Nerd Alert: How Consumer Behavior Has Changed

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Marketing Architects - Episode: "Nerd Alert: How Consumer Behavior Has Changed"

Release Date: December 19, 2024

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Introduction

In the latest episode of The Marketing Architects, hosts Alena Jasper and Rob Demars delve into the evolving landscape of consumer behavior. Titled "Nerd Alert: How Consumer Behavior Has Changed," this episode dissects a comprehensive study that reviews over a decade of consumer behavior research, shedding light on the dynamic shifts influenced by societal events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Changes in Consumer Behavior Post-COVID

The conversation kicks off with a personal reflection on how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped daily habits. Alena Jasper introduces the theme by discussing a study titled "Evolution and Trends in Consumer Behavior" by Wang et al., which synthesizes findings from 737 articles published in the Journal of Consumer Behavior between 2009 and 2022.

Rob Demars shares his own behavioral shifts, noting:

“One of my favorite pastimes before the pandemic was listening to podcasts in my car on the way to work... I feel like I have to be more proactive at consuming podcasts because I don't have that commute like I used to” (01:14).

Similarly, Alena highlights changes such as increased reliance on food delivery services and the adoption of new hobbies facilitated by remote work:

“I started doing triathlons during COVID... It’s easier to do that when you work from home because you’re removing that commute time for training” (02:04).

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Overview of the Study: Evolution and Trends in Consumer Behavior

The core of the episode revolves around the study's exploration of consumer behavior trends. Alena Jasper outlines the study's methodology and key findings:

“They analyzed over 737 articles... categorizing the research into eight major themes” (00:40).

Major Themes in Consumer Behavior Research

The study identifies eight primary themes, including:

1. Information Processing: How consumers process and interpret marketing information.
2. Brand Interaction: The ways consumers engage with brands.
3. Consumption Communities: Formation of groups with shared consumption habits, both online and offline.
4. Intergenerational Consumer Behavior: Consumption choices across different age groups.
5. Consumer Brand Relationships: The connections and loyalty consumers develop towards brands.
6. Consumer Neuroscience: Studying brain responses to marketing stimuli.
7. Consumer Values: Ethical consumption and sustainable choices.
8. [Additional themes as per study]

Rise of Sustainable Consumption and Consumer Ethics

A significant trend identified is the surge in research on sustainable consumption and consumer ethics, particularly in the last five years. Alena emphasizes:

“Consumers are increasingly making decisions based on... how their choices align with broader social issues like environmental impact and corporate ethics” (04:20).

This shift mirrors the global push towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility, signaling a pivot from purely personal needs to values-driven purchasing decisions.

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Discussion and Insights

Alignment of Values vs. Purchase Decisions

Rob Demars raises a critical question about the practicality of values-driven consumption:

“I would be fascinated to know how price sensitivity plays into that... would they spend more to obtain a product that has similar values?” (05:25).

Alena responds by questioning the lasting impact of the pandemic-driven behaviors, especially in the face of economic changes like inflation:

“Has behavior changed now that we're two more years removed from 2022?... Is it more of a lasting thing?” (05:49).

They discuss the complexity of consumer motivations, highlighting instances where values do not translate directly into purchasing behavior.

Real-World Implications and Examples

A pivotal example is shared where a brand's attempt to appeal to American-made sentiments did not yield expected results:

Rob recounts: “We had an advertiser who thought that their customer would care that their product was made in America... those ads... did not drive greater response” (07:09).

This illustrates the dichotomy between expressed values in focus groups and actual purchasing decisions, where cost-effectiveness often prevails.

Alena adds:

“It's another reason to test with synthetic audiences too, because you can maybe get more closer to the truth” (08:12).

This underscores the importance of data-driven testing over relying solely on self-reported values, which may not always align with consumer behavior.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a nuanced understanding that while consumer behavior research indicates a trend towards ethical and sustainable consumption, real-world applications reveal a more complex landscape where economic factors and price sensitivity can override value-driven choices. Alena poetically summarizes:

“This study is like an archaeological dig into the layers of consumer behavior... revealing a deeper evolution. What drives us to buy” (05:25).

Rob Demars encapsulates the essence by suggesting:

“If you want to know what someone truly values, look at their credit card statement” (08:26).

This final insight reinforces the idea that actual purchasing data often provides a clearer picture of consumer priorities than self-reported values.

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Key Takeaways

• Consumer behavior is evolving, with significant shifts influenced by societal events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Research trends highlight a growing emphasis on sustainable consumption and consumer ethics.
• Values-driven marketing must be nuanced and backed by data, as cost and practicality often influence purchasing decisions more strongly.
• Pre-testing and data analysis are crucial in understanding the true drivers of consumer behavior beyond expressed values.

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Notable Quotes

• Rob Demars (01:14): “...I feel like I have to be more proactive at consuming podcasts because I don't have that commute like I used to...”
• Alena Jasper (02:04): “I started doing triathlons during COVID... It’s easier to do that when you work from home...”
• Alena Jasper (04:20): “Consumers are increasingly making decisions based on... how their choices align with broader social issues...”
• Rob Demars (05:25): “...how much of the value of a particular brand is worth to a consumer in terms of price point...”
• Rob Demars (07:09): “All of those ads... did not drive greater response.”
• Alena Jasper (08:12): “It's another reason to test with synthetic audiences too...”
• Rob Demars (08:26): “If you want to know what someone truly values, look at their credit card statement.”

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For more insights into the latest marketing trends and research-driven strategies, tune into The Marketing Architects and join Alena and Rob in their quest to build revenue through informed marketing practices.

Transcript

[Rob Demars]

Nerd Alert. Learning is important, right?

[Alena Jasper]

Yes, exactly. But a bunch of nerds.

[Rob Demars]

Nerd alert, Right?

[Alena Jasper]

Marketing Architects. Hello and welcome to the Marketing Architects, a research first podcast dedicated to answering your toughest marketing questions. I'm Alena Jasper. I run the marketing team here at Marketing Architects, and I'm joined by my co host, Rob demars, the chief product architect of misfits and machines.

[Rob Demars]

Hello.

[Alena Jasper]

Hello. We are back with your weekly Nerd Alert. Every week, I'll take a deep dive into academic marketing research and translate its complex ideas into simple and understandable language for Rob, and of course, for all of you. Are you ready to nerd out, Rob?

[Rob Demars]

Forecast calls for a nerdstorm. Let's do this.

[Alena Jasper]

Let's do this. As always, we'll link the research we cover in the episode notes. This week I read a study titled Evolution and Trends in Consumer Behavior by Wang, Mark Lim, Satish Kumar, Nitesh Pandey, Deepak Verma, and Divash Kumar. Today we're reviewing a study that's quite extensive. It's a summary of a bunch of consumer behavior research from the Journal of Consumer Behavior. So we're going to share a lot of interesting information about the state of the consumer. But first, Rob, I want to ask you this. What behaviors of yours would you say have changed the most since the COVID pandemic?

[Rob Demars]

Well, one of my favorite pastimes before the pandemic was listening to podcasts in my car on the way to work. It was such a delight to have that time carved out. And now I feel like I have to be more proactive at consuming podcasts because I don't have that commute like I used to because we now work remotely. And then the comfort level of ordering food is definitely increased. Using the grubhubs and the door dashes of the world is definitely now part of our meal portfolio. Where before it was like maybe pizza, but otherwise we would drive ourselves to get our food.

[Alena Jasper]

That's a great one. Just the comfortability with food delivery. I was thinking similar, like just work from home, which we're still a work.

[Rob Demars]

From home for sure.

[Alena Jasper]

Company like that just changes so many of your habits. And one other thing I had was I started doing triathlons during COVID like not competing in them, but training for them because I think a lot of people kind of picked up new hobbies. Sports. It's easier to do that when you work from home because you're removing that commute time for training. So I asked you that because this is going to be a bit of A theme in the study, because, no surprise, the COVID pandemic changed a lot of our routines. And in this paper, they're reviewing data that tracks how consumer interest and activities have shifted over the past decade or so from what we value in a product to how we decide what to buy. So they analyzed over 737 articles published in the Journal of Consumer Behavior from 2009 to 2022, uncovering the most popular research topics and identifying trends. The study begins by categorizing the research into eight major themes. Some of these are classic areas in consumer research, like how we process information and the ways we interact with brands. Another core area is consumption communities, or how groups with shared consumption habits form communities both in person and online. There's also groups on intergenerational consumer behavior, which looks at how different age groups make consumption choices. And then there's consumer brand relationships, which is focused on the connections that people can form with brands. And then there's something that they found about in the more recent years. As we moved into the last five years, the journal saw a rise in studies on what might feel like a newer, more urgent topic. Consumer neuroscience, for instance, has grown with researchers studying how our brains react to marketing cues. We also see a focus on consumer values such as ethical consumption and sustainable choices. So it's not just about what we're buying, but about aligning these choices with personal values and global concerns. And now here's a bit of a twist. When the researchers zoomed in on the past few years, they found that two themes are truly driving today's consumer behavior studies. They're looking at out of all these papers, like what are the themes people are most interested in? And it's sustainable consumption and consumer ethics. So no surprise, this spike has been largely fueled by events like COVID 19 and the global push towards environmental goals and social responsibilities. So consumers are increasingly making decisions based on this journal, looking at not just their personal needs, but on how their choices align with broader social issues like environmental impact and corporate ethics. So the main takeaway here is consumer behavior research is keeping pace with shifting societal values, showing this bit of a pivot towards more conscious values driven choices. And researchers have really focused on how someone's values influence what they buy. Now, I think we have to be careful about how we label groups of consumers and respond to societal events like the pandemic, because we all went through a lot in that moment of everything has changed forever. And of course a lot changed, but also a a lot has stayed the same. And then I Think a lot has also kind of boomeranged back to how it was before so quickly. The robgpt this study is like an archaeological dig into the layers of consumer behavior where researchers unearth the foundations of classic habits, only to uncover a new layer of ethical and sustainable choices buried underneath. Each layer tells a story showing how consumer priorities have shifted from what's in it for me to what's in it for the world, revealing a deeper evolution. What drives us to buy. All right, Rob, what did you think?

[Rob Demars]

I think it's super interesting. I would be fascinated to know how price sensitivity plays into that. How much of the value of a particular brand is worth to a consumer in terms of price point? And would they spend more to obtain a product that has similar values? Or at what point are they willing to go? I guess that's not as important to me if the price is less.

[Alena Jasper]

Yeah, that's a great question. And it's too bad that they this paper cut off at 2022 because I was wondering the same thing. Like, has behavior changed now that we're two more years removed from 2022? And especially this year when consumers have become a lot more price sensitive with inflation. Like, I wonder if just like a lot of the COVID habits are like, boomeranging back, if maybe some of this, like, values driven buying and like, has some of that shifted? Yes, since just the economy has changed and was it more of a phase or is it more of a lasting thing? I don't think we really know yet. You hear a lot about how consumers are more value driven and they care about these things, but then you also see evidence that, that they don't. So it's like with the rise of temu, for example, like Tim was competing with Amazon, and if consumers were just 100% values driven, I don't think that growth would be happening. So it's this. I have always have trouble with stuff like, like this.

[Rob Demars]

We've even seen that prior to the pandemic where we would test particular campaigns that would focus on particular values more than others to see if that would drive a better consumer response. And sometimes we were pretty surprised. While the data may say, yeah, we definitely are passionate about that, it wasn't necessarily driving the buying decisions. I have an example, but I don't know if we want to include it.

[Alena Jasper]

Why?

[Rob Demars]

Okay, I'll just tell you.

[Alena Jasper]

Yeah, do you tell me. We can decide.

[Rob Demars]

So one example is we had an advertiser who thought that their customer would care that their product was made in America. It was an Older audience. So this advertiser went out of their way to relocate manufacturing in the United States so that they could actually say in their advertising that it was made in America. But all of those ads that we ended up testing with that particular message strategy did not drive greater response. And at the end of the day, that particular consumer, while they might favor products that are made in America, they favor products that are more cost effective, even more. And all the efficiencies of manufacturing that product overseas was actually of greater value to that audience.

[Alena Jasper]

That's so interesting and also a testament to the type of pre testing we do. Because I'll bet if you had gotten someone in a focus group and ask them, they would say, I care more. But when, like when you actually look at the sales data, it's different.

[Rob Demars]

They did. I mean, that was the truth is this was the. All of the focus group data. This was years ago. But all the focus group data would have said, yes, we favor Made in America products. But people oftentimes vote with their wallet.

[Alena Jasper]

Yeah. Oh man, that's so interesting. It's another reason to test with synthetic audiences too, because you can maybe get more closer to the truth than with a person that wants to portray themselves in a certain way. I wonder if the Made in the USA has changed at all, considering, like, there's been more attention recently on bringing manufacturing back to the United States. I wonder if it's changed. But yeah, who knows? It might just be one of those things again that people say they care about. But then I guess the rise of TEMU would dispute that. And you know, like it. You're right. Like people are buying based on value again and again and again.

[Rob Demars]

Absolutely. I think we. Again, we. If you want to know what someone truly values, look at their credit card statement. I'm stealing that from someone else. But that. I always thought that was a good line.

[Alena Jasper]

Like you say, if you've stolen from me, you've stolen twice. That's it for this episode of the Marketing Architects. We'd like to thank Taylor De Los Reyes for producing the show. You can connect with us on LinkedIn. And if you like the podcast, please leave us a review. Now go forth and build great marketing. Marketing Architects.