Consumer behavior is an important area to watch because it helps you determine how customers are buying, consuming, selecting and disposing products and services. The thing with consumer behavior is that it changes over time. So what are the trends for 2015? And what are consumers expecting from the products and services that they buy?
1. Hyper Efficiency. Customers are looking for smarter and more efficient ways to address problems and issues, and for products that help people solve old problems in new ways or help them save on controlled resources such as limited space. Consumers are also looking for more functionalities and features in a single product. This might even mean utilizing assets that were previously unused. It might also involve collaborative platforms and serious games that bring together our imagination and intelligence.
2. The New Industrial Revolution. This is when science comes into the mix and is more accessible for everyone. The new industrial revolution is ensuring that technological advances are available for everybody to use, rather than remain as the exclusive domain of experts and geeks. For instance, with 3D printing, everyone can manufacture his or her own products to sell.
3. Escape. Products that allow adults to enjoy childlike freedom and joy, or allow them to forget, even if it’s just for a moment, their obligations and responsibilities. In 2015, consumers would be buying products that, in the past, have been thought to be frivolous or silly. Not only that, consumers are also looking for occasions that give them opportunities to just let go of their inhibitions and responsibilities. Today’s consumers are more self-indulgent than before.
4. Super-personalized. In the past, personalization has always been a choice made by the consumers. In 2015, it is technology that personalizes their experiences for them, without the consumer having to ask for it.
5. Multiplicity, which is when you expect products to do more and give you new and more sensory experiences with it. Consumers are now looking for products and services that allow them to interact with it rather than just looking on. Active participation would put your product ahead of the rest. And consumers want their senses to be bombarded, even if it means confusing their senses. This is also seen in narratives. Today’s consumers want multiple stories on multiple platforms instead of just one story.
6. Mindfulness. Mindfulness is just another form of intensity. Today’s consumers want to have more meaning in their lives. Instead of leisure activities that are merely focused on seeking pleasure, today’s consumers would prefer a mix of pleasure and self-development. They want to disconnect from technology and the Internet. Another aspect of mindfulness is that today’s consumers are more aware of their impact so they are much more ethically conscious of the products that they buy and support.
What do all of these trends mean to manufacturers and brands? Today’s consumers are looking for intensity and wholeheartedness in the products that they buy. It helps improve their experiences so that they could live richer and fuller lives. As such, brands and manufacturers would do well by striving hard to meet these expectations, no more half-hearted efforts and mediocre products.
