Covid19 as a major life event
How are you? How are you and your consumers coping as the nation transits into the state of endemic living? Behavior research has shown ramifications of consumers’ behavior echoing Covid19 as a major life event that has brought about not just changes but disruptions to the lives of people worldwide since 2 years ago. According to The Association for Consumer Research, in consumers’ efforts to cope with stressful life changes and adjustment to new life conditions, they have reflected changes in their consumption of products and services.
Consumers now have shifted priorities on the products and services that they “consume”. Circumstances such as lockdowns, or something we are all familiar with – Circuit Breaker, the days when consumers (you and I included), scurried to supermarkets to stock up on essentials don’t seem too far away, do they? With Sheng Shiong’s 84% jump in its net profit and PwC Research’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2020, evidently, since the outbreak Covid19, consumers are spending most on basic needs such as groceries as compared to shopping and dining out. Affected financial aspects of consumers could be the reason behind shifted priorities. Some experience a higher disposable income as they earn without a chance to spend, while others experience a lower disposable income and are looking for bargains and deals as they shift their priorities to meet basic needs in a more cost-effective manner.
Acceleration of E-commerce tied in with Consumers’ Behaviours affected by Covid19
How do Brands then increase saliency and stay relevant in the midst of the rise of E-Commerce and shifts in Consumers’ Behaviours?
The “Showing Up” effect:
You will be surprised at how important and influential your brand can be just by showing up! In Google’s ‘Decoding Decisions’ Research, it was reflected that consumers can be swayed away from their preferred brand just by showing them a second brand. Not all hope is gone when brands experience a lower offline presence, looking into increasing virtual presence can be the next big move. Think, Brand Bidding?
As Early As Possible:
The early bird catches the worm. This holds some truth in our context. Looking at the shifts in consumers’ behaviour, there is room to explore triggering consumers as early as during the stage of awareness. Search in pandemic times occurs as early as during the awareness stage. Why so? With information readily available through search, consumers are now in a constant state of discovery as compared to pre-Covid times. Though the earlier stages of consumer’s journey are seemingly far from the purchase stage, it is still essential for brands to tap on opportunities to maximise incrementality. Afterall, what matters if you don’t bring your brand to existence in the initial stages of a consumer’s journey? Being in a constant state of discovery also means your consumers are on the lookout for options, making comparisons, and chances are your competitors are also in the game field. Can your brand still afford to wait at the purchase point of your consumers’ journeys?
Tapping on Current Search
Trends: “How to”, “Does it work”, and “Is ____ better than____?”, these are common and current modifiers of what consumers search up online. It is only normal, as humans we want to steer clear of bad decisions. What seems like negative connotations tied to our search strategies today may just be opportunities for brands to prove to consumers that they are worth it. The chatter online amongst consumers could be a leverage for brands to “show up as early as possible” into consumers’ journeys – right from where they start to Search and gain awareness of your brand.
Covid19 may have brought about changes and shifts in consumers’ behaviours, limiting brands’ visibility offline, but it has surely opened up another world of opportunities where E-Commerce is on the rise and Search becomes an integral part of both brands and consumers journey. Bearing in mind your consumers’ shift in priorities and behaviours, how can brands be active in being there for their consumers as they navigate deeper into the Search Engine?
We could use some help in order to survive and prosper in the E-Commerce world!
Not sure where to start? Show up and meet your consumers at the head start of their journey. Let us help you out!
