Key Behavioral shifts that could change consumption pattern by 2030
By: Pratik Bagadia
Tags: Consumer Behavior, Opportunity, Behavior Change, Business, Insights

Traditional style of working may no longer work as there have been some significant changes in the BEHAVIOR and CULTURE of people. There has been shifts in the way we communicate, work and consume and spend our leisure time.

In this article we shall see 6 such key Behavioral and Cultural changes in this young population which is likely to impact the consumption style in the coming decade. We shall also see a few business opportunities (for entrepreneurs and investors) that can evolve around due to such shift in behavior and culture.

1. The growing culture of impatience

The demand for instant results is seeping into every corner of our lives, and not just virtually. Retailers are jumping into same-day delivery services. Smartphone apps eliminate the wait for a cab, a date, or a table at a hot restaurant. Movies and TV shows begin streaming in seconds. But I feel that instant gratification is coming at a price; it is making us impatient and as a result we are becoming short-tempered if our needs are not met on time. This behavioral shift in humans may also impact the decision making process going forward before making any purchases.

But for an entrepreneur this Behavior shift could well be a business opportunity.

Business opportunity: Firms can focus on making their goods/service available anytime anywhere as their core value proposition.

for example- Time to deliver foods/groceries/medicines can be brought down to few minutes by using hybrid business model.

IT companies into big data, AI can add a lot of value to firms by providing them with deep insights on consumer behavior by pre-empting their future purchases and thus reducing the waiting time.

2. No more ‘Status-Quo’….Change is the new mantra

In today’s fast moving world people no longer wants same things in life. Today’s generation is easily getting bored with same stuffs and as a result they look for constant changes around them. Brand loyalty is slowing becoming a thing of past. Consumers are not inclined to be loyal to brands as they once were because the underlying value of loyalty itself is no longer particularly relevant. In the old world, loyalty was good and something we aspired to give and receive across all aspects of life with friends, family, partners, employers, doctors, bankers, and even the government (many governments across the globe are getting voted out) In the world of e-retail, consumers may get even more promiscuous when it comes to their loyalty to brands. In the world of virtual retail, consumers can seamlessly flirt from one brand to another across different product categories (and indeed, different e-retail platforms), try unknown or lesser known brands at nearly no-risk to themselves on account of no-questions asked return / exchange policies of retailers such as Amazon, and in the process — severely dent the strength of current power brands across almost every product category.

Business opportunity: Umbrella branding strategy may not be the way forward in products/services where brand loyalty is low. Companies who are managing to get repeat orders, who will innovate fast, upgrade their technology /goods /services constantly shall survive.

-Huge scope for improvement for startups in sectors like FMCG, Auto, consumer goods to find innovative ways in their customer loyalty program.

3. Convenient lifestyle leading towards less fitter and lazy population

Emerging markets like India, Vietnam may have the youngest population in the world but this younger generation is getting lazier and is less fitter (as compared to our parents and grandparents were). Having realized this India’s ex sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore started an online campaign ‘#HumFitTohIndiaFit’ which got an overwhelming response but still a very large chunk of our population is miles away from being fit. Internet has brought a lot of changes in our life but with some cost. Be it food or beverages, apparel’s, groceries, electronic appliances or a cab ride, all of them are just a click away and thus making all of us LAZY. The coming generation is likely to be lazier than us.

Business opportunity:

-Huge opportunity for smart devices coupled with IoT (Internet of Things) used at home and workplace as they reduce human efforts significantly by providing convenience.

-Market for organised players to enter into services like Spa/Massage at home, Salon/parlour at home can be some upcoming services to name a few.

- Huge opportunity in the health care services as easy lifestyle will only lead to unhealthy humans.

4. Reducing gender gap at workforce

As females are getting more educated especially in Asian countries more of them are getting added in the workforce.

There has also been a cultural change in the Indian families as they are allowing their daughters, sisters, wife to work. This change in psychology is seen even in tier 3 and 4 cities and is likely to get accelerated in coming years.

Business opportunity:

-Women apparels segment will see a drastic change. Currently 75% of apparels in women category is traditional (saree /salwar) and only 5% is formals. In coming years there is a huge opportunity in women formals category and accessories.

-With more women joining the workforce and families getting nuclear time poverty will manifest in the coming years by way of more and more of relatively young households not being in a position to “cook” or have the time to “cook” meals at home for most of the 365 days in a year. Eating out or ordering food in from a typical restaurant is going to increase further, but the biggest opportunity in the next 10 years would be offer “home-style” meals, at “home-cooked” price points (or close to them) to urban Indian families. This would be a fundamentally different model than the current so-called “food-tech” businesses.

5. Increasing poverty of time

Due to multiple factors e.g. more women entering urban workforce, rise of nuclear families, the demographic hump that India is currently undergoing that has probably largest quantum of its population between 21–45 age group (and therefore highest ever number of households with young children),and more active social lifestyle.People have been steadily getting time-poorer over the last 2 decades. However, in the next 10, this time poverty will further increase as even more women enter workforce leaving lesser time available to manage household chores and as urban traffic congestion leads to increase in commuting times for work purposes. The time poverty will lead to multiple fundamental changes over next 10 years that will be primarily driven by the needs of a very large mass of urban Indians to save / optimize their time.

Business Opportunity: Huge opportunities for logistics businesses to deliver a wider range of goods and services ‘anytime/anywhere’ to hundreds of millions of Indian customers on their individual demand. E-commerce (both services and goods) will therefore see a much more rapid adoption in India than it has seen anywhere else in the world.

6. Beginning of a Sports culture in Asian countries

Asian countries like India, Bangladesh,Thailand is slowing building a sports culture across the country and with such a young population this trend is likely to accelerate in coming years. The media attention and the support its getting from the government is clearly visible from India’s performance in the recently concluded Commonwealth games and Asian games. IPL based franchisee model is seen coming up in sports like Badminton, Hockey, Football, Kabaddi. It has not only created finding raw talent from smaller towns but it has also created an environment of a sports culture in India. Also from an infrastructure view, a lot of stadiums / courts are being built in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. US and China has not just done well in sports, but the sports culture itself has contributed a lot to its economy. Sports culture in India can add a lot to our economy as well both directly and indirectly.

Business opportunity:

-Startups on sports education and training are coming up but with 1.3 billion of population, the scope is huge.

Businesses around manufacturing Sports equipment & outfits and merchandises catering the fan base of various franchisees.

These are some of the key Behavior shifts that can lead the chain of events starting from change in consumption pattern by 2030.