Is “body type analysis” becoming the mainstream for Generation Z? What are the latest search word trends?

Recently, body type and personal color analysis have become popular among women. We have seen many products that suggest styles based on results of the analyses, such as “Recommendations for Wave Body Shapes”. While these analyses are popular because they help understand body structure and skin color to find the styles and colors that suit and to help prevent fashion mistakes, there are also a certain number of people who think that people should wear whatever they want without being bound by the analyses. In this article, we explored the recent trends regarding points to consider when choosing fashion.

First, let's review the recent fashion trends among Generation Z women. In the top 10 bottoms ranking by the online fashion brand, GRL, which is supported mainly by women in their 10s and 20s and boasts more than 3 million members, three types of mermaid skirts were ranked.

The brand also sells 32 other types of mermaid skirts, indicating their high popularity. Mermaid skirts also ranked second and third in the popularity ranking of skirts on ZOZOTOWN, one of Japan's largest online fashion sites.

By taking a look at the trend of users searching for “mermaid skirt” on the online activity log analysis tool “Dockpit”, we can see that the number of search users was increasing steadily, and in October 2021, about 20,000 people searched for it.

Regarding user age attributes, the overwhelming majority of users are in their 20s, followed by a high level of interest from those in their 10s and 30s. As for gender, more than 90% of the users were female. These suggest that mermaid skirts are a trend among women in their 20s.

So, what are the users who search for mermaid skirts interested in and what are they trying to find? Let's look at search purposes by cross-searched keywords.

In addition to the aforementioned popular brands that sell mermaid skirts such as GRL, the words “body shape wave”, “body shape natural”, and “body shape straight” also ranked highly. It seems that one of the searchers' interests is to find out which body type that mermaid skirts go well with.

The analysis of “mermaid skirt” searchers revealed that they are interested in their body type when choosing clothes. So, what is body type anyway? A body type is a classification of the differences in body structure that a person is born with. By knowing your own body structure, you can find out what materials and shapes suit you and enjoy fashion more.

According to a survey conducted by MERY, more than 70% of people are aware of the existence of body type analysis, and about 30% said they had actually been analyzed. There are also “personal color analysis” and “face type analysis” indicating that it is becoming more and more common to know oneself through these kinds of analyses. (Reference: “There is no right answer, but you want to know the right answer? Body Type Analysis, Face Type Analysis, and the Psychology of Seeking Answers in Analyses” https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/39340/1/1/1)

Let's take a look at the search trends for “3 body types” using Dockpit. We can see that the focus of attention has increased further since the beginning of 2021, and has remained at a very high level until now.

From the user attributes, we can know that the overwhelming majority of searchers were in their 20s, with women accounting for more than 90%. This indicates that body type analysis is typical among women in their 20s.

Let's take a closer look at the activities of users to find out what they are interested in when it comes to body type analysis. The word network below shows the closely related words that “3 body types” searchers are also searching for.

The second level of words associated with “body type straight” in the center are words such as “outfits” and “one-piece dress”. It is thought that users are searching for fashions that suit them after learning about their own body shape. Words such as “celebrity” and “brand” were also found, indicating that the users were also searching for images that would serve as references for fashion.

In addition, in the “interest word” section, which allows us to survey the keywords that users are interested in, most of the words were analysis-related words such as “yellow-based autumn type” and “face type” (“yellow-based autumn type” refers to people who look good in yellow-based autumn colors, yellowish colors, and dull and deep colors). The ranking result also suggests that the users are also interested in other analyses such as personal color analysis and face type analysis.

The most popular inflow page was “Body Type Analysis! Find items, outfits, materials that suit you”. This page is an article about how to do a body type analysis and then find suitable outfits.

This study revealed that body type analysis and other fashion-related analyses are becoming mainstream among women in their 20s. The three types of body structures were also used to search for the mermaid skirt trend, indicating that these analyses are used as references for fashion selection. In particular, the number of searches for body type analysis has remained high since the beginning of 2021, and women in their 20s are particularly interested in it.

From the above, we can see that for today's women in their 20s, whether or not something looks good on their own body structure and skin tone is an important factor in choosing fashion. It would be our honor if this study can support any future works or businesses.

The data in this investigation is gathered from “Dockpit”, an analysis tool with online behavior log data and user demographic information under the permission of panelists in Japan presented by VALUES, Inc.

※The numbers of users are estimated by the data in the monitor and the internet population in Japan.