What Is Normal Anymore?

We have had the 'new normal'. It isn't so new anymore....What about the 'next-normal'?

I have just read a really interesting article from McKinsey & Company that talks about the what the world is beginning to look like and how consumer behaviour is evolving.

I never thought of the home becoming a multi-verse but having reflected, it is exactly that! We aren't only relaxing and sleeping at home - but are now working, shopping, studying, exercising and connecting with others too!

Technology is beginning to be used to its full potential in most cases and this is stretching as far as having online medical appointments. Where only a few months ago we would visit our GP, many practices are offering online consultations via Zoom/Webex.

So how are consumers changing the way they do things and how do companies need to adapt to deliver their products and services?

Entertain Me!

There has been a parabolic surge in online entertainment. The likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and AppleTV+ have seen a huge hike in subscriptions, and Disney+ has come along and increased its subscriber base to 50 million in 5 months - a feat that took Netflix 7-years to achieve previously.

Does this spell the end of the visit to the Cinema? I don't think it does just yet. However, we have already seen some studios move straight to streaming during this pandemic. Disney chose to move their live-action version of Mulan straight to their Disney+ service. However, Sony/MGM Studios made the decision to delay the release of the latest James Bond instalment to April 2021 (https://www.mgm.com/movies/no-time-to-die). This tells us that there is still an appetite to head to the Cinema and make a night of it with your friends or a loved one.

Only time will tell if the Cinema remains as a key medium for new films. One thing is certain - there will need to be a change in the way they offer the service in the 'new'/'next' normal.

Fly me to the moon...or at least to somewhere warm and sunny!

Here in the UK we are lucky(!) to experience all four seasons throughout the year (sometimes they occur in one day!).

After Lockdown 1.0 was announced in March we began to transition into warmer weather and longer/sunnier days - great for physical and mental wellbeing. This boost was further amplified as international travel became severely restricted.

The 'staycation' has become the norm over the past year and airlines have reported up to a 90% reduction in travel as tourism has almost entirely ground to a halt. I am no expert but I am very confident that once we have a good handle on the virus and consumer confidence returns, international travel will return to pre-pandemic levels (in time). Us Brits love to get away! How long it takes for the recovery remains to be seen but it is anticipated that this is unlikely to be before 2023 at the earliest:

Retail Therapy

When murmurings of the first Lockdown were being leaked from Westminster in the UK, a strange behaviour began to take hold - a sudden obsession with...toilet roll! Consumers were queuing outside supermarkets and warehouses to get their hands on bulk packs of the commodity through fear of being caught short. Anyway, I digress...

Online shopping has been part of consumer lifestyle for over 20-years, with its prominence growing year on year. However, the traditional bricks & mortar - the high street - has always been strong during this time, until the past few years. Consumers like to be able to see/feel/try the items before they buy them. For clothes, this means checking the fit, the style, etc. and for other items it means seeing them being demonstrated by an expert (e.g. a domestic appliance).

Pre-pandemic the consumer was growing in confidence with online purchases for clothes and appliances - this has been helped by the various returns policies that many retailers have adopted providing a 'cooling off' period.

The move to digital has accelerated this year and, as I write this, I have seen that some retailers will be providing their Black Friday offerings wholly via their websites.

E-commerce has seen many years of growth compressed into just a few months, and it does not show any signs of slowing.

So what does this all mean?

Changing consumer behaviour means companies need to rethink their strategies for customer engagement and retention.

Their strategies need to be agile enough to cope with what is likely to be an ever-changing landscape over the next few years as we try to get a firm hold on the virus.

Some of the questions that need to be considered:

1. What are consumers buying? (Necessity v Discretionary; Established brands v New to market)
2. What are they using to make informed decisions? (Digital channels v Word of mouth)
3. Where are they buying? (In-store purchase, In-store pickup, Online with home delivery, etc.)
4. How often are they buying? (Less frequent with greater quantity v More frequent with smaller quantity)

The future is still unknown and the 'next-normal' is likely to take some time to become embedded into just 'normal'. However, by considering the questions above, companies will be able to anticipate change and undertake the scenario-planning necessary to give them the best chance to succeed.

So - what is normal anymore? It seems that change is the only normality in life right now...