14,000 Consumers Weigh In: Kearney Consumer Institute Releases Keeping Up with the Consumer - New Report Identifies Key Tension Points Informing Consumer Choices, Brand Selection, and What's Behind "Unpredictable" Consumer Behavior

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Nov 14, 2024, 09:05 ET

Key Findings:

Brands are pumping out more choices than consumers need or want.
Consumers streamline their needs spending to enable discretionary spend.
Brands and retailers need to revert to EQ and great merchandising.

CHICAGO, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI), an internal think tank of global strategy and management consultancy Kearney, today released a consumer research report that upends much of the conventional wisdom around brand proliferation, over-reliance on data, and consumer choices. Based on survey data from 14,000 consumers across the US, Europe, and APAC, Keeping Up with the Consumer examines buyers' unpredictable, seemingly quixotic behaviors, identifies the underlying tension points that explain them, and concludes that brands are massively under-accounting for the human element that drives purchase decisions.

"Brands have more data than ever about consumer demographics, behavior, spending, and opinions. But we still often categorize consumer behavior as 'unpredictable.' To understand why, our research found three key consumer tensions that help explain this behavior," notes KCI lead Katie Thomas. "As options and access grow, consumers' lives are only getting more complicated. Sometimes we get lost in one side of a narrative, without realizing the strain it puts on consumers." The research identified the following three friction points:

Options vs. overload: Consumers seem to expect a product that suits each type of skin, diet, or fitness need. Yet, in many major categories, most consumers believe there's already plenty to choose from—if not too much.

Curation vs. control: Two out of three consumers say they like making all their decisions themselves. But it's logical that consumers want (and need) some level of curation to make sense of all their options.

Facts vs. feelings: Consumers want to "do their own research" (and they trust themselves more than they trust brands and institutions), but have limited reserves of time, energy, and motivation.

Keeping Up with the Consumer explores consumer shifts since 2016, when the KCI released The Future Consumer. Then, brands were focusing on the power of influence, a socially driven approach centered on "authenticity." However, as the "influence" approach became more common, it lost some appeal and started to feel less authentic. Meantime, dramatic changes to the consumer landscape—from COVID-19 to political unrest to the emergence of new social media and shopping platforms—helped consolidate this massive shift.

The research suggests that retailers and brands aren't striking the right balance between facts versus feelings, curation versus control, and too many choices. Noted Thomas, "When retailers and brands balance the tension, applying emotional intelligence and great merchandising, they will better navigate the mindset of the future consumer to address their needs."

"Here, we see the push–pull between consumers and brands," Thomas says. "Sometimes brands should lead consumers forward; but sometimes, the better choice is following consumer behavior. The key is understanding the complex, nuanced, and sometimes unexpected tensions that will crop up next."

Read the full report by clicking this link.

For more information, or to schedule an interview with Katie Thomas or receive a copy of the Keeping Up with the Consumer report, please contact:

MKPR/Meir Kahtan
+1 917-864-0800
[email protected]

About the Kearney Consumer Institute

The Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI) perspective. By leveraging consumer behavior data and insights, the KCI helps generate conversation, and ultimately action, around how to address consumer needs with meaningful benefits.

Using a consumer-first lens the KCI looks at today's consumer revolution not by thinking about consumers, but by thinking like consumers. Our consumer-centric approach includes simple, precise, plain-language conversations on topics like trends, consumer communities, convenience, loyalty, service, fair pricing, and product development and technologies.

About Kearney
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For nearly 100 years, we have been a trusted advisor to C-suites, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we work alongside our clients to regenerate their businesses to create a future that works for everyone. www.kearney.com

SOURCE Kearney