The prioritization of health and climate change, the expansion of identities, and integration of technology into the daily life are only some of the trends that digital marketing giant Dentsu International said will determine consumer behavior in 2030.
“Changes in the consumer landscape that would’ve taken years only took months due to the global pandemic,” Dentsu Philippines CEO JC Catibog remarked during a virtual briefing on Thursday, June 3, as part of Dentsu International’s “Consumer Vision 2030: The Age of Inclusive Intelligence” report.
“As we look forward to the future, we must try to examine and understand our consumers much better and assess the impact of the pandemic as well as other global forces in people’s lives.”
The virtual briefing tackled the eight trends most relevant to the Philippines consumer and the steps Philippine brands are taking to navigate them.
The first trend, “Every Brand is a Health Brand”, highlights how securing long-term health will become the top priority of consumers in every purchase decision in the next decade. Their health considerations will drive customers to insist that all brands must help enhance wellbeing and eliminate harmful products and services.
In a similar vein, the report showed how consumers are demanding that businesses address climate change and accurately represent diversity.
“Acclimatize Now” covers how today’s consumers are tired of brands’ inaction regarding the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Future consumers will call for businesses to be transparent with their climate impacts and the measures they are taking to mitigate them.
The growing recognition of gender identity, sexual orientation, minorities, and marginalized sectors was encompassed in “Kaleido-dentity”. This movement is an affirmation of the rights of diverse identities and peoples. Brands will have to respond by revamping their consumer profiles, advertising, and media to encompass non-traditional gender roles and underrepresented groups.
The next trends in the study focused on emerging business types and practices. “The Rise of Titan Brands” deals with the relatively recent existence of companies like Amazon and Alibaba, businesses that have expanded into every industry and thus, made themselves essential to every consumer.
While it may be difficult for Philippine MSMEs to take on local titans like Ayala, San Miguel, SM, and Aboitiz, smaller Pinoy businesses can concentrate on serving a select niche to build their own loyal followings, the report said.
“The Rise of the 5-Star Citizen” is based on the prediction that by 2030, ratings will become a normal and important part of society. By that year, Dentsu expects that brands and governments will be giving consumers and citizens ratings to determine their access to goods and services. In turn, consumers ratings will also greatly impact brand viability.
As early as now, the report said brands should anticipate the rating practice by defining and targeting their own five-star citizen, as well as studying consumer expectations in their industry across advocacies, customer experience, and messaging.
The last three trends zoom in on technology advances. Digital “e-numans” during lockdown are just the tips of the iceberg when it comes to the “Tech Togetherness” trend.
The report forecasted that 5G, Internet of Things (IOT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), and robots would soon be leveraged to foster human connection.
Brands that start exploring these technologies early will discover new channels to reach their customers. In “Virtual Sets the Standard”, the growing popularity of e-sports or competitive video gaming was spotlighted. This trend also took into account how the acceleration of e-sports growth due to Covid-19 brought with it technology advances.
Dentsu foresees that by 2030, haptic technology, VR, and other sensory technology — for now mostly the province of gaming and e-sports — will be used by businesses to let customers both near and far have a real world experience with their products.
Lastly, as humans increasingly rely on technology, the “Human Dividend” predicts that consumers will have more time for leisure and self-improvement. They will also be seeking risks and adventures that deviate from the perfect world created by machines. Brands can already prepare for this change by placing a premium on human experiences and interaction, according to the report.
By 2030, the report estimated that 400 to 800 million jobs will be automated. Dentsu viewed this automation as unavoidable and it recommends that employers invest in upskilling their workforce to handle jobs that machines are incapable of accomplishing, such as roles centered on advanced problem solving, creativity, and empathy.
In short, as Philippine businesses forge ahead, they must also anticipate the changing needs of their consumers while taking advantage of technology advances to better meet those needs, the report said.
“We at dentsu believe that through continuous innovation and building human-centric experiences, brands will be able to nurture long-term relationships with consumers and meet their future expectations,” said Catibog at the end of the event.
The Consumer Vision 2030 report drew on in-depth interviews with world-renowned futurists, academics, authors and experts, together with multiple proprietary consumer surveys from more than 20 countries to extrapolate the global 12 consumer trends that would impact 2030.
