Chicago – The Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI) has released a consumer research report that “upends much of the conventional wisdom around brand proliferation, over-reliance on data and consumer choices,” according to a release from the internal think tank of global strategy and management consultancy Kearney.
Based on survey data from 14,000 consumers across the U.S., Europe and the Asia–Pacific region, the report, entitled Keeping Up with the Consumer, examines buyers’ unpredictable, “seemingly quixotic behaviors.” It also identifies the “underlying tension points that explain them,” and concludes that brands are “massively under-accounting for the human element that drives purchase decisions.”
“Brands have more data than ever about consumer demographics, behavior, spending and opinions,” explained Katie Thomas, KCI lead. “But we still often categorize consumer behavior as ‘unpredictable.’ To understand why, our research found three key consumer tensions that help explain this behavior. As options and access grow, consumers’ lives are only getting more complicated. Sometimes we get lost in one side of a narrative, without realizing the strain it puts on consumers.”
The research identified the following three friction points as reasons for this “unpredictable” behavior:
- Options versus overload: Consumers seem to expect a product that suits each type of skin, diet or fitness need. Yet, in many major categories, most consumers believe there is already plenty to choose from, if not too much.
- Curation versus control: Two out of three consumers say they like making all their decisions themselves. But it is logical, the KCI notes, that consumers want – and need – some level of curation to make sense of all their options.
- Facts versus feelings: Consumers want to “do their own research,” and they trust themselves more than they trust brands and institutions, but have limited reserves of time, energy and motivation.
Keeping Up with the Consumer also explores consumer shifts since 2016, when the KCI released its The Future Consumer. Then, brands were focusing on the power of influence, a socially driven approach centered on “authenticity.” However, as the “influence” approach became more common, it lost some appeal and started to feel less authentic. Meantime, dramatic changes to the consumer landscape – from COVID-19 to political unrest to the emergence of new social media and shopping platforms – helped consolidate this massive shift.
The KCI’s new research suggests that retailers and brands are not “striking the right balance between facts versus feelings, curation versus control and too many choices.”
“When retailers and brands balance the tension, applying emotional intelligence and great merchandising, they will better navigate the mindset of the future consumer to address their needs,” explained Thomas. “Here, we see the push–pull between consumers and brands. Sometimes brands should lead consumers forward; but sometimes, the better choice is following consumer behavior. The key is understanding the complex, nuanced and sometimes unexpected tensions that will crop up next.”
To learn more about the report and to read it in its entirety, visit KCI’s website.
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