5 big consumer trends
Slow Show
Consumers are overwhelmed by life pace
Consumers are increasingly overwhelmed by the world in which they live in. There is a genuine issue emerging within society that consumers are yearning for peace, silence and leisure time. Society is undergoing a revolutionary change; the time has come to transform the way we live our lives. Consumers are beginning to prioritise, to find out what really matters to them, to re-establish who they are and what they stand for.
The era of 'life balance' is upon us, consumers are reflecting on their life choices and beginning to search for an opportunity to 'slow down' and take a back seat to live their lives not have them pass by insignificantly. Consumers will begin to focus on 'living life' with the focus being on pace and the idealism that surrounds the individual; family, friends, workload and intensity of lifestyle all increasingly measured to equate to better quality and standard of living.
Society craves time solutions, traditionally consumers seek products and services to speed up their lifestyles; on the go convenience, quick fixes, speed solutions, now there is a growing desire for products and services that enable consumers to slow down to enjoy and experience their personal leisure time.
Consumers are beginning to prioritise, to find out what really matters to them, to re-establish who they are and what they stand for.
As this consumer trend evolves consumers will demonstrate a 'backlash' to instant gratification, speed fixes equate to more time but also increased pace of solution. This has created a new found joy in 'savouring the moment', waiting for something good or special. One example of this new thinking is children and snacking, there is an argument that modern society needs to be less instantaneous and focus on the appreciation associated with hankering after and not being in control.
Product evolution has also been reflective of the trend to 'slow down'; multi-tasking products have seen the parallel development of uni-tasking products. Uni-tasking is the concentration of a product on achieving one individual goal in a specialist arena. This evolution demonstrates the need for brands to focus on their core strengths and offer consumers specialist product stories that include passing on brand expertise in an informative, educational fashion, whilst proactively touching the consumers? psyche for slowing down.
*Note this is an extract, for more new consumer and lifestyle trends see the all new liquidrock 'Future Footprints' report, available from April 2007