79% of consumers around the world believe that brands should be accountable to consumers for the way they produce and their social and environmental sustainability.
The Toluna company has carried out a global study whose sample in Spain is 1,102 people of legal age. In this study, certain indicators have been tracked during 16 different waves, thus creating the Toluna Conscious Consumers Barometer 2020-2021.
The aim is to help brands understand the change in consumer habits in order to identify new needs as they change. After more than a year of great changes, it is important to understand the behavior and new needs of consumers that will undoubtedly change the way brands position themselves and market their products and services. Can yesterday’s metrics continue to apply in a world deeply marked by a global emergency?
“Traditional models based on knowledge, familiarity, consideration and use, assume a linear framework and a measurement of past or current success,” says Natacha Lerma, sales director at Toluna Iberia. “Today, the Brands have to control their relevance in the change process, develop innovations that adapt to people’s needs by reducing time to market, show that they are on their side, etc.
And for this they must understand consumers to define their needs and how to satisfy them, using data to refine their strategy and clearly communicating their values to build stronger and more meaningful relationships. “
This study highlights the importance of people’s desire to interact with brands that share the same values. According to it, 46% of consumers interact with brands that share their values, 49% have stopped buying brands that are not alienated with them, and more than half favor those brands with which they feel they share more. opinion on important issues such as respect for people and the environment.
New brands are consumed and sustainability is rewarded Confinement changed consumer habits to a great extent. This is reflected in the fact that a large part of consumers tried new brands by not being able to access the usual products and services.
In addition, 34% of these continued to do so once the restrictions ended, and they maintained it as a new habit, thanks to the fact that these discoveries responded to the demand for shared values from consumers.
Today, the study shows that 79% of consumers around the world believe that brands must be accountable to consumers about the way they produce and their social and environmental sustainability. As a reflection of this, almost half of consumers globally have stopped supporting certain brands with their purchases.
Revolution in kitchens
The kitchen has been one of the areas that changed the most during the pandemic, cooking, experimenting and paying attention to a healthier diet were aspects that were seen in almost all households. This has meant that despite the desire to go out to lunch or dinner at restaurants, the custom has been established of giving more utility to home kitchens.
In addition, it is more aware of the effects of food on health and the environment, this is reflected in that 35% of respondents are willing to try new brands and products and pay more attention to the place of production. Not only sustainability is claimed, consumers also want to be supported with more concrete gestures that give meaning to the relationship with the brand thanks to interest, trust and reliability.
New routines: self-care and beauty on the rise
After all these months, consumers have acquired new habits, ¼ of consumers worldwide affirm that they will continue to take care of themselves at home, without using hairdressers or barber shops, 59% are interested in products and solutions to improve well-being, vitamins and supplements have become a very important part of the routine for 32% of those surveyed. Consumers will generally spend more on hygiene and personal care products.
Brand values: conscious and more demanding consumer
Uncertainty and instability are two characteristics that have been with us for more than a year in our day-to-day life. This makes more than evident the need for brands to carry out research and analysis with which they can evaluate changes in consumers.
At the digital level, this translates into their behavior and a better understanding of the values in which they are reflected. 23% of those surveyed globally affirm that they will think more about it when buying a certain brand, evaluating the affinity with its values. Thanks to this Consumer Barometer, brands can recognize these most sensitive areas for consumers, such as responsibility for the environment, equality, km 0 products and labeling, among others.
These areas can be seen reflected in the following data: 57% demand responsible behavior towards the environment, 41% want a humanitarian attitude, 76% support against inequalities, 22% request support from local communities and the territory, 62% prefer to buy locally produced food, 57% are increasingly interested in knowing the ingredients by reading the labels more carefully.
Buy online vs buy offline
Changes in habits also affect purchasing channels, and during these last 12 months we have experienced a digital acceleration that under normal circumstances would have taken 5 years. E-commerce has undergone a great boom, along with home delivery, but on the other side of the coin, proximity stores and independent stores have been rediscovered, up to the direct relationship with the brand by buying on websites without intermediaries.
26% of respondents would like to buy most of their food in local stores, 33% say they are open to trying new brands, while 31% love the convenience of receiving the products directly at their doorstep, 17% will continue to use the click and collect service and 23% would choose to buy the products directly from the brand.