Insight How do brand values define consumer value?

How do brand values define consumer value?

During this pandemic, consumers are holding themselves to a higher ethical standard. More people are trading their desire for convenience, for a greater social cause. Sustainable products are increasing in popularity despite their larger price tags. With many people applauding businesses for prioritising the more vulnerable with specific opening hours, we feel this pandemic is catapulting our collective consciousness for more ethical purchasing and brand choice.

Our financial insecurity has seen our budgets receiving just as much scrutiny as our purchasing ethics. An inevitable global recession means most consumers will be purchasing less and with much more consideration. Getting great value has never been as important as it is today. With our purchasing decisions being over-researched and over-informed, consumers will expect higher standards and better value from retailers and brands. With brand ethics feeding into our purchasing decisions more than ever, they will have to work harder for customer allegiance. In the new normal, the little things will count.

WHAT THE FUTURE MIGHT HOLD…

Values not Value

People are rethinking their whole reason to buy. 'Do I really need it?' 'What is the greater impact of my purchase?' Our purchasing motivation is shifting away from price to aligning ourselves with brands that have strong ideals and are devoted to wider social causes. The traditional aspects of retail such as good product assortment, wide selection, convenient delivery and great customer service, are no longer enough to differentiate a brand anymore. Consumers are searching for brands that they share common ground with. In the new normal, brand values will become one of the most important aspect of consumers purchasing decisions.

Purchase by Social Cause

Increasingly brands are being judged by the social causes they support - inclusion and diversity, sustainability or fair trade as well as staff treatment. It is only a matter of time until the notions of a 'good business' and an 'ethical brand' merge into one. Can segmentation by social causes be manifested into a physical retail space? In the future, we might see department stores with product zones based on brand values. Imagine products segmented by sustainability, or by how much of a brand's profits go to charity? Perhaps deciding what social causes a brand supports is the ultimate form of brand equity, with the most valuable customers extracting the most social value.

Immersed in Values

Today's parameters of social significance, sustainability, environmental impact, cultural diversity and inclusion, to name but a few, are only becoming more common and more overt. Although product price will always be a driving factor for purchase, a brands ability to have a personality, and take stance on social issues has jumped up on the consumer priority list. If these brand viewpoints and corporate strategies factor heavily in our purchasing decision, then it makes sense that this information is readily available to consumers. When we view a product in-store, alongside the product features and benefits being displayed, a brand's affiliation with a social cause should be part of the information communicated. What was the environmental cost of manufacturing? Or what is the gender wage disparity of the company? Customers will want this information to be prevalent at the point of purchase, not something they research before, or discover after their purchase. A brand's values need to be interwoven into everything, and retailers need to start using their stores to tell stories beyond the products and services. It makes customers feel better that they made the right choice.

IN CONCLUSION...

Our purchasing decisions will be determined by a brand’s values and ethics. We spend our money more carefully, while also believing we can make social changes through our support for the brand. In many cases, we are willing to sacrifice our own convenience for support of an important social cause. Retail needs to communicate the more intricate personality of modern brands. The values of businesses need to be immersive experiences usually reserved for products, because brand personality sells. Social causes are becoming an increasingly important factor in consumer decision making, and these stories need to be communicated at every moment along the pathway to purchase, including within the store environment.