Are you doing what makes customer happy?
Are you selling full flavored food and beverages that are Ready-2-Eat or
Heat-N-Eat freshly prepared? If you can
say yes, you are on your way. Regular
readers of this know that giving food operators that are giving customer what
they want and how they want it are winning can garner incremental customers,
top-line sales and bottom-line profits according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.
Recently, Mintel edified our won findings when they announced three trends set to impact
global consumer markets in 2022. While
their cultural descriptors were more fun than ours, (in our opinion), we know
our regular readers will enjoy Mintel’s findings. Please pay close attention and remember focus is on the
customer.
Mintel from technology that predicts the success of potential romances to
brands tackling COVID-19 “survivor’s guilt” and eco-anxiety, this year’s trends
include:
·
In Control: In times of uncertainty, consumers crave a sense of control
over their lives. Brands can deliver the information and options that consumers
need to feel like they’re in the driver’s seat.
·
Enjoyment Everywhere: Having endured lockdown, consumers are eager to break out of
their confines and explore, play and embrace novel experiences, both virtually
and in the ‘real’, physical world.
·
Ethics Check: While many brands have made their voices heard on
controversial topics, consumers want to see measurable progress against their
goals.
“In 2019, we took a bold, new approach to
predict the future of global consumer markets and expanded our outlook to 10
years,” said Simon Moriarity, director of Mintel Trends. Mintel’s 2030 Global
Consumer Trends — known as the seven
Mintel Trend Drivers — were developed as a living, growing prediction model
that will adapt to the unforeseen. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, impacting
nearly every industry worldwide, our consumer expertise and prediction model
meant we were well placed to analyze how it would impact markets. Not only did
our 2030 predictions hold true, but the pandemic accelerated many of the shifts
we foresaw.”
Looking ahead to 2022, Mintel’s trend analysis and prediction research are grounded by observations of
the seven Trend Drivers over the last 18 months and backed by Mintel’s robust
consumer and market data, predictive analytics, action-oriented insights and
expert recommendations, Moriarity said.
“We put everything into context to better
understand what it means for — and how it could inspire — our clients’ business
decisions across industries, categories and demographics, and amid global
themes and times of uncertainty,” said Moriarity.
In Control
According to Moriarity, feelings of
precariousness and financial insecurity both created, and exaggerated, by the
pandemic mean that consumers are looking for a sense of control over every
aspect of their lives. But misinformation is making it harder to carry out the
necessary research to make informed decisions.
“Consumers need clarity, transparency,
flexibility and options,” he said, “to make decisions that suit their
individual changing needs and circumstances.”
Brands will need to work harder to
deliver reliable information and balance censorship and authenticity, Moriarity
said. The race for the fastest delivery will evolve to focus on being more
flexible, giving consumers more control over when products arrive to fit around
their schedules or to match their other specific needs.
“Consumers’ desire to know potential
outcomes will manifest in the development of predictive technologies that can
anticipate adverse events,” said Moriarity. “From diseases to likely death
dates to relationship outcomes using compatibility profiles, technology will
evolve to grant consumers the power to plan with peace of mind.”
“Consumers are seeking sources of joy as
the continuing pandemic and other local and global crises have caused them
anxiety and stress,” Moriarity explained. “Many may be feeling a kind of
“survivor’s guilt” and, as a result, brands are recognizing the importance of
uplifting people by giving them permission to feel happiness once again.”
While the stress caused by the pandemic
may no longer be central to consumer needs for fun and escapism, they will
continue to seek enjoyment and playfulness, according to Moriarity. “As brand
interactions through campaigns, apps and transactions take on more and more
gamified elements in response to consumer interest, expect to also see pushback
against it and the instant gratification it offers,” he said. “This tendency
will rise from consumers taking a more mindful approach to pleasure and
enjoyment.”
Ethics Check
Consumer demand for, and expectations of,
brands’ ethical commitments are evolving. They have moved beyond simply wanting
brands to “be ethical” and are demanding to see measurable, transparent and
consistent actions from those they choose to support. Consumers will look
beyond a brand’s achievements and strengths; businesses will need to be
transparent about their weaknesses, too, where and why they fail and how they
plan to address these issues in future.
“All the transparency in the world
doesn’t necessarily help consumers to understand the impact of a brand, which
is why it’s key to use metrics that accurately reflect the problems brands are
trying to solve,” Moriarity explained. “If a company isn’t properly measuring
what they aim to fix or change, it’s difficult to determine whether progress is
being made, let alone communicate that progress in a way that consumers will
understand
Foodservice
Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line
profits. Are you looking a customer ahead?
Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success
does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued
success.
No comments:
Post a Comment