Believing that the concept of consumption is being transformed among sei-katsu-sha, the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living conducted a quantitative survey in 2019 covering 10,000 men and women aged 15–69 across Japan, as well as quantitative surveys including in-depth interviews and a photo analysis to explore the trends underlying this transformation.

Overview

Our findings point to an emerging value among sei-katsu-sha of not wanting to make any definitive choices, including regarding jobs and marriage, in this age of 100-year life. In spending, too, there is a preference for maintaining greater freedom to choose brands and how to possess them—a new, rational choice of “indecision” in life. Sei-katsu-sha are freely rearranging the traditional consumption process of “choose, buy, use, and let go,” thus eliminating inconveniences present in the conventional consumption style and finding new meaning and passion. The flows of money and things driven by this attitude of “indecision” might create a sizable movement of “consumption convection” that could change the main style of consumption in the future.

Advent of an era of “indecision”

The idea that there is a “standard” way of living or any “correct answer” in life is increasingly breaking down. People are also increasingly aware of the risk of sticking to a single position in anything they do, out of concern about the future of work and the pension system.

• Dispersion of standards

  Declining ratio of “standard households”
  Dispersion of age at birth of first child
  No guarantee of lifetime employment, leading to more irregular jobs and higher turnover

• Diversification of lifestyles

  Diversified attitudes toward marriage, family, coupledom and gender
  Diversified attitudes toward private and public lives including work-life balance
  Emergence of new workstyles such as second/side jobs and freelancing

• Increased risk of making a decision

  Concern about the future of the pension and social security systems
  Concern about AI and jobs for humans
  Increased awareness of the “age of 100-year life”

People don’t know what’s right or wrong. They don’t know what the future holds for themselves and the world. So it’s better to retain more flexibility in life.

Emergence of “indecision” in consumption

The age of “indecision” is already affecting consumer behavior.

New trends in consumption behavior among sei-katsu-sha have been observed, driven by the emergence of new consumer services such as transactions between individuals, sharing and subscriptions, as well as the changing consumption environment including in reference information and purchase channels.

Traditional consumer behavior was characterized by the “choose, buy, use and let go” process.

Today, we often see people freely rearranging this process.
This behavior is driven by their attitude not to fix their position, or not to make any final decision.
For instance:

Not deciding to buy something

Not deciding to use forever

Using without deciding to buy, or reducing the burden of making a decision by retaining the possibility of reselling or returning, sei-katsu-sha are making the best of their new-found freedom to adopt various forms of “indecisive” consumption.

Emergence of a new concept of consumption

What are the values and desires behind sei-katsu-sha’s drive toward “indecisive” consumption? Our research found two opposite types of desire and a new idea on rationality and irrationality.

Reducing stress by remaining “indecisive” = Desire for reducing

The first category of desire is to reduce stress due to troubles, concerns and discontent in the process of consumption.

Increasing mood by remaining “indecisive” = Desire for increasing

Sei-katsu-sha’s desire also runs in another direction: to add new meaning and passion to consumption.

Emerging convection of consumption in the Reiwa era

The trend of dispersing standards and diversifying lifestyles is expected to continue in the Reiwa era (which began May 1, 2019), probably resulting in a further increase in the number of sei-katsu-sha oriented toward a flexible lifestyle. It is highly likely that we will move further into an era of “indecision.”

This trend will naturally lead to a growth of “indecisive” consumption, which serves to relieve stress while enriching experience and unfolding options for the benefit of sei-katsu-sha. Conventional wisdom might find it irrational, but this concept will be increasingly embraced by those who prefer variability in life as rational behavior.

This intentional “indecision” will transform consumer behavior from a fixed and irreversible “funnel” of “choose, buy, use and let go” into a fluid and reversible “loop.” Operating their own loop of consumption, sei-katsu-sha will switch stance at short intervals in an agile manner—from owner to user to seller/disposer. This will result in a separate, new consumption loop, as things bought and used by a person will not be fully “consumed,” but passed onto someone else.

Sei-katsu-sha changing their style freely will create a loop of consumption characterized by the repeated use and recycling of goods. This is a new movement which we call “consumption convection,” driven by “indecisive” consumption in an era of “indecision.”