Treatonomics: consumers trade down everywhere except the small joys
trading down79%
spending more38%
PrincipleTrends
Austerity and indulgence coexist: 79% of global consumers are trading down (McKinsey), yet 38% of gen Z say they are spending more on themselves and 30% more on little treats - against 14% of gen X. VML calls it treatonomics: small affordable rewards as resilience infrastructure.
Source
VML, The Future 100: 2026 (2026)
VML Intelligence (Emma Chiu, Marie Stafford)
The Future 100: 2026, s. 108 and 179 (Treatonomics); McKinsey State of the Consumer 2025
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