Comments on: Are consumer’s values really changing? http://www.mb-blog.com/index.php/2009/10/04/are-consumers-values-really-changing/ A blog and forum by Nigel Hollis Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:29:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Nigel http://www.mb-blog.com/index.php/2009/10/04/are-consumers-values-really-changing/#comment-12416 Nigel Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:18:33 +0000 http://www.mb-blog.com/?p=1289#comment-12416 <p>Thanks again for the comments.</p> <p>Miro, one of the things that I plan to address is whether government or big business is more likely to make a difference in future. As you suggest legislation can have an impact but the timeframe from idea to implementation is likely to be lengthy. Big business actually owns the problem and has the capabilities to make a difference given the right incentive. Consumer demand, the ability to gain competitive advantage and mitigation of risk may all prove to be compelling reasons for businesses to clean up their act.</p> <p>Claire, welcome to the blog and thanks for the comment. Believe me I would love it if the mass-market in the U.S. and elsewhere did embrace sustainability and made their purchase decisions on that basis. However, the evidence suggests that those willing to act on their beliefs are a small minority. Yankelovich's 2009 Monitor data does suggest that people are more likely to believe that it is important to buy organic and locally grown food and environmentally friendly products than they were three years ago. However, only a minority are willing to pay at least a little more for these benefits. That minority is heavily skewed to upper income households (just the sort of folks who live in the suburban CT area). Particularly given the current economic conditions I fear that the majority of people will forgoe sustainability in favor of lower prices. More on this in a future post.</p> Thanks again for the comments.

Miro, one of the things that I plan to address is whether government or big business is more likely to make a difference in future. As you suggest legislation can have an impact but the timeframe from idea to implementation is likely to be lengthy. Big business actually owns the problem and has the capabilities to make a difference given the right incentive. Consumer demand, the ability to gain competitive advantage and mitigation of risk may all prove to be compelling reasons for businesses to clean up their act.

Claire, welcome to the blog and thanks for the comment. Believe me I would love it if the mass-market in the U.S. and elsewhere did embrace sustainability and made their purchase decisions on that basis. However, the evidence suggests that those willing to act on their beliefs are a small minority. Yankelovich’s 2009 Monitor data does suggest that people are more likely to believe that it is important to buy organic and locally grown food and environmentally friendly products than they were three years ago. However, only a minority are willing to pay at least a little more for these benefits. That minority is heavily skewed to upper income households (just the sort of folks who live in the suburban CT area). Particularly given the current economic conditions I fear that the majority of people will forgoe sustainability in favor of lower prices. More on this in a future post.

]]> By: Nigel http://www.mb-blog.com/index.php/2009/10/04/are-consumers-values-really-changing/#comment-12409 Nigel Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:54:51 +0000 http://www.mb-blog.com/?p=1289#comment-12409 <p>Thanks Miro and Claire, I will address your comments later. Meanwhile here is a comment sent in by an e-mail contributor:</p> <p>"Personally, I will believe the phenomenon to to be real and values to have shifted when young couples with children either stay or move into my neighborhood of "modest" 2400 sq.ft homes (4 br, 2.5 baths) that were large when they were built in the late 60s, but now are seen as "too small to raise a family in."  At least, that's what my neighbors have all said as they have their second child and move out to the exurbs for 4000 sq.ft. houses.  The recession has slowed this movement, but I think it will be back with a vengeance once the housing market starts moving again."</p> Thanks Miro and Claire, I will address your comments later. Meanwhile here is a comment sent in by an e-mail contributor:

“Personally, I will believe the phenomenon to to be real and values to have shifted when young couples with children either stay or move into my neighborhood of “modest” 2400 sq.ft homes (4 br, 2.5 baths) that were large when they were built in the late 60s, but now are seen as “too small to raise a family in.”  At least, that’s what my neighbors have all said as they have their second child and move out to the exurbs for 4000 sq.ft. houses.  The recession has slowed this movement, but I think it will be back with a vengeance once the housing market starts moving again.”

]]> By: Claire Ratushny http://www.mb-blog.com/index.php/2009/10/04/are-consumers-values-really-changing/#comment-12407 Claire Ratushny Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:54:35 +0000 http://www.mb-blog.com/?p=1289#comment-12407 Hi Nigel, Thank you for citing my recent article in Media Post. I was a marketer in the natural products industry for years. Not too long ago, the industry and its concepts were hardly mainstream. Preservation, stewardship of our natural resources, organic farming and the natural goodness of whole (unrefined) foods appealed to a small percentage of the population. As the consumer at large became educated about these principles, they have caught fire and become quite mainstream. This is slowly but surely changing attitudes. Marketing research bears this out. In my own interactions with people, I am struck by the level of smarter purchasing, recycling and the repurposing. Many in our suburban CT area are gardening again and raising produce without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Awareness is the first step in changing behaviors, isn't it? Add to this our current economy in which people are rethinking their purchasing patterns. Economic constraints are currently dictating that consumers buy fewer products, buy more products in bulk and not purchase more than they truly need. Will this last? One of the largest demographic groups, the baby boomer generation, has lost so much of its net worth due to the crash on Wall Street, retirement is being put off and extraneous purchases are being cut. I believe purchasing patterns will be affected by this well past the current recession, also. Local, state and Federal tax increases looming on the horizon will also have a dramatic impact on discretionary income for every group, including younger workers, forcing people to continue to do more with less. All of these factors combined are coming together as people reassess what is truly important to them. It is no coincidence that retailers and consumer brands continue to struggle. I just read that retailers are cutting down on inventories as well as the number of SKUs they offer; cutting assortments will force manufacturers to cut back. The impact on brands will be dramatic unless they realign themselves with the new realities in the marketplace. The culture of excess is over for now and into the forseeable future. Hi Nigel,
Thank you for citing my recent article in Media Post. I was a marketer in the natural products industry for years. Not too long ago, the industry and its concepts were hardly mainstream. Preservation, stewardship of our natural resources, organic farming and the natural goodness of whole (unrefined) foods appealed to a small percentage of the population. As the consumer at large became educated about these principles, they have caught fire and become quite mainstream. This is slowly but surely changing attitudes. Marketing research bears this out. In my own interactions with people, I am struck by the level of smarter purchasing, recycling and the repurposing. Many in our suburban CT area are gardening again and raising produce without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Awareness is the first step in changing behaviors, isn’t it?
Add to this our current economy in which people are rethinking their purchasing patterns. Economic constraints are currently dictating that consumers buy fewer products, buy more products in bulk and not purchase more than they truly need. Will this last? One of the largest demographic groups, the baby boomer generation, has lost so much of its net worth due to the crash on Wall Street, retirement is being put off and extraneous purchases are being cut. I believe purchasing patterns will be affected by this well past the current recession, also. Local, state and Federal tax increases looming on the horizon will also have a dramatic impact on discretionary income for every group, including younger workers, forcing people to continue to do more with less.
All of these factors combined are coming together as people reassess what is truly important to them. It is no coincidence that retailers and consumer brands continue to struggle. I just read that retailers are cutting down on inventories as well as the number of SKUs they offer; cutting assortments will force manufacturers to cut back. The impact on brands will be dramatic unless they realign themselves with the new realities in the marketplace. The culture of excess is over for now and into the forseeable future.

]]> By: miro http://www.mb-blog.com/index.php/2009/10/04/are-consumers-values-really-changing/#comment-12394 miro Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:28:01 +0000 http://www.mb-blog.com/?p=1289#comment-12394 Nigel how this plays out in a lasting transformational sence will depend on the success or failure of the various cap and trade programs being proposed. Inside the marketing box we can talk about innovation diffusion and green consumerism - but those are small isolated ripples compared to the wave of change that comes about when businesses are asked to pay for their use of previously free economic goods. Once that happens, the self preservation instinct of businesses will have them seeking out ways of becoming efficient/competitive under the new paramaters giving rise to efficient (greener) practices. Some of it will make its way through to the consumer in substantial 'green' products but most of the changes will be unnoticeable. If for some reason businesses are able to push off cap and trade (and its ilk) then this will be nothing more than a jaded marketing exercise.       Nigel
how this plays out in a lasting transformational sence will depend on the success or failure of the various cap and trade programs being proposed.
Inside the marketing box we can talk about innovation diffusion and green consumerism - but those are small isolated ripples compared to the wave of change that comes about when businesses are asked to pay for their use of previously free economic goods. Once that happens, the self preservation instinct of businesses will have them seeking out ways of becoming efficient/competitive under the new paramaters giving rise to efficient (greener) practices. Some of it will make its way through to the consumer in substantial ‘green’ products but most of the changes will be unnoticeable.
If for some reason businesses are able to push off cap and trade (and its ilk) then this will be nothing more than a jaded marketing exercise.
 
 
 

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