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Social trends expert highlights changes among consumers
By Holly Fisher
Contributing Writer
Consumers are changing—dramatically. J. Walker Smith, well-known speaker on social trends and marketing, outlined the shifts marketers should take note of during a recent luncheon hosted by the Charleston Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
The consumer marketplace is undergoing more changes today than since the late 1960s and early 1970s, explains Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners, a consulting firm headquartered in Chapel Hill, N.C., with offices in Atlanta and Norwalk, Conn.
Demographic changes, shifting values and economic developments, such as a higher level of affluence, have completely transformed the marketing landscape. “We live a more prosperous, public life than ever before and that’s changing [consumers’] expectations,” Smith says. He points to items like gourmet coffee and cosmetic surgery that were once considered luxuries but are now commonplace.
Even though 75% of people say they need to be careful and stick to a budget, 70% will admit they allow themselves expensive treats from time to time, Smith notes.
“We have come to expect the very best quality at the very best price,” Smith says. He points to Jet Blue, Target and Costco—all offering name brands or luxury service at discounted prices. Consumers are interested in getting a five-star experience at the best quality price.
Marketers are being forced to reexamine the consumers’ values as well as the consumer themselves. Smith points to incredible changes in the demographic makeup of the country as another important shift for marketers to notice.
Aging baby boomers, varying kinds of households and diversity are three key demographic shifts facing the United States. Between 2000 and 2015, Americans ages 55 to 69 will see a 64% rise in their population. “Baby boomers will continue to break the rules,” Smith says.
Baby boomers aren’t interested in retiring and dropping out of the workforce. They want to continue working not just for the income but because they want to stay involved, Smith says. Baby boomers are “youthful,” maintaining an active and adventurous lifestyle—and they take that lifestyle into their retirement.
“What we thought we knew about marketing to old people doesn’t apply to baby boomers,” Smith notes.
Diversity is another key demographic change facing marketers. America is changing in terms of multiculturalism, he says. In the near future, Caucasians will be just one of many minority groups.
Smith points out that the 2040 Census predicts America will be the second largest Hispanic nation in the world, only behind Mexico. This “mix and match collage experience” characterizes the country today and in the future, Smith says. It’s about redefining the categories people have placed themselves in throughout the past.
In addition, single households are becoming more prevalent—not just single-parent households but single people living alone, including young people, divorced middle-agers and widows or widowers. Marriage is fast disappearing as the normative household structure, Smith explains. In the 1950s, 80% of households were married, but today only slightly more than 50% are.
“This changes who we market to,” Smith notes. “We don’t understand single households.”
The third consumer change Smith discusses is “a new agenda of values.” In the past, consumers drove the marketplace with the following values: quantity, tangibles and money. But those values have shifted to quality, intangibles and time.
Even though Americans still love their “stuff,” they are placing more of an emphasis on the intangibles—the experience. Smith points to the successful Mastercard campaign, which doesn’t mention “credit cards,” but instead focuses on the “things money can’t buy.”
“The best way to get people to spend money is to make a connection with the intangibles,” Smith says. “In America, we have a bunch of stuff. We don’t want to give it up but we’re looking for something more.”
Holly Fisher is a regular contributor to the Business Journal. E-mail her at editorial@crbj.com.
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