“When all this is over”, an overused phrase if ever there was one, what can we expect from the post-corona consumer? At first we’re likely to experience a period of unleashed consumption which has been suppressed for months in isolation and lockdown. When consumer spending returns to normal, it’s unlikely that behaviour will revert back to exactly the way things were. The unprecedented measures to contain the virus, the uncertainty, the potential financial instability, and the weeks spent in their homes will have provided many consumers with time to reflect and have altered behaviours – some of which may stick, if only in the medium term.
Two types of post-corona consumer
Initially two main types of consumer are likely to emerge:
1. The first will be those who have felt cooped up in their home, and will embrace the newfound freedom. They will dine out more, travel more, and be more social than ever.
2. The other group will have become more connected to their homes: the home cooking, the family time, the slower pace. Many will be more cautious of time spent in the big wide world.
6 key trends for the post-corona consumer
We believe that 6 main trends will emerge from the crisis, which are examined in detail in our free white paper – the post-corona consumer – download it here.
1. Hyper-connected consumer
Since lock down, 9,000,000,000 mins of video meetings are being hosted on Microsoft Teams each week. Google searches on ‘language learning’ are up 100% yoy. Facebook Group calls are up +1000% in the last month. Web content download traffic up 90%. (Source: The Goat Agency.) What does this mean for future behaviour?
2. (Virtual) Experience Economy
With music acts canceling tours, museums and art galleries closing their doors and the no Olympics, there will be a massive void in people’s lives. But immersive new technologies mean that people can increasingly get their experiential fix from the virtual world. In the ‘new normal’ expect these, and other virtual experiences to take on new levels of meaning. A photo on instagram probably won’t cut it anymore!
3. Ambient wellness
It takes 6 weeks for a new habit to be formed. Habits formed within this lockdown will take a while to shift. Consumers were already becoming more health conscious, more aware of their mental health, more aware of the need to slow down & de-stress and spend time with the family. Whether we end up with a nation of OCD hand washers or just a significant number of consumers who are more health conscious, more aware of their mental health, more aware of the need to slow down & de-stress and spend time with the family – we expect the health and wellness trend to further spike.
4. Delivery
Consumers are using delivery when they would never have considered it before, and that includes groceries AND meal deliveries. MANY more restaurants, convenience stores, pubs, bakeries, and the like are all now offering delivery when they had had no intention of doing so before. Only 7% of UK consumers were using delivery apps on a weekly basis before this crisis – that figure is looking to be around 24% right now. Consumers are currently accepting kinks that WILL NOT be acceptable in less challenging times.
5. Never Forget
Social and environmental concerns, or CSR, are all getting far more important to consumers – what your brand does now will define how it is seen post-crisis. Don’t screw it up.
6. Connection & Collaboration
Consumers are connecting with neighbours, old friends, their children, their partners even more than ever despite being on lockdown – because many have more time to do so. An increased acceptance and ability to try video conferencing, like Zoom, mean people are actually speaking more regularly in many cases. Many businesses are at it too. Connecting and collaborating with new partners and even direct competitors.
If you’d like more information on the above post-corona consumer trends, then you can download a copy of our free white paper or contact us for more information at hello@kam-media.co.uk. Stay safe.
