There was a time when purchasing a branded product was considered as a luxury or it was a moment of pride if one booked a Maruti Esteem over a the smaller 800 ; but with time everything changes. That’s the inevitable. People, surely opt for brands now, but this time around, the bragging rights lie more with the expensive or the popular brands. Similarly, every car can be termed an entry level car in its particular segment. These are some of the macro level consumer trends that are making marketers strategize and re-strategize all the time!
Let us look at some of these trends.
- Value Conscious Consumers– today the gap between entry level and the next level brands is getting thinner. Consumers are willing to pay for anything in which they find value. And this time, consumers wouldn’t actually mind going for the higher priced product even though they get value.
- Constant Upgradation – Turn the pages back in time, and you will witness a lot of housewives sticking to a refrigerator for years even though newer models kept coming. This time, consumers are opting for an upgradation at regular intervals to get that lifestyle scale going up. A mobile generally gets upgraded in 10-12 months, televisions in 2-3 years, even automobiles get refreshed every 4-5 years!
- Multiply your household products – today having two TVs at home or two cars at home is no longer considered a luxury. In fact multiple products in a single household are now serving the practical necessities!
- Mindless Purchases: Impulse is driving out habits. You walk into a super market with a list on your hand, and you never know, you’ll end up buying something else that looks more attractive at that point in time! So it may happen, that your first purchase in a category will be of a particular brand while your next may be of a different brand.
Marketers need to keep their eyes and ears open to ensure that they keep up with these consumer behavior trends. In my next article I will focus on what marketers could possible do to address these trends!
