Further evidence that the “Great Recession” has had a significant effect on consumer behavior:

– In a recent Mintel consumer study, a substantial 76% of respondents state that they are “smarter shoppers” than they were a year ago.

– Almost seven in ten say they are trying to buy only necessary items, such as food (and that last number includes about half of those households earning more than $100k annually).

But price is not the only consideration. Only half of the consumers in the survey say that low price is more important than good customer service, while seven in ten say they only buy brands they trust.
What does this mean? It means that the definition of “smart shopper” is not just about price, it is more and more about value. And the concept of value has been extended to include trust in the brand, as well as good customer service.

These numbers look very much the same as they did a year and even two years ago, when the recession was just beginning to alter consumer behavior. This means that consumers are settling into a “less is more” mindset, while expecting more from their brand and shopping experiences.

Anyone in Financial Services (along with other industries) who is not conducting branding studies and consumer experience research should probably take note.

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