What is it with people!

I am fascinated by people. I really am. But I don’t remember always feeling that way. As I’ve got older, I’ve seen more, experienced more, but I understand less. I am at once inspired by the amazing achievements, selfless acts and huge hearts of some people, while being sickened by others who freely exhibit the most despicable of human behaviour towards another. As I see it play out around me, I am also fascinated by the impact of childhood trauma on an adult’s ability to see reality. I’m seeing, more and more, that we can take nothing at face value. We need to question. We need to dig deep. We need to seek to understand, not to judge. All this ‘life experience’ has made me more interested, more curious, and ironically, a better researcher. I no longer assume – I dig, I ask, and I piece together.

As I seek to make sense of some current realities in my life, I wonder what I can say is a ‘consumer truth’ anymore. Here’s a starting point (in my humble opinion);

1. TRUTH #1: CONTEXT IS KING – can we say a person is a ‘budget shopper’ because they won’t pay full price for anything when shopping? A person I know – senior executive, good income, owns several properties – never buys anything at full price in the supermarket, yet freely pays $300 or more on a bottle of red wine, owns 70 pairs of undies (actually) and pays someone else to clean the house and the car. Context: fear driven by childhood experiences, not rational opinion drives behaviour.
2. TRUTH #2: LOYALTY IS DEAD – once upon a time, brands would launch a ‘time saving’ or a ‘more convenient’ way to undertake life tasks – it was easy to be loyal as these brands offered something uniquely different and inherently beneficial. As time went on, loyalty became about locking consumers into a ‘loyalty program’ (ie forcing their love). As consumers, we aren’t that stupid these days – are we? We demand constant delivery of value – we no longer give grace or forgiveness to brands. You have one chance and one chance only to delight…or someone else will.
3. TRUTH #3: WE DON’T KNOW WHY WE DO – I believe human (and consumer) behaviour is more and more driven by subconscious drivers than ever before. We live in an information age where we can ‘Google’ anything or ask AI – nothing is undiscoverable. So we ‘find out’ rather than ‘think through’. We don’t know what we think anymore, and the intense pressures and stresses we face today make it even more difficult to understand our own behaviour. So as researchers, we need to observe, to come alongside real people and real lives. We need to prompt consumers to observe themselves. To question. And then…only then…can we ask and get insightful responses.

If you have a brand or business challenge, an unanswered question or a need for consumer or shopper insight to solve a problem, please reach out – we may be able to help.