The Post-Crisis Consumer

This week I turned to Ted Talks for blog inspiration. This Ted Talk was given by John Gerzma, who is currently the Chief Insights Officer at Young & Rubicam, and has worked with some of the world’s most famous brands including Coca Cola and McDonald’s. This talk was given in 2009, and was centralized around the idea of the post-crisis consumer in The United States.

The talk highlights four post-crisis trends, and how companies are responding to these new consumer demands and interests. The four trends are listed below:

     1.   Americans are now evaluating their success based on liquidity rather than having many material possessions. This cultural shift has lead consumers to déclassé consumption; the idea that spending money frivolously makes you look more “anti-fashion.”

     2.   Americans are now more concerned with ethics and fair play. Consumers are demanding more empathy and respect from companies.

     3.  Americans are more concerned with durable living, so consumers are searching for products that have a longer shelf life. Quality > Quantity. A tangible example of this is that consumers are now keeping cars longer than ever before.

     4. Americans are more focused on helping each other out, and therefore consumers are more interested in buying local products and supporting local causes.

Do you think these four trends are still relevant today? If so, can you provide more current examples of companies responding to these consumer trends?

Also related to the topic of savings, when do you think consumers are most concerned with price? When do consumers search for bargains, and when do they spurge? Are there situational factors that you believe affect how consumers factor in price when buying a new product? Is there a certain “pain-point” that every 

consumer has when it comes to price?

Check out the talk, and let me know what you think! Here is the link: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/john_gerzema_the_post_crisis_consumer.html