Chicago: The internal think tank of international strategy and management firm Kearney said that a new consumer research report from the Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI) “upends much of the conventional wisdom around brand proliferation, over-reliance on data, and consumer choices.”
Based on survey data from 14,000 customers in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and U.S., the report, Keeping Up with the Consumer, explores the erratic, “seemingly quixotic behaviors” of consumers. Additionally, the “underlying tension points that explain them” are identified, and the conclusion is that companies are “massively under-accounting for the human element that drives purchase decisions.”
According to Katie Thomas, KCI lead, “brands have more data than ever before about consumer demographics, behavior, spending, and opinions.” However, we continue to classify consumer behavior as “unpredictable.” Our study identified three major consumer conflicts that contribute to the explanation of this behavior. The lives of customers are only becoming more complex as access and options increase. We can become engrossed in one side of a story without understanding the burden it places on customers.
The study determined that this “unpredictable” behavior was caused by the following three friction points:
Options versus overload: Customers appear to anticipate a product that meets their dietary, fitness, and skin type needs. However, the majority of customers feel that there is already a lot, if not too much, to select from in many important categories.
Curation versus control: According to two out of three consumers, they prefer to make all of their own decisions. However, the KCI points out that it makes reasonable that customers would require and desire some degree of curation in order to understand all of their options.
Facts versus feelings: Although consumers have limited time, energy, and drive, they prefer to “do their own research” and have greater faith in themselves than in institutions and companies.
Following the release of the KCI’s The Future Consumer in 2016, Keeping Up with the Consumer also examines changes in consumer behavior. Then, in a socially motivated strategy based on “authenticity,” businesses were emphasizing the power of influence. But when the “influence” strategy proliferated, it began to seem less genuine and lost some of its attractiveness. In the meantime, significant changes in the consumer scene, such as COVID-19, political upheaval, and the rise of new social media and retail platforms, contributed to the consolidation of this significant transformation.
Retailers and brands are not “striking the right balance between facts versus feelings, curation versus control, and too many choices,” according to new study from the KCI.
According to Thomas, “retailers and brands will better navigate the mindset of the future consumer to address their needs when they balance the tension, applying emotional intelligence and great merchandising.” The push-pull between customers and brands is evident here. Brands should occasionally guide consumers, but other times it’s best to follow their lead. The secret is to comprehend the intricate, subtle, and perhaps surprising conflicts that will arise next.
Visit KCI’s website to read the study in its entirety and to find out additional information.
