Home, the new company brand and costumers in the ‘new normality’

Without doubts, we are conscious that the game rules have changed in this ‘new normality’ that brings brands and costumers closer to a new competitive scenario.

Abrupt changes in the scene interfere directly and without warning with consumer movements. We know this, it is not new, but we remember it again as this new situation that we have to live with advances more.

It would be good if we were capable to see this with critical, analytical and creative eyes. Gathering the ideas that are left behind by this turbulent environment is the key to adapting to the normality that is to come.

On a preliminary basis, substantial changes in consumers can already be observed. I am not referring to those sudden changes at the end of April; they were driven by fear, uncertainty and uneasiness. I am referring to others that are sustained by slightly stronger roots.

As consumers, we adapt quickly to new situations and try to standardize them as much as possible. We like to bring the best of our lives to the current circumstances, and that is where many brands will find real business opportunities.

It is quite challenging, but study variables point to a very specific focus: the home. This will become a market where many products and services will coexist which were perhaps not at all the protagonists before, or at least not for a long period.

During the time of lockdown, we are living new experiences with products and services that we used to enjoy in other places and in other ways. Now, even if forced, we have had no choice but to try new alternative ways, which will surely remain with us for the next few months.

For example, sport is done at home instead of at the gym; you watch streaming movies instead of going to the cinema, and you order food at home instead of going to the restaurant or buy clothes in online shops instead of going to the physical store.

All this happens at home regardless of the characteristics of the consumer and the segmentation variables in which he or she fits. Gender, age and purchasing power do not matter: the home is the setting for the new normality.

Both during these times of confinement and when everything is released, freedom of movement will be restricted, and consumer caution will be very much in demand. The home will continue to be an area where the vast majority of consumer acts take place and it is time to re-invent ourselves.

The spending capacity of many consumers drew a very clear line between doing activities outside the home and doing them indoors. For example, a consumer who couldn't afford to pay a gym membership would practice sports at home with videos from professionals or free online tutorials. Now, there are customers who can pay the monthly fee for a sports center but cannot attend and are willing to pay for more personalized virtual classes. A new target asset has arrived home.

Something similar happens with the entertainment sector. Faced with the impossibility of going to the movies, some companies such as Universal Pictures in the United States are offering premiere movies for $20 rent for 48 hours. This is a shift in focus to a consumer who is demanding and willing to pay for premieres in front of the all-inclusive consumer on platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.

However, home is also and will be our private restaurant. After the first weeks of lockdown, the customer gets tired of cooking and needs new and pleasant experiences: home cooking. Reserved for those consumers who did not prefer or could not afford to go to restaurants, it is now the option of any customer model. This is a challenge, since any range within the restaurant sector can or should be adapted to home service.

We will have to adjust processes, products, dishes, experiences... but brands must be where their consumers are. The Gofio restaurant in Madrid, with one Michelin star, is an example of adaptability to delivery service. It offers home delivery services for its private and exquisite Canarian food adapted to this new reality.

The purchase of goods could not be less. The online market is being imposed from the homes, and making the change of wardrobe is going to pass unquestionably through e-commerce. Customers who are loyal to physical stores will have to adapt their preferences from the sofa at home and are a very interesting niche for many businesses. Personal shoppers find in the digital field a way to be close to their customers and develop their work closely and according to the situation. Once again, within the home market we find both ends of the same consumer segment.

We do not know yet if it will be ephemeral or lasting, but the new normality leads us to execute new processes where the speed and brands' creativity will lead to the advance or the retreat of many of them in the consumer's mind and pocket.