Latest Consumer Confidence data from GfK showed a rise this month, taking the index up to a two-year high.
It’s interesting that while as consumers we are becoming worse off, with inflation continuing to outstrip wage growth, we seemingly feel more positive and confident. But Savvy’s research suggests there may be a little more to it, underneath the headline.
Savvy’s insight and planning team recently hosted some focus groups comprising mums, during which we talked in some depth about their confidence and outlook for the economy. One area that was particularly insightful was the clear and considerable shift in shoppers’ perceptions during the past year (we performed a similar piece of research in 2012) and in particular the differing changes in perceptions between more affluent and less affluent shopper groups.
In 2012 less affluent shoppers were very negative in their view of their own financial situation and highly pessimistic about their future. This group of shoppers were the leaders in the savvy shopping revolution: searching for vouchers, using left-over food and generally adopting increasingly imaginative ways to save money. One year on and this group is more positive. Their savvy behaviours are an ingrained part of their lives and their view is that things really can’t get much worse. They continue to look for new ways to save money, but their mindset is one of resignation.
Last year, more affluent shoppers seemed relatively positive. They were well aware of the economic situation but few felt it directly affected them. Many were changing their shopping behaviours to save money, but typically because they felt it was the sensible thing to do, rather than out of necessity. One year on and this group is more nervous. The downturn has lasted longer than they’d expected and job security is a growing concern. This group is now highly active in discussing savvy shopping techniques and are adopting new ways to save money. For this group the sense of resignation does not appear to have fully set in yet.
This reminds us that it is important for brands not to rush to generalise when thinking about their target shoppers’ economic situations and the behaviours they are likely to exhibit. We need to adopt an approach that takes account of the fact that shoppers typically act upon how they feel and how they perceive their situation – often subconsciously – rather than based on hard economic facts. This approach may not fundamentally change a brand’s marketing strategy, but it should certainly influence choice of mechanics and perhaps more importantly how those mechanics are communicated.