The effects of Covid-19 are really going to show who’s got good lemonade recipes, says Tom Mirabile, principal and founder of Springboard Futures, and consumer trend forecaster for the International Housewares Association (IHA).
“And for those who really watch and listen to consumers, there are going to be some incredible new opportunities.”
He predicts the pandemic will propel the already-developing virtual office trend and consumers’ ability to work from home, as well as the enhanced need for products that help us monitor and care for our health from home. Any home products that help enhance consumers’ feelings of comfort and security will also be popular.
“Home has assumed many identities over the past few decades; it has been a showplace and a social hub, a cocoon and a creative studio,” he says.
“It’s played the role of office space and marketplace. It’s lived through ‘own your own,’ ‘grow your own,’ ‘make your own’ and ‘sell your own’. Next up: home as family fortress.”
Mirabelle adds that consumers have never been more diverse, demanding or complex than today.
“A key reason today’s consumer landscape is so complex? We have four distinctly different generations with totally different desires and expectations making significant impacts.
“Many people have embedded perceptions of different generations. We tend to anchor economic power in terms of money, but a lot of that has really changed. There’s affluence, and then there’s influence. In truth, influence is likely the greater strength because it can spread so quickly across economic and social strata and affect consumer opinion and spending.”
Mirabile acknowledges that generational diversity has gotten so complex that it’s easy to get distracted or lost in all the numbers and opinions.
“Statistics can deliver important insight, no question,” he says. “Still, the best strategies are rooted in a commitment to stay tethered to one or more fundamental consumer realities and aspirations. It’s crucial to keep these universal trends in mind, because while intangible, they consistently drive consumer demand, regardless of generation or socio-economic status.
He reminds us that tomorrow and 20 years from tomorrow, a majority of consumers will still want:
• more time
• more space
• more experiences
• more health and wellness
• more safety and security
• more convenience
• more flexibility/versatility
• more reliability/durabilty
• more sustainability
