The 2009 Consumer Mindset
By Jill Sands

Echo and Baby Boomers favor products that offer personalization, fun combined with function and great design in eco-friendly options

Consumers are waiting to feel financially comfortable once again, but meanwhile, they are realigning their wants and needs. A recent survey found that people rank being in control of their finances and living a green lifestyle as higher signs of success than owning a luxury car; and a paid-off mortgage as more status than having a beautiful home.

The recessive economy has forced us to pare down our lifestyles. Whether by choice or circumstance, we will all be spending more time at home entertaining, watching movies and cooking.

At the same time, human nature forces us to still like nice things, whether it’s wearing fashionable clothes or decorating our homes to reflect our “good taste.”

So in the coming months, consumers will make modest investments in their homes that will further define their individualism. These small indulgences, especially in accessories, will be both fun and functional. Putting fun into functional products permits consumers both to conserve finances and satisfy the desire to buy a feel-good item without feeling guilty. It also shows that the retailer and the brand care about their needs.

Environmental projects will also enjoy forward leaps. With money tight, more people will look to the outdoors for entertainment. Enjoying nature will create a desire to decorate with sustainable products. The more eco-friendly products there are with great design, the better the sales and the pricing will be.
Paradoxically, as our post-election desire to come together accelerates, so does our desire for individuality. It’s a dichotomy fanned by the Echo Boomer generation. The Echo Boomers, born from 1980 to 1994, are the children of the Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964.

With the Echo Boomers approaching adulthood comes a demographic shift from marketing to the 77 million aging Boomers and toward the 71 million Echo Boomers.

In the minds of Echo Boomers, who mix up their own style as they mix up their music, design should be personalized. Echo Boomers want their homes to reflect their personal style.

These are the young, technologically savvy Americans whose lifestyle will be forever altered by our current difficult economic situation. They are adopting a save-now-buy-later vs. buy-now-pay-later philosophy.

The Echo Boomers will alter marketing methodology. Making a commodity product innovative or adding a twist to something usual to create something unusual to appeal to them will be an important trend this year.

At the luxury level, the need for personalization makes global brands that anyone can buy passé. The weakened economy breeds subtle expressions of luxury that can be called Discreet-Chic or Frugal-Chic; which is finding the greatest bargains at retail. At London’s Rough-Luxe Hotel, guests might share a bath or have a small room, but the luxury is in the choice of wine, bed linens and service.

2009 will be a time for reflection, self-enrichment and personal encounters with people and the environment. Anything you as a retailer can do to offer personalized, fun-yet-functional and eco-friendly products and services to your customers will have you on the winning side of the economic equation.

Resources

• • Jill Sands, The Trend Forecaster, thetrendforecaster.com, published by S & S Consulting LLC, 802-867-4079