TREND LAB. Survey: 85.4% Encounter Trends Regularly, but Only 8.7% Adopt Them Immediately

TREND LAB., a social listening project operated by la belle vie Inc., released its survey on how consumers in Japan’s Reiwa era keep their distance from trends. The report analyzes the gap between exposure to trend information and actual consumption behavior, as well as the structural factors behind it. According to the survey, 85.4% of respondents encounter trend information regularly, with SNS as the main source at 53.7%. However, only 8.7% said they adopt trends as early as possible. The largest group, at 52.8%, said they wait until something becomes a topic and then choose what suits them, suggesting that most consumers observe first and decide later. TREND LAB. says trends are no longer functioning primarily as direct drivers of consumption. Instead, they have become decision-making material that consumers use to observe the market and judge whether something is truly valuable to them. On SNS, algorithms optimize what users see based on individual interests. As a result, trends have shifted from something that reaches everyone to something that exists among those who can see it. This fragmentation means trends no longer spread all at once, but instead diffuse gradually through groups with similar interests. Among trend categories consumers most often adopt, food ranked first at 33.3%. TREND LAB. argues this is not merely a matter of preference, but a structural effect of algorithmic environments. Food intersects with multiple interest areas, such as beauty, lifestyle, and travel, making it more likely to appear across different users’ feeds. At the same time, algorithmic optimization is creating distrust toward biased information. Some respondents said they unfollowed multiple SNS accounts because the content felt too similar, while others said they avoid certain trends because they are tired of marketing-driven promotion. This has helped normalize the attitude of seeing information without immediately consuming. The report concludes that future trends likely to gain support will carry anti-algorithmic value: consumption chosen for personal meaning or story, and consumption based on tactile or experiential qualities that efficiency cannot replace. Consumers are increasingly prioritizing choices grounded in their own senses rather than the algorithmically optimized answer. The survey was conducted online from April 4 to April 12, 2026, targeting TREND LAB. readers, GLADD official Instagram followers, and some GLADD members. It received 309 valid responses.