In 2023, Minimalist Seeker is the most significant consumer type worldwide, accounting for more than 18% of the population. This consumer type is focused on living a minimalistic lifestyle and places much importance on price, sustainability, and community issues. With limited earnings and an obvious strive towards more conscious and cautious consumption, targeting Minimalist Seeker is incredibly complicated in the inflationary environment. Please find below the strategies we offer to win over the Minimalist Seeker.
Minimalist Seeker's path to purchase
Driven by inflationary pressures and sustainability, Minimalist Seekers rarely buy non-essential products and are unlikely to make impulsive shopping decisions. They shy away from the purchases that threaten their less-is-more philosophy. Instead, Minimalist Seekers often take time to research products and services and buy what they need and when they need it.
Minimalist Seekers also place importance on quality and are willing to pay more if it means that their purchases will have longevity. Their desire to minimise waste means they will fix products - rather than buy new replacements - or purchase second-hand items.
52% of Minimalist Seekers repair broken items rather than replacing them
Source: Euromonitor International Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, 2023
Minimalist Seekers are unlikely to place importance on their image or follow trends. Yet, they research the purchases carefully, regularly compare prices online and are highly influenced by friends' and family's recommendations. Nevertheless, the Minimalists can be a great target audience for new product innovations, new brands and private label companies if they align with the values mentioned.
Best ways to target the Minimalist Seeker
Minimalist Seekers are a tough crowd to please. But there are strategies even they cannot resist. Leveraging eco-friendly and locally sourced or high-quality materials or exploring circular business models such as renting or leasing would seem a great starting point to cater to sustainability, quality and 'less is more' values. Furthermore, integrating an easy comparison functionality to streamline research and the decision-making process could play to Minimalists' strive towards life simplicity and higher convenience.
Consumer segmentation is a powerful tool that helps you better understand and reach the right audience. Euromonitor International's annual Consumer Types Series looks beyond standard demographic or geographic segmentation. When segmenting your audience, we account for the motivations, values, preferences or needs driving their purchase decisions. For insights on each of our global consumer types and how to influence their purchase decisions, download 8 Types of Consumers for Targeted Marketing.
Editor's note: This article was published in August 2019 and has been updated.