "miniaturizing" and "segmenting" products gives birth to new substitutes—mini refrigerators, underwear washing machines, dual-pot rice cookers for two, etc.
  * Recently, a controversial product called "ginseng water"—a substitute for expensive ginseng—is not cheap ginseng, but a cross-category health beverage.
In addition to physical product consumption, spiritual and cultural consumption is the same.
If the former means spending less money, the latter means spending less energy and brainpower.
For killing time and seeking relaxation, people used to watch soap operas, idol dramas, variety shows... but each episode takes a long time.
Now, a type of short drama lasting only 10-15 minutes is becoming popular. Adapted from online novels, these are brainless, funny, and satisfying stories that require no mental effort, purely for entertainment or relaxation.
From a spiritual consumption perspective, this is also a "cross-category" substitute, providing consumers with new options for mental relaxation.
The value of cross-category substitutes lies in, to some extent, offsetting the consumer's inner discomfort of "choosing cheap goods" and instead providing the joy and superiority of "discovering a new world." For young consumers, this is more attractive than traditional price-based substitutes.
At the marketing level, such products can initially bypass the approach of "existing category positioning + advertising bombardment to capture minds" and instead use "trend seeding + word-of-mouth" to quickly capture the market (these products are relatively cheaper, so the trial cost is low and easier to accept), and gain cognitive dividends during the 0-to-1 market education process, establishing their own category barriers.

**02** **About Public Sentiment**
For a long time, concepts like personalization, self-expression, and niche circles have been very popular. However, with the physical fragmentation caused by the pandemic and the anxiety brought by huge social uncertainty, to some extent, contrary to personalization, people stuck at home are more eager to embrace a sense of collective participation and obtain certainty and resonance.
**1. "Same time and space, collective narrative"**
People increasingly like to do things "together."
This "together" refers to a specific time or online space, transcending physical space, to share, co-own, and co-create.
  * **Same time:** KFC's "Crazy Thursday" and Ele.me's "one-minute free order" have become hugely popular online with undiminished enthusiasm. People enjoy collectively timing, setting alarms, reminding each other, and rushing to grab deals at the exact moment.
  * **Same online space:** Various live-streaming rooms give people a new gathering place across screens, whether it's working out together in Liu Genghong's live room or learning together in East Buy's live room.
When conceiving marketing activities, consider the angle of "doing something together" to create a "national indulgence" that amplifies enthusiasm and creates a snowball effect.
There are two key points:
**1. Find the connection point**
This is easy to understand. The above-mentioned same time and same space (which can be virtual) provide a touchpoint for people to connect, thereby forming a gathering and explosive effect.
During the pandemic, online concerts have been popular several times, but online exhibitions have never caught on. The reason is that the latter cannot gather the same group of people in the same time and space, lacking the chemical reaction of "together" participation.
**2. Construct purpose and meaning**
Doing this needs a clear purpose and meaning, whether it is of individual significance (weight loss, learning, saving money, etc.) or a goal collectively recognized by the group. Once there is a purpose, there is enthusiasm and self-drive, and even the motivation to share and create derivative works.
Nostalgia is also a way of collective narrative.
Some say nostalgia is popular now; should we add nostalgic elements to our products or change packaging?
In fact, it is not very useful.
Because so-called nostalgia is **not about missing one person's past, but about the time spent collectively.** Essentially, nostalgia represents lonely people finding emotional resonance in collective memories.
Old songs, old acquaintances, once-popular films and TV shows.
These people and things under the spotlight are put back on stage, and a group of people watches, stirring up past emotions.
"Nowadays, this nostalgia disease is prevalent globally. More and more people yearn for a collective emotion of common interest, a continuity in a fragmented world. This epidemic is a defense mechanism for people in an era of rapid changes in life and history." — Zygmunt Bauman, *Retrotopia*
Therefore, don't be fooled by superficial expressions and think that making a bunch of retro or nostalgic products will sell well.
Instead, if you create a time-space connection point, create a meaningful goal, attract everyone to "do something together," and incorporate elements of shared emotion, you will find the true code to traffic.
For example, KFC's "Back to 1987 Classic":
**It has a common time—the 3 days of the 35th anniversary, a common purpose—grabbing deals, and a common emotion—going back 35 years.** It would be surprising if it didn't become popular.

**03** **About Brand Preference**
Recently, I chatted with several brand managers, and everyone noticed that in brand image shaping preferences, there is a trend of "returning to simplicity" this year.
**1. "Simple and straightforward"**
People are tired of refinement, internet-famous photo scams, consumption traps, and "IQ taxes." They are fed up. Tearing off these masks, the brand image that is now more favored is sincere and straightforward.
In the past few years, brands being witty or self-deprecating was popular, and occasionally playing the victim could earn sympathy points. However, brands appreciated by the public have a "simple and straightforward" temperament. (Of course, this does not apply to all brands and all demographics; luxury, aesthetics, and niche emotions still exist. Here we only talk about the general trend.)
For example:
  * **Low-key:** Baixiang and Xuelian have always been quiet until they were discovered.
  * **Inarticulate:** Hongxing Erke's boss, standing awkwardly in the live stream, actually increased goodwill.
  * **Silly:** Mixue Bingcheng's Snow King image, paired with the theme song, is silly and cute.
  * **Frank and simple:** Lao Xiang Ji's social media editor, who slacks off every day and looks forward to getting off work.
These images, full of bluntness and sincerity, are completely open and honest with you, including both good and bad aspects.
The most direct representative is Dong Yuhui. There are so many talented teachers, each with skills and stories, but his simple image and frank attitude, willing to open up to strangers, straightforwardly talking about rural life experiences, and the difficulties and embarrassments he encountered, are as clear as moonlight, with a sense of transparency like "the courtyard is as clear as water." This instantly filled his likability and popularity.
In a social environment full of trust crises and insecurity, people's defenses increase. If merchants and brands still play tricks, it will undoubtedly amplify people's vigilance.
On the other hand, if you remove the cunning and self-righteousness, and become more real and sincere from the inside out, appearing not so smart or calculating, and even frankly admitting some shortcomings, you can often maximize trust points.
Once, in a quick group-buying community, someone asked if a product was tasty. The store owner quickly replied:
**"I don't like this flavor."**
Instantly, everyone in the group typed "hahahaha," "so cute," and "laughing to death."
Many people instead said they wanted to grab it to taste what it's like to not be favored by the owner.

**04** **About Lifestyle**
Under the pandemic and stress, people's lifestyles have undoubtedly changed in many ways. The word "healing" has appeared frequently recently; everyone needs it. When facing huge uncertainty, pressure, and crises, how do you heal yourself?
For most people, the answer is to construct a scene.
**1. Scene-based healing**
There is a popular saying on Xiaohongshu: **"At work, I'm a soulless factory worker; after work, I'm a joyful person."**
This means completely separating work and life: closing off emotions at work, fully healing after work, and being nourished in scenes.
Correspondingly, **"recharging solo living" and "healing travel" have become popular lifestyles.**
The former means turning your space into the most comfortable dwelling, staying in a completely comfortable and self-oriented way, and casting aside the day's fatigue, tension, and anxiety. You can choose specific scenes according to your healing method to recharge yourself, such as enjoying music alone (Hi-Fi Bluetooth speakers + vinyl record setup + soft pillows + slightly tipsy sweet wine), or cooking (open kitchen + favorite tableware and cookware).
The latter defines the meaning of travel as healing: no need for specific check-in spots, no need for a tight itinerary, and even no need to rush. Just stay in another city for a few days, enjoy the unfamiliar tranquility or the hustle and bustle, and let your mind relax and emotions calm down.
For brands or services, the opportunities brought by scene-based healing are already obvious. From 2020, the overall scale of China's fresh cut flower market exceeded 100 billion yuan. In 2021, downloads of the top five meditation apps increased by 25% year-on-year. The number of registered pet-related enterprises was 205,000, with an average growth rate of 95.5% in the past two years.
In addition to these directly related products or services, "scene-based healing" also provides non-highly related products with space for innovation and value addition, from "instrumental" to "emotional," and from "rational value" to "emotional value."
For example, supermarkets: more young people love to visit supermarkets, not to stock up, but to immerse themselves in the sense of security and healing.
"The neatly arranged vegetables and fruits, the bright lights, and even the mechanical repetitive promotional ads fill her heart with joy."
From selling goods to healing, do supermarkets and convenience stores have more vivid scene designs?
Many FMCG products, such as alcoholic drinks, snacks, and beverages, are already competing for a share of the "healing" cake. And more home, household, and appliance products still have greater potential for "role-playing" in healing life scenes, transforming from a tool or a task solution to an indispensable part of the self-healing process.
That's all for the consumer trends observed in the second half of the year.
To summarize, the small consumer trends we observed:
  * Find new positioning opportunities in cross-category substitutes or consumption shifting solutions
  * Find entry points in public sentiment to ignite collective participation
  * Be more frank and simple in brand image and user dialogue to gain trust votes
  * Capture new "emotional dividends" and "emotional premiums" in lifestyle scenes
Source: 芋艿和猫说
(ID: taro_cat)
 **-END-**


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