The Outnet reveals contradiction is the biggest social trend

London - Online fashion retailer The Outnet, part of the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, has discovered that consumers are living in a constant state of “harmonious contradiction” in relation to how they share their lives on social media.

The luxury e-tailer commissioned a social media report in partnership with audience intelligence platform, Pulsar, to analyse 33 million posts over the course of May 2016 that related to the way in which consumers share moments of “joy” and “thrill” across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in five languages across eight of The Outnet’s key markets the UK, the US, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE.

The findings aren’t just in relation to fashion but also in regards to worldwide cultural references, and the online retailer found five themes emerged - the sense of Belonging, Discovery, the thrill of Individuality, Everyday Beauty, and the number one driver seeing consumers striving for Personal Growth.

Of the 33 million posts about “joy” and “thrill”, 49 percent were expressing moments of personal growth, with the UK, US, and Australia leading the conversation, with a focus on definitions of success, health and strength. The idea of personal growth also appeared as the new status symbol the report found, with self-portraits most likely to celebrate positive steps to self-improvement and the achievement of personal goals.

The results highlight that consumers are living in a state of harmonious contradiction, with the perfect example lying in selfies, one third of all photos in the study included a person or people in them, but they are no longer an act of individualism but instead a tool to celebrate positive steps to self-improvement and the achievement of personal goals, with the report stating that these posts are becoming the “21st century version of the postcard”.

The sense of belonging closely followed with 31 percent, while we celebrate uniqueness consumers it seems are seeking to be part of a tribe, especially noticeable in France, Singapore, and Germany. Analysis of how the joy of belonging is talked about revealed that consumers celebrate their uniqueness, with items such as one-off fashion finds helping to portray a sense of individuality, and belonging via group selfies.

The Outnet conducts social study around ”joy”

Following this came the thrill of experiences, with 16 percent, while 10 percent of all posts related to everyday beauty, such as nature, beaches, and urban landscapes, the study also revealed that style trends accounted for 10 percent of imagery posted.

Other key facts included the fact that Sunday is the most popular day with regards to “joy” in 6 out of the 8 markets, with the UAE replicating this behaviour on a Saturday, while in the US, Monday motivation topics led the conversation, with a sense of thrill and excitement for the week ahead.

The data also revealed that women over the age of 25 are leading the conversations on Facebook, while younger generations are sharing more open feelings on Snapchat.

When it comes to locations, the ten most tagged locations included New York, Miami, London, Paris, Dubai, Berlin, and Sydney, with the top urban style tribes are leading conversations being London, LA, New York and Paris style.

Commenting on the social study, Andres Sosa, executive vice president of The Outnet, said: “’We commissioned this report as we were intrigued to learn more about consumer behaviour and trends across social media, not only in the realm of fashion but towards global trends and the feeling of a ‘moment’.

“We know that fashion and style can play a role in brightening someone’s mood and we wanted to be able to conceptualise this feeling across the global platforms of social media.”

The study centred around the hashtags Thrill and Joy, to coincide with its recently launched #TheThrillOfTheFind social campaign and its “Everything Reduced But The Thrill” tagline, which has been The Outnet’s brand philosophy for the past few years.

Image: The Outnet Website