This presentation gives my perspective of changes in consumer behavior and offers questions for you to ask within your organization.

1. CONSUMER
TRENDS: 2014
PREPARED BY: PROFESSOR JENNY DARROCH
THE PETER F. DRUCKER AND MASATOSHI ITO
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
WWW.JENNYDARROCH.COM
E: JENNY@JENNYDARROCH.COM
© Jenny Darroch 2014
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RENT VS. BUY: I USE, NOT OWN… AND I
SHARE AND EXPERIENCE

3. RENT VS. BUY: I USE,
NOT OWN… AND I SHARE
AND EXPERIENCE
• “I don’t need to own a car, or even
books or music.”
• “I have more than I need, and so I will
share with others.”
• “I enjoy the experience of sharing.”
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4. RENT VS. BUY: I USE,
NOT OWN… AND I SHARE
AND EXPERIENCE
• “I don’t need to own a car, or even books
or music.”
• “I have more than I need, and so I will
share with others.”
• “I enjoy the experience of sharing.”
• How does the sharing economy impact
your organization and its brands?
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THE NEW NORMAL… THE BLURRING OF
GENDER ROLES

6. THE NEW NORMAL… THE
BLURRING OF GENDER
ROLES
• Women out-learn men
• Women are beginning to out-earn men
• Men are spending more time with their
children
• More women head households
• Work life balance affects men and women
• Women account for 85% of all household
purchase decisions
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7. THE NEW NORMAL… THE
BLURRING OF GENDER
ROLES
• Women out-learn men
• Women are beginning to out-earn men
• Men are spending more time with their children
• More women head households
• Work life balance affects men and women
• Women account for 85% of all household
purchase decisions
• Take care not to stereotype based on
gender.
• Does your organization understand the
role of women as influencers, buyers and
users of your products or services?
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THE NEW NORMAL –TRADITIONAL LIFE
STAGES NO LONGER APPLY TO
“SWIRLERS”

9. THE NEW NORMAL –
SWIRLERS
• Traditional life stages do not apply.
Examples:
• “I incurred a lot of college debt and can’t afford to buy a
home or have children.”
• “I can’t afford to buy a home and so I will move back in
with my parents.”
• “I will delay marrying and having children.
• “I get married… and then remarried”. I might have more
children later in life.
• “I am over 65 but I don’t want to retire. I am active and
healthy and enjoy work.”
• “I am over 65 but I can’t afford to retire because I’m still
paying off a mortgage”
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10. THE NEW NORMAL –
SWIRLERS
• Traditional life stages do not apply.
• Take care not to stereotype based on life
stage because life stage does not
necessarily determine consumption
patterns.
• Does your organization truly understand
the demographics of your customer
base? Do you stereotype based on
demographics?
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ON-LINE INTERACTION: “SOCIAL” MEDIA
CAN ISOLATE AND DEPRESS – ARE YOU MY
FRIEND? IS YOUR LIFE BETTER THAN MINE?

12. ON-LINE INTERACTION:
“SOCIAL” MEDIA CAN
ISOLATE AND DEPRESS
• “I have a lot of “friends” on Facebook and
Facebook has allowed me to revive
dormant friendships. Are they true
friends?”
• “My use of social media is keeping me
away from traditional settings such as
voluntary groups and public spaces.”
• “Facebook depresses me because it
makes me think other people have better
lives than me.”
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13. ON-LINE INTERACTION:
“SOCIAL” MEDIA CAN
ISOLATE AND DEPRESS
• Consumers are starting to put value on
their core groups of friends again. Who’s
in my phone book vs. who’s in my
Rolodex.
• Does your organization’s use of social
media enhance or diminish consumers’
happiness and sense of self worth?
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WHO AM I? YOU SHOULD KNOW ME BY
NOW.. SO TREAT ME WELL WHEN WE DO
BUSINESS TOGETHER

15. WHO AM I? YOU SHOULD
KNOW ME BY NOW
• “I have given up some of my privacy
concerns: I use Cloud computing; when
there are data breaches, I expect you to fix
them [or better still make sure you’ve got
security in place so it doesn’t happen] and
I know you capture data on me all the
time”.
• “When we do business together, I expect
you to know me.”
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16. WHO AM I? YOU SHOULD
KNOW ME BY NOW
• “I have given up some of my privacy concerns: I
use Cloud computing; when there are data
breaches, I expect you to fix them [or better still
make sure you’ve got security in place so it
doesn’t happen] and I know you capture data on
me all the time”.
• “When we do business together, I expect you to
know me.”
• Brands need to know their customers and
acknowledge customer loyalty.
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WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? ? - RIGHT
EDUCATION, GOOD EXPERIENCE, YET I
STILL CAN’T FIND A SUITABLE JOB

18. WHAT WAS THAT ALL
ABOUT?
• “I did all the “right” things [right school,
right degree, internships, work
experience] and yet I can’t find a job or a
job that matches my abilities.”
• Consumers will look for other experiences
from which to create meaning and provide
validation. School and job become less
relevant.
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19. WHAT WAS THAT ALL
ABOUT?
• “I did all the “right” things [right school, right
degree, internships, work experience] and yet I
can’t find a job or a job that matches my
abilities.”
• Consumers will look for other experiences from
which to create meaning and provide validation.
School and job become less relevant.
• What does your brand do to help
consumers find meaning and validation?
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THE JEKYLL AND HYDE PHENOMENON: I
CAN TAKE ON DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES
WHEN I POST ONLINE... BEWARE BIG DATA.

21. THE JEKYLL AND HYDE
PHENOMENON: I CAN
TAKE ON DIFFERENT
PERSONALITIES
• “When I post comments online, I could be
anyone – a man, women, young, old,
white, black, wealthy, poor. My alter ego
can say mean things to others even
though I’m usually nice.”
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22. THE JEKYLL AND HYDE
PHENOMENON: I CAN
TAKE ON DIFFERENT
PERSONALITIES
• “When I post comments online, I could be
anyone – a man, women, young, old,
white, black, wealthy, poor. My alter ego
can say mean things to others even
though I’m usually nice.”
• Do you have access to big data? What
decisions do you make with it? How
accurate does big data need to be?
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TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: I SHARE A LOT
ABOUT MYSELF… AND I SHARE IMAGES
NOW NOT WORDS

24. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: I
SHARE A LOT ABOUT
MYSELF
• “I used to share words but now I share
images.”
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25. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS: I
SHARE A LOT ABOUT
MYSELF
• “I used to share words but now I share
images.”
• Do you give your customers stories to
share, … and stories that contain photos
and videos?
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THE HUMAN POLYGRAPH: I’M GOOD AT
DETECTING LIES AND SIFTING
THROUGH INFORMATION ONLINE

27. THE HUMAN
POLYGRAPH: I’M GOOD
AT DETECTING LIES AND
SIFTING THROUGH
INFORMATION
• “I do most of my research online and I’m
getting used to filtering information I find. I
know not to trust all data sources.”
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28. THE HUMAN
POLYGRAPH: I’M GOOD
AT DETECTING LIES AND
SIFTING THROUGH
INFORMATION
• “I do most of my research online and I’m
getting used to filtering information I find. I
know not to trust all data sources.”
• When you provide information [online, in
print] do you tell readers where the
information is coming from – your
organization vs. an outside source and if
an outside source, which source?
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CONNECTIVITY: I’M MOBILE AND
CONNECTED… ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

30. CONNECTIVITY: I’M
MOBILE AND
CONNECTED…
ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
• 90% of adults have a cell phone; 5% have
a smartphone; 42% own a tablet computer
• 67% of cell owners check their phone for
messages, alerts, or calls — even if not
phone ringing or vibrating.
• 44% of cell owners sleep with their phone
next to their bed because they want to
make sure they don’t miss out
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31. CONNECTIVITY: I’M
MOBILE AND
CONNECTED…
ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
• “I will use mobile technology when I’m out
shopping.”
• “I expect to be able to communicate with
you and for you to respond straight away
• How responsive are you to customer
feedback?
• Do you have a mobile strategy?
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THE SUSPICIOUS SKEPTIC: I DON’T
TRUST OR RESPECT YOUR BRANDS OR
YOUR ORGANIZATION ANYMORE

33. THE SUSPICIOUS
SKEPTIC: I DON’T TRUST
OR RESPECT YOU…
• “I once saw a boundary between me and
your organization.”
• “I would buy what you told me I needed”
• “The recession taught me not to respect
large organizations”
• “You care more about profits than my
welfare.”
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34. THE SUSPICIOUS
SKEPTIC: I DON’T TRUST
OR RESPECT YOU…
• “I once saw a boundary between me and your
organization.”
• “I would buy what you told me I needed”
• “The recession taught me not to respect large
organizations”
• “You care more about profits than my welfare.”
• Do your customers trust your brand? Are
you open with them? Do you take care of
problems they have with your
organization? Do they trust you
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THE UNEVEN PARTNERSHIP: CO-
CREATING VALUE WITH YOUR
ORGANIZATION

36. THE UNEVEN
PARTNERSHIP: CO-
CREATING VALUE
• “You used to do so much more for me.”
• “I prefer to create my own experiences.”
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37. THE UNEVEN
PARTNERSHIP: CO-
CREATING VALUE
• “You used to do so much more for me.”
• “I prefer to create my own experiences.”
• How can your customers co-create value
with you so that you both benefit?
• What can you do to help customers
personalize their experiences – e.g.,
Amazon and Netflix personal
recommendations
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CONSUMER REBELLION: I DON’T MIND
STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS AND
COMPETING WITH YOU

39. CONSUMER REBELLION:
I DON’T MIND
COMPETING WITH YOU
• “I don’t trust or respect you as much, and
you’ve encouraged me to fulfill a lot more
of the services you once provided for me.
I’m happy to think “outside of the box” for
service providers, even if that means I
must now compete with you.”
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40. CONSUMER REBELLION:
I DON’T MIND
COMPETING WITH YOU
• “I don’t trust or respect you as much, and
you’ve encouraged me to fulfill a lot more
of the services you once provided for me.
I’m happy to think “outside of the box” for
service providers, even if that means I
must now compete with you.”
• What could your customers do to compete
against you?
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