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Our current global economic uncertainty is a unique moment. Today, demand for goods is still rather high, but it’s just more difficult to purchase coveted items. The unemployment rate is still down around record lows, but every month it feels that it is becoming increasingly more expensive to live.
In this episode of CI Conversations, Paul Parton chats with Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer for R/GA, who describes what the typical consumer has in mind and what this means for brands.
The traditional rule of thumb for brands in an economic downturn still holds true: Organizations that continue to invest in a downturn tend to win the next business cycle. However, this downturn will likely be the first sustained economic downturn in the digital shopping world. While overall economic activity might be falling, the amount of comparison shopping consumers are doing actually goes up because people have less money available and they’re trying to buy products that are less expensive and more scarce, so they are investigating new brands. Currently, 87% of all commerce searches are for a product that contains multiple brands. This creates a unique opportunity for brands to stage an audition of sorts for the discerning consumer.
