After a recent survey, media company, News Corp say that COVID-19 has disrupted consumer goods purchasing behaviours more than anything else in the past 100 years. They have been conducting research into consumer buying habits, presumably in order to work out how to remix their advertising sell in a changing world. The media group surveyed 1,000 of their own customers and then correlated their data with research companies and consulting groups.
The group identified 6 themes, most of which make an environmentalist's heart sing, which they attribute to COVID induced behaviour. I am not so sure that loyalty ties weren't already loosening in the more traditional brand sense, and COVID simply finished it off.
From your own behaviour, you probably won't be surprised to learn that 76 percent of us are actively staying away from public areas, while time spent at home on weekdays has nearly doubled. With less to spend and limited access to areas like travel and out of home entertainment, people are staying home more than ever before.
Household essentials such as grocery, household, home cleaning and fresh produce spend is up by 31 per cent. Three in four Australians are cooking more meals at home, and apparently 1/3 of us are taking up DIY home repairs.
We are shopping 1.7 times per week instead of 2.5 times per week. This influences the types and quantities of products we’re buying at the grocery store, the categories we are buying from and the brands we choose. It turns out that in many categories, branded products have been outpacing the market, mainly as shoppers look for ways to treat ourselves amid an ongoing reluctance to eat and drink away from home.
The random dispersion of financial impact means that consumers are split into two camps; either focusing on ‘bang for buck’ to ease financial pressures, or “trading up” as other discretionary spend is held back and they have more income to deploy on household and grocery comfort items.
Fifty-seven percent of consumers now say they prioritise Aussie brands (2.5 times greater than pre Covid-19). The surveys show significant consecutive increases in the overall net importance of product traits like ‘Australian made’, ‘Australian owned’ and ‘Supports Australian farmers’.
The more time Australians spend at home, the higher our needs become for a greater diversity of grocery, personal and household products.
Images: (Dog) | Ettitude Bamboo Linen / Unsplash: Eugenie Faure | Aigars Peda | The Creative Exchange | Australian