Unapologetically Me

Embracing individual style and choices in defiance of perfection and sameness. Consumers are expressing their true selves. This is enabled by a growing number of popular platforms.

The culture of TikTok favours filter-free posts that foreground flaws and all, and the growing platform BeReal actually demands it, not allowing any edits to photos but only real- time capture and posting. The appeal of these platforms points to a larger consumer attitude: appearances don’t matter like they used to. More global consumers disagree with the statement “I feel pressure to look good all the time” than agree: 38% vs.

31% (source: Foresight Factory, 2022). If constantly maximizing glamor is not a priority for consumers, sectors that sell with sleek presentation – from beauty and fashion to media and homewares – are challenged to adapt. Being authentic takes different forms – and courage.

One way this trend manifests aesthetically is through bad taste, going over the top (OTT) and living out the anti-minimalist motto that “more is more”. But while colorful personalities are on the leading edge of this trend, most people aren’t so loud and proud. Being even a little offbeat is true to this trend (and oneself) too.

Brands can help consumers, especially younger ones, to overcome their inhibitions: 51% of British Gen Z agree that “to ‘fit in’ in social situations I often feel I can’t be my authentic self”. At the same time, 69% of Gen Z globally feel the need to be “just that bit different from others in the way I express myself”. 38% of global consumers say that they don’t feel pressure to look good all the time, vs.

31% who do. There are 21.6 million monthly active BeReal users in July 2022, vs.

921,000 a year before. 69% of Gen Z who feel the need to be just a bit different from others in the way they express themselves..