With 74% of consumers describing themselves as ‘worse off financially’ entering 2024, strategy is more important than ever for the marketing industry this year. As consumers continue to seek maximum value from every purchase, we take a look at some micro and macro trends marketers should consider as part of their journey to brand growth this year. From behavioural insights to cultural highlights, let’s take a look at the things to watch out for across 2024.
1. Cost of living pressure persists in the UK
I think very few of us expected to feel better off after the clock struck 12 on the 31st December, and whilst inflation is predicted to slow, prices are predicted to fall less sharply. Households are now showing a preference for private labels (+6.3%), budget-friendly retailers (+10.2%), and smaller, local brands according to the data. We all know that challenging economic outlooks impact discretionary spending habits so retailers must keep price sensitivity front of mind when it comes to strategy this year. How? Well it might be time to re-focus the lens on the ‘value’ in ‘value proposition’ to stay relevant to budget-conscious consumers. We expect to see brands invest in their private label and home-brand offerings with more focussed branding and marketing efforts on affordability.
2. AI will push deeper into Ad Land
We watched with glee (or horror) last year as AI entered new categories and use cases and this trend is set to accelerate over the coming year. According to Kantar, 67% of marketers are now feeling positive about the potential of AI in the space and we only expect this to grow further. This new optimism is indicative of a wider pace-gain for the tech and new questions are being asked when it comes to personalisation and strategic media planning. Whilst we’ve yet to see compelling generative video products, we have experimented in using this tech at the ideation stage to bring concepts to life and help de-risk the creative process for clients. Our prediction for 2024 is that we’ll see generative AI approach the rubicon of consumer friendliness and start to be deployed in some cases in place of traditional video capture and / or animation.
3. Social Commerce Soars
Social media platforms will continue to transition to e-commerce eco-systems in the coming year. For some time now, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have been gaining ground in the digital shopping landscape with 17% of online consumers reporting to have made a direct on-platform purchase in the past three months alone. In the coming year, we expect the major platforms to further integrate prominent shopping features into their user experience. This includes streamlined shopping journeys, enhanced product discovery, immersive experiences and social proof to drive future purchases.
4. Premiumisation to combat inflation
It’s always great when a prediction is right on the money. Back in April we predicted that premium brands would focus on their core customers to weather the storm of inflation, and data shows they’ve done just that. According to Kantar, 52% of premium brands altered their strategic pricing model, segmenting their customer base in order to cater to less price sensitive consumers. This ‘premiumisation’ model can also be seen in our previous article on Christmas advertising, with brands such as Waitrose leaning into luxury ranges and messaging and away from more accessible offerings we’ve seen in the past. At the other end of the spectrum brands with lower price points are also coming up with new ways to survive. Strategies including shrinkflation (getting less product for the same or a higher price) and investment in own brand ranges will continue to grow across 2024.
5. Personalisation goes hyper
Another antidote to price sensitivity is curation. If, say, as a consumer, I’m cautious about parting with my pound and I’m deploying everything from research to reviews and influencer recommendations in my purchase journey, a carefully thought out list of products I might be interested in certainly helps aid the peace of mind that I’m spending wisely. This is where personalisation comes in. With advancements in AI, marketers can tap into a wealth of behavioural data to better curate and personalise content, product recommendations and promotions. And this process is really middle of the bat for machine learning. If search engines can hone in on what I’m looking for (specific product features, clothing sizes and patterns etc.), the entire experience is transformed from trying to find a needle in a haystack to an efficient and personalised journey. Sounds great right? Well, as with all things data, business must tread a fine line and act responsibly when handling customer data. As detailed in previous articles, transparency and consent should be the guiding concepts here.
For more consumer insights for the coming year contact the Rabbit Comms Business Insights Team at info@wearerabbits.co.uk
