February 9, 2007
Consumer markets are all about customised lifestyles
Delivering high quality products and services in today’s consumer markets is a given. However, “redefining quality” will be the decade’s leading market trend, market research firm The Hartman Group predicts.
In 2007, a sobering realisation will dawn on many business leaders: “old, mass-era status symbols” are no longer every consumer’s aspiration.
In a traditional consumer society, dealing with and selling to people always boiled down to one thing: status.
“He or she who consumed the most, the best, the coolest, the most expensive, the scarcest or the most popular goods; typically gained the most status,” says Trendwatching.com founder, Reinier Evers.
But global markets are changing - dramatically. And so are societies and individual lifestyles.
People no longer function within societal culture. “Today, the market is our culture... a consumer culture," says Washington-based health and wellness market research firm, the Hartman Group (Hartman).
Today, there are unlimited ways to achieve social status. It therefore seems somewhat dated to attach value to “hoarding as many branded luxury goods as possible”, Evers points out.
Mature consumer cultures are characterised by “physical abundance; saturation; experiences; virtual worlds; individualism; participation; and feelings of guilt and concern about the side-effects of unbridled consumption,” he adds.
Brands need to provide consumers with aspirational connections, Hartman adds. This kind of empowerment, ownership and investment breeds brand loyalty.
Transient lifestyles
Evers believes 2007 will see the rise of a new type of consumer: the so-called “Transumer”, who undermines the perceived value (and therefore status) of fixed goods and services.
“Transumers” bore easily and are obsessed with the here and now. These consumers have a very short satisfaction span and crave collecting as many experiences and stories as possible.
They live a transient lifestyle, which liberates them from the hassles of permanent ownership. They are driven by entertainment, by discovery, and importantly, by experiences - rather than the ownership of fixed goods and services.
MD of South African marketing and strategy consultancy PiKE Strategic, Walter Pike believes, “The entire energy of every organisation should be focussed on one thing – the customer experience.”
Customer experience boils down to the total physical and remote interface between a specific customer and the company, its products and services.
“This is where the customer is amazed, satisfied or disappointed,” Pike explains.
“Business success (and profitability) is simply a function of whether a company delivers a consistent experience that meets or exceeds the customer’s expectations,” he adds.
“The brand is created when the customer’s expectations meet his or her experience.”
The authentic lifestyle
There is an increasing demand for authenticity. Consumers want to connect with the products and brands they choose - products and brands that are real, unpretentious and simple.
However, products or services only resonate with consumers if they experience them as truly authentic, Hartman points out.
The challenge, therefore, lies in delivering high quality experiences - authentic and valuable brand and product interactions - for which consumers will gladly pay a premium.
The connecting lifestyle
Consumers will continue to seek out the authentic through connections to people and places that stretch across nationalities and continents.
Brands that invite and incorporate customers into the entire brand will be the most successful, says Hartman.
Forward-thinking brands will therefore not only connect with consumers, but will also connect consumers with each other.”
In a post-material world, all that’s left to covet is other people,” says Evers. “From networking sites … to a boom in members-only clubs, ‘Social Status 2.0’ is all about who you connect to and who wants to connect to you, tribal-style.”
The Master of the YOUniverse lifestyle
Consumers are no longer passive bystanders. Instead, they actively reinvent the marketplace.
According to Evers, an empowered, better informed and switched on consumer is at the core of all consumer trends. This type of consumer, which Trendwatching.com dubbed “Master of the YOUniverse”, creates his or her own playground, comfort zone and universe.
Linked by a worldview that embraces a spirit of communication, cooperation, self-expression, creativity, do-it-yourself empowerment, and limitless possibility, “consumers are not content to watch from the sidelines,” says author of ‘Mind Your X's and Y's: Satisfying the 10 Cravings of a New Generation of Consumer’ Lisa Johnson.
It is all about control and co-creation. “They … make companies deliver whatever and whenever, on their own terms,” Evers adds.
People’s belief that they can do most things themselves (and do them better than the experts) mainly drives the trend towards empowerment and control, says Hartman.
“Psychologists don't agree on much, except for the belief that human beings want to be in charge of their own destiny. Or at least have the illusion of being in charge,” Evers points out.
Consumers now gain control in entirely new ways. “Aided by an online, low cost, creativity-hugging revolution that is still in its infancy; young and old (but particularly young) weave webs of unrivalled connectivity and relish in instant knowledge gratification.”
The Participative lifestyle
Evers believes participation is the new consumption, especially for younger consumers. For these young creatives, status comes from finding an appreciative audience.
Status symbols are making way for status skills; says Evers, highlighting the growing importance of creative skills development.
Consumers are increasingly coming to value consumption; not as a means to fulfil specific needs, but as a source of productive activity.
People use consumer products as source material for creative expression, fun and productivity.
The Simple lifestyle
Though consumers insist on variety, it often adds to their perceived time pressures, confusion and stress.
The antidote to the perceived complexity and stress of modern life is simplicity. People equate living simply with living well.
Consumers are increasingly intolerant and wary of complex product offerings. Hartman believes in 2007, consumers will resonate with simple packaging, simple language and simple imagery.
“Design has emerged as a sign of the good life. The look and feel of objects, places, and things, is becoming increasingly important,” says Johnson.
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“Design is shifting paradigms and spurring people everywhere to rethink established products and industries,” she adds.
“In an increasingly competitive market, design, along with its strategic twin, innovation, is a vital tool to stand out and stay strong.”
The Eco-lifestyle
With sustainability high up on the global agenda and millions of consumers actively trying to green-ify their lives, status from leading an eco-responsible lifestyle is readily available and becoming increasingly valuable, says Evers.
“Brands that take a proactive role in environmental stewardship align with consumer values - to self, to family, to community,” says Hartman.
“Sustainability embodies direct physical, mental, emotional and social benefits” and “empowers consumers to control their futures (self, family, community and beyond).”
“Make it green, make it chic, make it effortless, make it visible, and don't hesitate to point out your competitor's polluting alternatives,” Evers adds.
The made-to-order lifestyle
More than ever, people are spoilt for customised choice, which will increasingly result in consumers seeking out the new and demonstrating almost no loyalty to brands.
“Such explosive variety in the marketplace allows for intensified customisation and personalization in daily living,” Hartman points out.
This trend increases consumer’s demand for information with functional and emotional benefits.
“One thing you can't go wrong with in 2007 is to ask …how your current and new products and experiences will satisfy a plethora of very diverse status seekers,” Evers notes.
“In fact, once you get rid of the habit of only believing in traditional status symbols, there is no end to the number of status lifestyles you'll be able to identify.
This exercise generally sparks debates on “what exactly constitutes value and meaning, and to whom, these days,” Evers notes.
trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated consumer trends firm, relying on a global network of 8,000 spotters, working hard to deliver inspiration and pangs of anxiety to business professionals in 120+ countries worldwide. For more info, check out our latest (and free) Trend Briefing.
