Christie Nicholas is the Chief Growth Partner at Mumpower, Australia’s leading agency shaping brands that speak to Mums. Christie joins The Bugg Report as an exclusive guest writer and will share important intelligence that will help your brand prosper in a changing market.
Top 10 Consumer Themes to Leverage in 2021
Do you remember the consumer trends that were suddenly thrust to the forefront last year?
People’s homes became their world, old-school activities were the hottest entertainment since colour TV, it was a time for DIY everything, comfy loungewear was a 24/7 staple for all, hygiene practices were the new black and all of a sudden, everyone was practicing new — and mostly old school — recipes. The consumer, changed right before our eyes — and so did the distribution of household discretionary spend.
However fleeting, some brands rode the wave to financial stardom, while others struggled. The lesson for both was about how important it is to know what your customer wants, cares about and values. As this is where she will invest time or money in. Which brings us to 2021.
If you knew what was going to be big this time round, would you take a different approach? While we can’t go back in time, we need to prepare ourselves with what’s next. And it starts here.
Mumpower continuously taps into our vast network of 21,000 Australian Mum Shoppers and 2,000 Mum Influencers to identify themes that will continue to play a central role in her life. Given 72% of Mums are largely in chase of household spend, this audience impacts your sales. With this knowledge you will elevate and amplify your brand strategy and your B2C communication dialogue, demonstrate your understanding of the customer and deliver to them what matters most.
The end game is more relevant brands, stronger relationships and faster conversion.
Here are the Top 10 themes your customers will embrace in 2021:
1. Kids will not go without
Products in this space are more protected than other categories as she continues to invest in ways to protect, enjoy and shape her children’s lives as a priority over other needs. While every second household in Australia has felt financial strain and normal spending has not yet resumed — moving forward, mums are determined her children will not go without.
2. Family, friends & togetherness
The unexpected separation from friends and families has made families develop a new found respect for quality bonding time, togetherness and meaningful relationships that all contribute to “greater life experiences”. Your customer continues to value spending time with loved ones, therefore solutions that enable this are appealing.
3. Cooking, sharing meals
With a slower than usual life still happening, families are no longer pressured to deliver ‘fast, quick meal ideas’ as much as before and there is more focus on healthy cooking. More Mums are intent on keeping her family nourished and via cooking/sharing family meals, she will increase and preserve the meaningful bonding time experienced in 2020.
4. Self-care & nourishment
“2021 shall be named the year of self-care” is a resounding theme. It’s not just about face masks and massages. Mums learnt very quickly the huge role they play at keeping the family well and with life pressures taking a toll, she will address and invest in herself in different ways, more than ever. Your customer wants to be her best self. Take her there.
5. Slower living & mindfulness
The pandemic took away the hustle and bustle of outings, activities, and fast living and introduced the concept of slowing down; something Mums want to maintain in some form. Therefore, Mums will remain more connected to meaningful transactions and activities and brands that will support her in her pursuit of this ethos.
6. Health, happiness & pleasure
With the overriding threat of compromised health and safety, and going through lessons and hardships in different ways (from home schooling, family mental health and more). Mums know from experience how important and valued health, happiness and pleasure is for her and her family. Therefore products that offer this are in line with her values.
7. Security, saving, value for money
Consumer seek greater financial security. We’ve seen almost every second household experiencing financial setbacks, 65% of households now saving for a rainy day and 70% of Mums opting to only buy what they need. Customers today are more money conscious and are looking to validate the value for money, and need to feel more confident in buying decisions.
8. Home haven
With travel still restricted and continued work from home lifestyles will see families continue to invest in home life. While home maker brands may not grow as exponentially as they did last year, home life will continue to be important to this customer who will continue to spend in this space.
9. Local love
Mums want to support local. In fact, a whopping, 64% of mums buying local/Aussie made regardless of prices. Supporting local continues to be a topic prevalent in the media as well. There will more attention of the country/source of origin for certain market categories.
10. Purpose driven brands will be noticed
With 47% of consumers believing that it is important for brands to be involved in social issue and movements, Mums will become more aware of brands that act with purpose. Brands in this space will empower the customer to feel like they are making a difference to a greater purpose and be more compelling.
These are the top 10 popular consumer themes to embrace in 2021. By monitoring how life has changed for the consumer and understanding what she now values most, as brand marketers we can lean into the driving themes and trends that will dictate her future spend and stay relevant. Brands that deliver solutions to support Mums in these areas of her life will flourish.
Christie Nicholas — Chief Growth Partner at Mumpower
Connect with Christie via linked in here
Mumpower exists to lead mum-centric brands to next-level brilliance. We fuel Mum-to-Mum Brand Advocacy via: Market Research, Influencer Marketing & Campaign Activation, designed to power B2C relationships forward.
mumpower.com.au — A brand force with influence.
