American Express commissioned Future:Poll, the research division of The Future Laboratory, current and future consumer spending trends. The findings demonstrate how consumers are changing, reassessing a model of capitalism that has driven unparalleled growth in the world’s economy over the last 50 years. Consumers are becoming more discriminating, seeking local, authentic, meaningful experiences and using technology in evolutionary new ways to come together to compare, shop and review. Consumers are reshaping the rules of spending, pricing and product access in ways that will revolutionize our way of life and are already affecting local and regional economies.
Consumers are seeking and cultivating simpler ways of living, but are also innovating the ways they shop and consume. The study identified five American consumer spending trends for 2011 and beyond. Below is a summary by Brand Channel. I’m struck by the focus on community and collaboration.
1. Rurbanism
Urban consumers say they are beginning to think like their rural neighbors, demonstrating an interest in more local, home-grown and community focused interactions. They're shopping for more sustainable products that protect the environment. More than half of Americans say they try to support their local economy.
2. Give-a-nomics
Purchasing has now become a way of giving. Consumers want to give back to charity, preserve the environment or help their communities, and they are increasingly expecting brands to be socially responsible. A whopping 83 percent of Americans want products, services and retailers to support worthy causes. (American Express embodies this through its Foundation outreach, and commitments such as its Members Project relief efforts in Sierra Leone, highlighted above).
3. Co-Created Own Brands (COBs)
These days, consumers wield a lot more power; they want to co-create brands and buy brand that are customized to their needs. Twenty-three percent of consumers are looking for products they can customize.
4. Commsumption
Consumption has turned into "commsumption" — now consumers are shopping as groups and consuming as communities, especially when it comes to recommending brands to peers and buying online. Brand marketers can take advantage of this by appealing to local consumers and reaching out through online social channels. Forty-one percent of American consumers say they buy more products online than they did a year ago.
5. Check In to Check Out (CiCo)
American consumers are going mobile. As a result, brand marketers are increasingly personalizing location-based offers, enticing shoppers to "check in" and take advantage of promotions on the go before they "check out." Consumers are also sharing deals and buying in groups more. Twenty-three percent of consumers say the availability of smartphones has an impact on their spending.
