This happens because every 2 years (centered around promotional cycles) managerial types will demand a UX study where they ask participants something to the eff

This happens because every 2 years (centered around promotional cycles) managerial types will demand a UX study where they ask participants something to the effect of, "On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate [product] on looking modern?" And anything less than a perfect 'modern' (an impossible goal) means the whole thing needs to adapt to whatever god awful design trend is going around.