Trend forecast: Filipinos out to ‘experience’ 2024
After years of living in seclusion and social distancing, 2024 is seen as the year we truly, finally break out of our pandemic prisons to once again live life fully.
Industry leaders told Lifestyle the coming year will be all about experiences and wellness.“Consumers have been spending on meaningful experiences such as travel, concerts and unique events, such as immersive art exhibits, sports events or food pop-ups. Often, these are prioritized over other options such as buying new clothes,” said Ben Chan, founder of Bench and chair and CEO of Suyen Corp.
Chan had already observed this shift even before the pandemic, but the yearslong ordeal has certainly shaped our present and future lifestyles, and he’s expecting the trend to be even more pronounced in 2024.
“There’s a buzzword that we all might have heard this year: core memory. It refers to memorable moments from our life experiences, and some of these, we create,” he added.
Seeing that cinemas are doing very well, and leisure and entertainment centers that offer a variety of activities like skating, bowling and gaming are always full, SM Supermalls president Steven Tan said people value experiences over just buying things these days. “Younger people also want real experiences as a respite from their gadgets and online lives.
“Experiences such as game parks, luxury cinemas, various cuisines and indulgent food and local goods made by micro, small and medium enterprises, and small purveyors, especially if there’s a good cause behind the product—these are what we see will do well in 2024,” he said.
‘Experiential spending’
Megaworld Lifestyle Malls head Graham Coates said the pandemic highlighted the importance of human connections and this had a profound effect in the overall behavior of the Filipino mallgoers. “Dining will remain big and an indispensable part of the mall experience as this provides an opportunity for customers to reconnect, create moments and make new bonds with their friends, families and loved ones.”
For Rockwell Land Corp. vice president for retail development Tin Coqueiro, multicategory concept stores will likely redefine the shopping landscape, offering immersive and multifaceted consumer interactions meeting consumer demand for unique and curated experiences. Changing behaviors suggest that customers seek authenticity, personalization and engaging experiences, she said.
Megaworld Corp. president Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso had also observed a lot of people continuing to indulge in “experiential spending.”
“The pandemic really limited social interactions to a minimum, which is why the moment restrictions were lifted, revenge travel became a thing,” she said. “Travel will continue to be big next year as more Filipinos go out to explore places and attractions, including those that they have been seeing on social media.”
Megaworld Hotels and Resorts managing director Cleofe Albiso agreed, saying the journey toward celebrating local experiences will be the highlight for 2024.
“After a long era of taking inspiration from international brands and their practices, wheels are now turning and giving way for more purposeful travelers who are hungry for authentic cultural experience,” Albiso said. “2023 was just the hospitality industry’s taste of what we have been waiting for from the global market. In the following year, the Asia-Pacific region is to expect 3.5 billion passengers or 99.5 percent of the 2019 level, according to the Airports Council International.”
But she noted that attracting a huge portion of this projection will be a national effort. “We bank on the Philippines’ unique cultural tapestry and archipelagic advantages to be a compelling proposition that the international market will fall in love with.”
She added, “With the local government continuously teaming up with the aggressive private sector, we aim to see a colorful ethnic representation in a platform that celebrates all points of view. From the food, culture and arts industries, we expect our own Filipino chefs, designers, directors, artists and service providers to rise and offer an experience that celebrates how much we love our own and the joy of sharing it to the world.”
Finding happiness
Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao also believed travel will become an even bigger trend this coming year.
He revealed that online queries for both local and international travel grew in 2023, with the latter recording an almost 100-percent surge from 2022.
“Traveling offers many people the opportunity to engage in new experiences and, by extension, stimulate personal development,” Lao said, adding that when people travel and discover cultures and traditions other than their own, there is a lingering feeling of wanting to preserve those experiences and prompting them to want to broaden their perspectives and continue discovering new things.
Lao added that “as traveling gives us the chance to take a break and relieve ourselves of the stress we accumulate from our daily lives, the self-care trend may become even bigger than it already is today.”
Universal Robina Corp. president and CEO Irwin Lee believed that as COVID had become endemic and its effects more muted, there is an expectation to pivot back toward indulgence and treats, especially with pressure on household budgets easing, thanks to government support of wage growth and a slowdown on inflation.
“This will lead to consumers prioritizing finding happiness where they can, while making informed choices about their health,” Lee said. “Younger people in particular are aiming to live their lives to the fullest.”
Tan also observed that the younger generation has become “more health-conscious, more inclusive and care for themselves and the environment more.”
In line with this, Lee said products addressing health and wellness will become more visible and will filter down to mass-market brands.
Self-care
Chan also said the pandemic has shifted the market priority to personal health. “In the previous years, there has been a dramatic rise in athleisure fashion as people began to put more importance on physical well-being. However, wellness now extends to mental, emotional and social well-being.”
According to him, this has resulted in the rise of products with spa-like treatments, mood-enhancing benefits, nutraceuticals and technology services with customizable exercise and dietary programs.
“There are a lot of discussions happening on consumers prioritizing self-care and wanting to feel well and happy,” said Coqueiro. “In the upcoming year, the health and beauty industry will continue its momentum—from personal care and cosmetics to beauty and wellness services.”
She said there is a heightened focus on “clean beauty” across age groups, wherein ingredient-conscious products are prioritized.
Gutierrez also observed a continuing preference for health and wellness. “People will continue to seek products and services that ultimately contribute to their overall well-being. With this, we can see consumers being more conscious of what they eat, drink and experience, and how they interact with brands that are aligned with these preferences.”Coates said the pandemic resulted in a big increase in health-conscious consumers who are now living a more active lifestyle. “This, in turn, has given rise to more active and sportswear brands inside the malls, as well as gyms, wellness hubs, fitness and sport centers and indoor multiactivity playgrounds.”
Home improvement
But even creating meaningful experiences in the mundane has become important to consumers.
One of the biggest trends that happened during the pandemic was home improvements, according to Chan, as “home as an idea continues to be redefined by digital schooling, remote work, nomadic lifestyles, shifting definitions of family and rent culture.”
For his part, Robinsons Appliances and Savers Appliances group general manager Jovito Santos foresees a preference for appliances that will help consumers simplify day-to-day chores to enable them to pursue other goals and activities.
While purchases still usually come down to brand preferences and affordability, he said that customization, aspirational designs, features that allow greater control of settings, and interoperability with smartphones and other appliances to suit a “connected” lifestyle have become important as well.
GoTyme Bank chief marketing officer Raymund Villanueva said the pandemic had underscored the importance of prioritizing overall well-being, and as things have started to open up, emerging trends show an emphasis on holistic wellness, focusing on achieving a balance between digital and human experiences.
The synergy of all trends—from food and travel to e-commerce and banking—will continue to impact people’s lives, said Villanueva. “The Philippines was always a very cash-driven society, but that’s changed rapidly because of the pandemic and it continues to change as we discover the convenience of going digital,” he added.
“These hybrid lifestyle categories that mix a fluent and unique ‘phygital’ (physical and digital) approach are poised to make a significant impact in 2024, not only redefining travel and experiences but also revolutionizing the way individuals manage their finances. We now see customers that are more informed in making their purchases, with well-researched, informed decisions that bring value to their daily lives.”
Rise of AI
“In 2024, other than the obvious need for better infrastructure and smart facilities, more touch points across the customer journey will go digital,” Albiso said, adding she foresees lifestyle choices being made according to strong online presence and convenient online transactions.
Coates said that the rise of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT is also seen to accelerate innovation and enhance customer experience at a faster pace. At the same time, Filipino consumers have also become more environmentally conscious and are leaning toward brands that align with their values.
“We now serve a more woke audience who appreciates brands and services that are not only authentic but speaks their language as well,” Albiso said. “In this new economy, the term ‘luxury’ is evolving to more than what we currently know and now equates to brands that deliver an experience their market truly deserves.”
According to her, purchase motivations will no longer be limited to a product’s ultimate use but goes back to its ideals, purpose, sourcing principles and its role as a part of a bigger circular economy that affects the community’s overall sustainability goals.
“Ultimately, all of these boil down to having a more conscious effort to embrace sustainability in our daily lives,” Gutierrez said. “We’ve started to see a stronger focus on prioritizing well-being this year, and I see this trend to continue growing by next year. From being mindful of how we impact the earth, patronizing local products and destinations to help communities grow, to being more aware of how our daily preferences impact our state of wellness, I see that people will likely become more mindful of taking care of themselves and the planet.” INQ
