With English non-essential stores free to open from Monday (with health, social distancing and hygiene regulations met) Underlines Magazine assesses the mind-set of those consumers who will be coming out to shop on the High Street again.
A forward thinking report by The Green Room* advises that brands and retailers will be faced with a different level of consumer expectation – one that they have never encountered before. The last 3 months have not only had profound effects on working and home life but also on emotional and mental wellbeing. From mid-March onwards everything we took as familiar changed more or less overnight and meant rapid changes for retail and brands who supply them. The ‘new normal’ is not quite here yet as we are transitioning at the moment between the period of the ‘eye of the storm’ when the pandemic struck and the gradual easing of lock-down, which many consumers are treating with extreme caution, and there is much uncertainty still in our day to day lives. Many who have been furloughed have been ‘protected’ against the financial chaos and worry for some time, but as the deadline to continue to furlough staff passed on 10th June, there was a wave of redundancies in the retail chain.
No-one has been untouched by the changes we have experienced – social distancing (and therein distant socialising), increases in home exercise and surge in active wear and loungewear garment sales, our largest IT and service companies having the vast majority of their staff working from home, our only entertainment being home entertainment and the mental health effects of such rapid and seismic changes to our lives.
The emotional rollercoaster from being a virus in the Far East to tens of thousands dying across Europe & the Americas has created a societal anxiety and people have been sharing their emotions, fears and indeed hopes from person-to-person through social media channels that have spread faster than the virus! But there are brands which have not just survived but thrived over the last 3 months and it is the brands who have focused on empathy, understanding their consumers’ new emotional states and found ways to improve their daily lives that will have most success going ahead in the coming months. Likewise smaller independent retailers who, despite having had to close their bricks & mortar premises, have continued to provide a personal service are the ones that will be remembered long after the main crisis of the virus has eased. On the other hand, consumers are very wise to brands and retailers who might be seen to be capitalising on the pandemic.
Image courtesy of Brown Thomas
Important to remember too that positive initiatives of brands and retailers (or etailers) will reach people much more quickly than it ever did before – consumers are tuned in constantly to social media and news outlets – and it is not just bad news that travels fast!
The ‘new’ consumer that emerges is much more likely not to be influenced by regular promotional activity by brand or retail – becoming more human if you like, so companies that can humanise the touch points (both digital and physical) will be in the best position to attract and retain loyalty as we transition through the easing of lock down. Online sales have soared during the first 3 months but there is a longing amongst consumers for ‘real’ experiences. Selfridges has been one of those retailers that have realised that human interaction (be that constrained) is something that consumers have been impatient for – their Stores Director, Maeve Wall, says that “We will be bringing a little bit more life and a joyful experience for customers who come to our stores” – through personal after-hours shopping trips, online beauty appointments and entertainment for those queuing outside.
There are different identifiable ‘personalities’ amongst consumers that will affect sales and likely retail patterns. The Hedonist (mainly middle class who whilst not suffering badly during the last 3 months financially have been made aware of their own mortality and will decide it is time to live); The Pessimist (not really sure that it will ever be over and may be more inclined to save), The Flush (the wealthy who are still cash rich but are wary of displaying this wealth too visibly); The Frugal (people who may have lost their jobs and are struggling with great caution in their purchasing); The Status Seeker (consumers using credits or loans to live beyond their means but will have to tighten up now – the type who want luxury brands at discount prices); The Hobbyist (so much more free time to follow or take up new pastimes); The Environmentalist (having seen the improvement of the enforced pause on emissions on the planet and become even more of a ‘conscious’ shopper – great scope for sustainable brands and labels) and The Health Nut (a new wave of health-conscious people determined to become fitter and stronger and a bigger demand for fitness and athletic wear – which has already happened to some degree).
It is certain that the first steps back into bricks and mortar will be tentative and limited so omni-channel will be the order of the day, for retailers large and small. The physical retail outlet must be aligned to digital trends and be there as a source of inspiration to your customers. Contactless payment and pick-ups will continue apace but of course, the biggest challenge may still come with the very likely occurrence of another recession that will leave hardly a corner of the world untouched. Job losses and redundancies are already a reality and these may escalate as we move through the summer. Survival of brands and retailers is a tricky combination of allying yourself to human values and emotions that don’t really alter and creating real, meaningful solutions that will improve their lives.
*Beyond COVID-19 (The Green Room May 2020)
