Ably, Selects 'DOPAMINE' as the 2024 Style Trend Keyword

Ably Corporation, operated by CEO Kang Suk-hoon, announced on the 9th that it has selected 'D.O.P.A.M.I.N.E' as the style trend for 2024 on its style commerce platform, Ably.

'D.O.P.A.M.I.N.E' stands for ▲Ditto consumption ▲Ornament ribbons ▲Personalized deco (Decor obsessed MZ generation) ▲At-home beauty ▲Make it cropped ▲Introducing skincare ▲New era of footwear ▲Efficient time (Pursuing efficient consumption in a split-second society).

In the midst of rapidly changing consumer trends, they focused on shopping trends that provide pleasure and satisfaction to consumers like the 'dopamine (Dopamine)', known as the happiness hormone. With a user base of 7.4 million MAU (Monthly Active Users) on the No. 1 specialty mall app, they intend to provide a satisfying shopping experience in 2024, moving swiftly with big data-based changing trends.

The trend of 'Ditto consumption' where customers follow and purchase products within similar tastes, values, content, and channels is expected to continue. A notable example is the rapid increase in sales related to the 'Coordi' tab on the Ably app, where customers post their own coordination content. In November-December last year, about 50,000 content creators tagged over 100,000 products in the 'Coordi' section. The 'Any One More' online store's 'Meridi Charcoal Layered T-Shirt', tagged in the top ranks based on the number of 'bookmarks (indicating user interest in the content)', saw a 61% increase in sales within a week of content registration. This shows an increase in consumers purchasing products that they share through the 'product tag' feature, tagging the clothing items they wear.

Last year, along with the Balletcore look, the 'Ornament Ribbons' trend saw a surge in popularity in search terms.

Starting with hair styling accessories like ribbons for tying hair or ribbon hairpins for half-tied hairstyles, ribbons have taken their place as a point accessory from head to toe, including ribbon blouses and dresses, ballerina toe-shoe style ribbon flat shoes, and boots with velvet ribbons.

The MZ generation's craze for Personalized Deco has diversified the 'N-deco' search terms, such as 'Phone-deco (decorating smartphones)', 'Note-deco (decorating notebooks)', 'Diary-deco (decorating diaries)', 'Shoe-deco (decorating shoes)', and 'Bag-deco (decorating bags)'. Last year, the transaction volume for 'Shoe-deco' in Ably's Life category increased by more than 60% compared to the previous year, and recently, 'Keyrings' for 'Bag-deco' have become popular. The trend of creating 'Moruin dolls', which allows customization from the material to the eyes, nose, and mouth, is emerging. This reflects the MZ generation's preference for expressing individuality through customization rather than using ready-made products.

The At-home Beauty market is gaining attention along with the trend of simple self-care. According to Ably's beauty data analysis, popular products include 'Babyliss''s 'Volume Wave Curling Iron', 'Vodana''s 'Flat Iron', 'Ilso' and 'Didida''s 'Blackhead Remover', 'Lapita''s at-home 'Permanent Hair Removal Device', and 'Whychoose''s 'Eyelash Perm Kit'. From hair styling devices to cleansing and skin care, eyelash curlers, the range of home beauty products is diversifying according to customer demand.

From summer t-shirts to winter outerwear, the 'Make it Cropped' trend is expected to become a year-round fashion item. Last year, the transaction volume for 'Cropped Padding' increased by 70%, and 'Cropped Knits' by 147% compared to the previous year.

Not only t-shirts but also cardigans, jackets, knits, and paddings are seeing increased interest in the 'crop' style. Apart from detailed item searches, a shopping trend of exploring different categories after searching for the 'crop' keyword was also notable.

There is an expected increase in individuals focusing on skincare (Introducing skincare). During the same period, the search volume for 'toner pads' increased by more than 180%, and for 'facial packs' (135%) and 'moisture creams' (92%). Interest in lip care has also grown, with searches for 'lip care' increasing by more than 55 times (5,430%) and 'lip balm' by 160%. Cleansing forms like 'April Skin''s 'Cleansing Balm' and 'Witch's Factory''s 'Cleansing Oil' are also popular, coming in a variety of forms such as water, foam, balm, and oil.

In the past, functionality was the focus when purchasing shoes, but this year, 'footwear (New era of footwear)' that combines functionality and design for all seasons is expected to be a fashion item in the spotlight.

According to 2023 Ably search data analysis, the search volume for 'rain boots', popular during the summer rainy season, increased by 255% compared to the previous year, and 'Hunter', synonymous with rain boots, was searched over 440% more.

Platform sandals with a focus on heel height saw a search increase of over 420%, and winter thermal boots 'UGG' saw a 230% increase in searches. Padding material shoes, like 'Padding Slip-ons' (105%) and 'Padding Shoes' (75%), also received significant interest.

As much as there is a focus on the cost-effectiveness of time ('time cost-effectiveness') and pursuing efficiency in a split-second society (Efficient time), there is growing interest in time-saving services. This is leading to an expectation of enhanced 'hyper-personalization' in style shopping. Ably is providing a convenient shopping environment to its customers based on 'AI recommendation technology', created by a team that boasts the industry's largest customer big data and 15 years of research in 'personalization'. As they pursue a shopping environment that quickly and easily finds 'one's own style', the importance of 'recommendation technology' in style commerce is expected to increase.