Recession-savvy Consumers Don’t Buy. They Shop.
If your work as a marketer is beginning to seriously conflict with your personal views about consuming wisely – you are not alone. Helping to sell more products – as you envision your friends and neighbors already on tight budgets – just feels wrong. But there are a few things in our culture and marketplace today that actually align for those brands that honestly deliver on their promises.
1) The fact that men are perhaps starting to shop a bit more like women means that a greater number of consumers are going beyond simply linear “buying” toward the more complex paths of “shopping.” By that I mean, those people are not just buying the first thing they see, but really giving it some thought, weighing their options and trying to be truer to their longer term needs/interests and how the product fits therein.
2) As well, the current poor economy has affected consumers of all income levels (and both genders) to think beyond “buying.” While bottom line price definitely factors in more strongly at the moment, today’s consuming approach, for men and women, is to make sure the product or service they are about to purchase endures. Making money s-t-r-e-t-c-h takes “shopping,” not “buying” experience.
3) Finally, consumers are truly forcing the issue of sustainable business practices and brands. Pre-recession, when they could still, generally, afford to choose more expensive products, shopping minds had long since been dialing in, reading labels and combing corporate websites for the extra information they needed to make a purchase decision. And so, simple “buying” is not an option for these folks, even now. Instead, these consumers are driven to spend time “shopping” and more deliberately weighing their choices – seeing the purchase process as an opportunity to let their sustainable interests be heard.
Some marketers may prefer to ignore the elephant in the room, but it’s just too large, gray and scaly (figuratively): Consumers are purposefully consuming less. Respecting and serving that careful shopping, not buying, mindset may be the toughest challenge for brands. But, long term customer relationships that last beyond this recession will be the grand prize.
Get to know the cautious, money-stretching, sustainability-seeking, shopping men and women in your market now. Buying season is over.
