Many of us are ruled by the fear of missing out. Behavioural economists have long talked about how FOMO affects our decision making. Increasingly, the term has made its way into everyday conversation – from having that pudding after hearing a friend’s menu choice, to buying festival tickets you can’t quite afford #FOMO.
We want to soak up as much as we can, breathe it all in and celebrate with souvenirs (photos, posts, and likes). The downsides of this desire to experience it all and shout about it too are getting more apparent. It’s like running our own Sunday supplement! It’s exhausting. We can feel pressured to produce an endless lifestyle highlights reel, feel compelled to say a big fat YES to every offer that comes our way. But wait, there’s a new acronym in town! Meet JOMO, the calmer, more nurturing sibling – the joy of missing out.
JOMO is here to save us from the overwhelm of our own making. JOMO frees us from obligations. It says ‘stay home, cancel your plans’. It gives us permission to duck experiences we don’t fancy or can’t afford. Of course, we’ve all taken last-minute rain checks and told white lies to avoid the dull or effortful. JOMO takes this further. Not only do you dodge the giant night out when you’re feeling too tired, or the meal at that restaurant with eye-watering prices. With JOMO there’s a side-helping of guilt-free reassurance that you’re not a total loser or aging faster than you can say birthday.
Whether we recognise it in ourselves or not, this JOMO instinct is powerful, and brands are cashing in – largely by focussing on the J in the acronym. The thing is we still want some joy! Without this it really is just plain missing out. Here are some winners…
- Leading the tribe is Dominoes and its celebration of JOMO. Naturally, we see Just Eat and Deliveroo winning here too – tasty food without leaving the sofa is the very definition of joy!
- Of course, any streaming service lends itself brilliantly to indulging in some downtime, and we predict Netflix, Amazon and Apple’s race to provide the most addictive, jaw-dropping content will only heat up,
- Fashion brands who emphasise luxurious loungewear are well placed – we are prepared to spend big on feeling cosy and looking chic whilst doing so.
- Luxury-led home brands are set to benefit – from high-priced candles to high-thread count sheets, we’ll want to invest in our nests if we’re to spend more evenings in them.
- And finally, could JOMO give quality food and drink a nudge too? We’ve seen specialist wine brands like Naked and Laithwaites fly recently. Perhaps splurging on the refreshments reassures us we aren’t boring or past it.
So, at your earliest convenience, get your comfies on, put your feet up, order some noodles, light the candles, open wine, mindlessly scroll Netflix, debate what to watch and then settle on that re-run of Friends. JOMO would want you to.
