Gain a new perspective on consumer attitudes toward the pandemic, consumer spending, what they’re looking for in the future, and how you can help meet their needs.
The wave of infections caused by the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to subside in the U.S., but the road to a “new normal” still looks rough. The virus and its effects are likely to linger for the near future, even as health experts expect more variants to emerge. It is no longer realistic to expect an obvious and explicit distinction between pandemic and post-pandemic times. It’s also unlikely consumers will return to their pre-pandemic behaviors anytime soon, if ever. Understanding how consumers have adjusted to the pandemic and how they are moving forward with their lives is essential for brands, retailers, and agencies, like Compass Marketing, to better serve them.
BUILDING A “NEW NORMAL”
The ongoing pandemic presents an opportunity for brands and retailers to collaborate with consumers to shape the new normal. Nearly half of consumers (49%) expect “life will remain significantly changed even after COVID-19”, according to the EY Future Consumer Index.1 Even as the data suggests consumers have normalized the new behaviors and habits they adopted during the pandemic, additional data from EY shows 77% of consumers “want to get back to a feeling of normality”.2 While consumers clearly recognize conditions have changed, they still want to feel some of the “normality” they previously felt.
AFFORDABILITY IS A CONCERN
Data shows consumers are also concerned about price and are reexamining their personal financial decisions. More than half, 58%, of U.S. consumers highlight “price and product availability” as critical parts of their path to purchase.1 Given the supply chain issues that affected markets and industries around the world in 2021, it is not especially surprising to see these concerns so widespread.
Of course, consumers are not identical and additional research from EY shows generational factors need to be considered as well. Baby Boomer and Gen X consumers rank price and affordability as their top concern moving forward (35% and 26%, respectively).2 In fact, for these consumers, price and affordability outrank other issues like sustainability, experiences, society, and health. This contrasts with younger consumers. Millennial and Gen Z consumers are far less concerned by both price and affordability.2
However, with more than half of U.S. consumers expressing a desire to save more than in the past, price should not be overlooked as a potential barrier to purchase.1 After living through multiple years of a pandemic that has upended life around the globe, it is understandable that consumers are more cautious than they may have been in the past.
GREATER EMPHASIS ON VALUE & EXPERIENCE
Moving forward, brands may have a greater impact with consumers by emphasizing value and experiences. EY found “58% [of U.S. consumers] will be more focused on value for money in the future”, so it’s important to make sure consumers feel that they are getting the most value for their money.1
Research indicates younger consumers appreciate experiences, so brands and retailers may be able to add value to products and services by promoting the experiential aspect of the purchase. Globally, younger generations—namely Millennials and Gen Z—want to align their lives around sustainability and experiences.2 Similar changes are occurring among U.S. consumers of roughly the same ages, although U.S. consumers prioritize experiences (36% of Gen Z and 37% of Millennials) over sustainability (25% of Gen Z and 27% of Millennials).2
Experiences may be offline, online, or a combination of both, but they do not have to be complicated. Simply making the effort to connect a product or service with an issue consumers care about can improve the shopping experience. For example, the priority younger consumers place on sustainability presents an opportunity for brands or retailers to highlight the changes they are making to operate more sustainably, or even how individual purchases are contributing to that overall effort.
Similarly, adding value does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be as simple as showcasing how a product can enrich consumers’ lives. For example, sharing the healthful benefits of each ingredient in a product may help appeal more to Baby Boomer consumers, who, research indicates, place a high priority on their health.2
LOOKING AHEAD
The pandemic years have shown how brands and retailers can thrive by responding to the current needs of their customers, even when those times are uncertain. As the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, our recommendation is simple and is one we follow with all the brands we serve: Build the future together. These are unprecedented times, but there is always an opportunity to collaborate to deliver remarkable results.
SOURCES
- Future Consumer Index. EY. https://www.ey.com/en_us/future-consumer-index
- Rogers, K. (2021, Nov 17). “People are moving on; be part of their normal”. EY. https://www.ey.com/en_us/consumer-products-retail/as-consumers-move-on-stay-close
