Research shows that Australian consumers throughout all these changing times have been more cautious in spending than other countries that were more affected by the virus.
What’s interesting is that they are less optimistic than the US and China but more optimistic than most other European countries.
The Australian economy has had many artificial cushions which have reduced the major economic blow of the pandemic.
As business owners, we all need to understand the impact is not the same for everyone and has been broken down into 4 key sectors according to McKinsey.
– 20% of people are only making ends meet and living week to week. This was the case before Covid. However, now the issue has been further amplified. In this segment, Female Baby Boomers are the worst hit.
– 30% of people are optimistic but extremely cautious. Most are financially secure however worried about health and the future of the economy. What’s staggering here is that 91% of people made NO adjustments to rent or mortgage costs, their strategy was to do nothing across the board.
– 26% of people managed to stay stable, employed and had minimal impact. Mainly Male Gen X and Baby Boomers and in the more affluent category.
– 24% of people have their income in jeopardy with many feeling a major impact on income due to job losses or reductions in working hours. A staggering 61% of people already experienced a drop in income with another 37% expecting more declines. This has affected all income brackets and skewed more to Females at the moment.
The data shows that the consumer intent is to pull back on spending in general, it’s not necessary due to income issues but more a socioeconomic trend.
It’s important to drill down further into information like this because optimism and spending trends will change based on the 4 different sectors, then by Gender and Generational Behaviours.
A clear message is starting to emerge that Australians are starting to focus on Price, Value and Supporting Australian Based Brands. And asking questions like ‘how has the brand helped my community through these tough times?’
If you get your targeting right you can get your messaging right, this allows you to spend less at the same time of helping more people while being authentic as a product or service.
By building a new playbook and understanding that consumer needs were very different in 2020 compared to the year before will set you on the right path for success in 2021.
Adopting a nimble approach to understanding your consumer metrics combined with generating insights in real-time will provide you with the data you need to navigate this new complex consumer-driven world.
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