The key findings from the “Future Consumer” research make it clear that consumer behavior is evolving and that retail and consumer products companies need to anticipate these changes in order to be part of, or even influence, the changes.
- Consumers are dissatisfied with their current shopping environments.
- Online shopping will grow rapidly.
- Sustainability and other environmental issues will increasingly influence shopping behavior.
- Consumers appreciate receiving personalized offerings, although this differs depending on the product category.
- Health and wellness will be a growing factor in consumer buying decisions.
- Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of a wide range of new and emerging technologies that can be used during the buying process – at home, in stores and on-the-go.
- Overall, consumers are willing to share some types of information – but they are reluctant about sharing their contact details.
Consumers are dissatisfied with their current shopping environments
The importance of better understanding consumer needs and demands in the coming decade was underlined by the fact that respondents were largely dissatisfied with their existing shopping options. For example, just 9% of consumers said they were satisfied with their perishable food outlets. At the high end of the satisfaction scale were book and music stores, yet still only 19% of consumers were happy with these outlets.
Online shopping will grow rapidly
Although physical stores will remain the channel of choice for most consumers in the coming decade (especially for food products), the importance of online shopping will grow. This is particularly true in the case of books/music and electronics: 38% of consumers said they expect to buy all or the majority of their books/music purchases online within the next five years; and 24% of respondents expect to buy all or the majority of their electronics over the Internet.
The anticipated growth in online shopping may lead to the emergence of new delivery models. For example, while the bulk of consumers want their online orders to be delivered to their home, close to 20% said they would like a neighborhood pick-up model, particularly for perishable food and DIY products.
Sustainability and other environmental issues will increasingly influence shopping behavior
Sustainability aspects that were identified as most important to consumers in their future buying decisions were energy/water usage (named by 87% of respondents), waste reduction/management (85%) and sustainable manufacturing features (84%). Although sustainability was deemed to be important by most consumers, the majority were willing to pay only a small price difference for products that supported these features.
Consumers appreciate receiving personalized offerings, although this differs depending on the product category
More than half of respondents said they would value personalized offerings (such as special products and promotions that are focused specifically on the individual consumer and not available to everyone) for books/ music and electronics, but only about one-third would appreciate personalisation for perishable food.
Health and wellness will be a growing factor in consumer buying decisions
More than eight out of 10 respondents said health and wellness issues (including diet and obesity care) would be important or extremely important to them over the coming years.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of a wide range of new and emerging technologies that can be used during the buying process – at home, in stores and on-the-go
Many respondents were familiar with technologies such as web ordering, blogs/web forums, in-store kiosks, payment via mobile phone and mobile alerts. However, it may take time before some of these technologies gain significant traction. A smaller percentage anticipated using the different types of technology in the future, compared with the percentage who had heard of the technologies.
Overall, consumers are willing to share some types of information – but they are reluctant about sharing their contact details
About half of respondents said they would be willing to share with retailers and manufacturers information about their buying behavior and lifestyle, but only 36% were willing to share contact information. Many consumers who were willing to share information expected something in return, particularly special promotions.
The key findings demonstrate that consumers behavior will change in the future. Will your business be able to anticipate and adapt to this change? Companies must rethink their strategies in a number of areas. Here’s what it will take to be ready for the future consumer.
