- Consumers crave normality, with 40% ready to get "back to
normal"
- More than half (53%) of consumers say their values have
changed
- Health and affordability will dominate consumer sentiment
beyond COVID-19, while purpose remains critical
LONDON, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Five new
consumer segments will emerge beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
according to the third edition of the EY Future Consumer
Index, a monthly survey tracking the sentiment and behavior of
14,074 people across 18 countries.1 Each segment
reflects the different ways in which consumers expect to be living
their lives beyond COVID-19, how they will make choices, and what
really matters to them.
Consumers crave normality but have new priorities
The survey finds that craving stability is a rising trend, with
40% of consumers keen to "get to normal" – doubling over last
month's survey results (20%). However, half (50%) of consumers
still expect their lives to change significantly in the long-term,
while 53% say the pandemic experience has led to a re-evaluation of
their values and how they look at life.
According to the EY Future Consumer Index, the five new
consumer segments that have emerged as a result of these changing
sentiments are:
- Affordability first: These consumers want to live within
their means and represent 30% of the cohort. They are the most
pessimistic segment in their perception of how long it will take
their country to recover and for financial stability to return.
More than half of them identify price as increasing in
importance.
- Health first: These consumers (26%) prefer brands and
products they trust to be safe and minimize unnecessary risks.
Fifty-seven percent say they now pay more attention to how healthy
the products they buy are for them.
- Planet first: Most likely to change the products they
buy, these consumers (17%) would pay a premium for high-quality,
ethically sourced and sustainable goods. Fifty-nine percent intend
to shop more locally in the long term.
- Society first: Consumers in this segment (16%) believe
that everyone should work together for the greater good, with 73%
of them prepared to change their behavior in order to benefit
society. They prefer to buy from organizations that are honest and
transparent about what they do.
- Experience first: Intent on living for the moment, these
consumers (11%) are the least anxious about their health and
finances. Two-thirds of them feel comfortable returning to a mall
just days or weeks after the pandemic has stabilized in their
country.
Kristina Rogers, EY Global
Consumer Leader, says:
"Organizations will need to work out how to serve a more
value-conscious, health-conscious consumer, but also a consumer who
demands purposeful brands that reflect their environmental and
social values. Business leaders should focus on reshaping their
portfolios so that they are relevant to the future consumer,
providing digital customer journeys that reflect the way consumers
will behave and creating the transparency needed to secure consumer
trust."
Health and affordability will dominate beyond
COVID-19
Consumers expect to make deep and lasting changes, with 62%
indicating that they will be more aware and cautious about their
physical health and 58% increasingly focusing on value for money in
the future. These are not new drivers of behavior and preference,
but the EY Future Consumer Index suggests that consumers
will become much more committed to their values.
Andrew Cosgrove, EY Global
Consumer Knowledge Leader, says:
"Many businesses believe they already have the right portfolio,
marketing and supply chain. However, few are resilient enough to
deliver against these heightened consumer expectations. Efficiency
is important but must be balanced against the need to keep
developing the capabilities that will deliver growth. Businesses
now have the opportunity to not just protect what worked in the
past, but to actively shape a successful future."
The latest edition of the Index is available at
ey.com/futureconsumerindex3.
Notes to editors
About EY
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This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of
the global EY organization that also does not provide any services
to clients.
About the EY Future Consumer Index
The EY Future Consumer Index tracks changing consumer
sentiment and behaviors across time horizons and global markets,
identifying the new consumer segments that are emerging. The Index
provides regular longitudinal indicators and a unique perspective
on which changes are temporary reactions to the COVID-19 crisis,
those which point to more fundamental shifts, and what the consumer
post COVID-19 might be like. More countries will be included as the
analysis continues.
1 Survey conducted week of 8
June 2020.