What do today’s consumers want from their shopping experience?

Consumers are driven by a need for speed. The modern shopping experience is one that should be fast and easy.

Build Back Better

In this first trend, consumers demand that companies care beyond revenue; they no longer perceive businesses as profit-driven entities. Protecting the health and interest of society and the planet is the new expectation to Build Back Better. Companies should help reshape the world more sustainably, leading a shift from a volume- to a value-driven economy and turning the tide on social inequity and environmental damage.

Craving Convenience

Consumers crave the convenience of the pre-pandemic world, longing for the ease taken for granted before their upended daily habits. Businesses are under pressure to rapidly adapt their operations to developing a resilient customer experience while maintaining convenience. Companies must preserve the swift and seamless shopping journey across all channels.

Outdoor Oasis

Health threats, indoor meetings, mobility restrictions, and the rise of remote working result in consumers turning to the outdoors for leisure and recreation. Some are even considering moving from densely populated cities to rural areas. Businesses incorporated advanced health measures and moved events outside, allowing consumers to reconnect out of the home more safely. Companies should pivot their product development strategy to encompass the tranquillity of rural living in urban environments to satisfy city-scapers better.

Phygital Reality

Phygital Reality is a hybrid of physical and virtual worlds where consumers can seamlessly live, work, shop, and play both in-person and online. Digital tools allow consumers to stay connected while at home and re-enter the outside world safely as economies reopen. Businesses can integrate virtual processes into their physical spaces to give consumers who prefer to stay home the comfort to venture out instead. Delivering virtually enabled at-home experiences remains imperative to drive e-commerce sales and gather data.

Playing With Time

Consumers are now both able and forced to be more creative with their time to get everything done. Businesses should provide solutions that address the consumer desire to maximize time, offering increased flexibility, especially with products and services they can access from or near the home.

Safety Obsessed

Safety Obsessed is the new wellness movement. The fear of infection and increased health awareness drive demand for hygiene products and push consumers towards contactless solutions to avoid exposure. Companies should implement enhanced safety measures and innovations that target concerns to reassure consumers.

Shaken and Stirred

The global pandemic reconfigured daily lives, testing mental resilience, restricting experiences, and provoking economic shocks. Consumers have a new understanding of themselves and their place in the world to pursue a more fulfilled, balanced, and self-improved life. Businesses must provide products and services that support resiliency for mental wellbeing and help Shaken and Stirred consumers weather adverse circumstances.

Thoughtful Thrifters

Discretionary spending is declining due to the uncertain economic environment. Thoughtful Thrifters are prioritizing value-added and health-conscious products and services. Companies should pivot towards value for money propositions, offering affordable options without sacrificing quality. Premium attributes should be reinforced with a new empathetic story and have a strong tie-in with health and wellness, self-care, or mental wellbeing.

Workplaces in New Spaces

Out of office took a new meaning in 2020. Workplaces in New Spaces had a rippling effect on consumer life, from clothing choices to technology spend to eating habits and beyond. Consumers are searching for new ways to define the beginning and end of their workdays as they struggle to manage their time. Businesses must support work-life balance, productivity, and communication needs. Understanding the benefits and challenges of working remotely allows companies to bring the best of the office into the home.

How should companies respond?

Given the long-lasting changes to consumer behavior resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, pinpointing these trends has never been more critical for businesses.

Brands should focus more than ever on affordable, value-added products and services. Just as consumers have had to reimagine their homes to be more multifunctional, brick-and-mortar stores must reimagine their physical spaces to accommodate new ways of doing business while providing the safety and convenience consumers desire.

Investing in technology and virtual experiences is critical to facilitate engagement with consumers both online and in person. Purpose-driven initiatives will resonate with consumers in 2021. Amidst social unrest, consumers want the facts and expect brands to act. Communicating with compassion and supporting mental wellbeing are critical attributes to drive brand loyalty.

Top 10 Global Consumer Trends 2021 | Market Research …. https://www.euromonitor.com/top-10-global-consumer-trends-2021/report

Euromonitor publish TOP 10 GLOBAL CONSUMER TRENDS 2021 …. https://www.packagingtoday.co.uk/features/featureeuromonitor-publish-top-10-global-consumer-trends-2021-8486040/