Oz Trends
Rising cost of living
At June 2011 we are experiencing a serious slow down in retail spending and some transferance of sales to online. While the Australian experience in economic terms has not been as severe as other Western nations, there is growing concern about increasing utility prices, petrol, food prices (largely as a result of the floods and heavy rain) and housing affordability. All of which is leading the community to save more and reduce spending across non-essential categories. Bargaining is increasingly evident even in traditional quality retailer environments not known for this.
Responses to concerns in price increases take a variety of forms – communities are banding together to get better prices on electricity, consumers are seeking out farmers markets to cut out the middle man, families are avoiding the unnecessary shopping centre trips that generate extra spending, kids are staying in the family home longer, reducing the spend on rent, furniture etc. There is at present no abatement in sight to this trend. This situation highlights that in order to access the available spending capacity of the market, it is imperative to have a highly focus marketing strategy.
Environmental concerns
A February 2011 Newspoll and The Australian research survey showed that 73% of the Australian population believe that climate change is occuring and 94% believe it is caused by human activity. This overall believe is leading many people to change their purchasing and lifestyle habits. Governments, businesses and community based organisations are providing advice and products and services that are encouraging change in practice, not just attitudes.
Changes most obvious are the uptake of inhome insulation, solar panels and tanks. Less obvious in total sales impact, but slowly establishing change among grocery retailers are impacts on food labelling, product sourcing (including ‘food miles’) and product security in general. Recycling and re-using has been evidenced as having a significant impact on our carbon footprint, while also helping to save costs.
Technology Driven Cost Savings
Just as online bookings for travel and entertainment are now the norm, technology will continue to provide cost saving, especially at the expense of a personal retail interface and the human handling and processing of our written postal mail requests. Ease of use and speed together with reduced staffing costs will be major incentives for an increased role of technology in our lives over this decade. More energy efficient household appliances will be driven by applying technologies to control temperature, timing and monitoring, further addressing our need for cost reduction and a lower carbon footprint.
Major Opportunities
By the end of the decade we will apparently be buying electric cars. Many new product and service opportunities will evolve from changes like this, including bays to plug in, shopping centre locations designed for recharging and so on.
The trend to reduce petroleum based products such as plastic bags, food packaging and single serve plastic bottles must create a wealth of opportunity for substitute products or indeed, alternative solutions entirely – for example the water fountain that provides mineral water instead of the single serve plastic bottle. We hope to discuss emerging ideas as they come to hand.