The New Customer
Patterns and Personas
“Forever altered.”
“Beyond return.”
“Nothing will ever be the same again.”*
Staying ahead is never easy when customer wants and needs evolve so quickly. As we enter the post-pandemic era, understanding these changes in sentiment is critical to helping leaders transform their businesses.
World 50 conducted interviews with senior executives at the forefront of shifting customer behavior, including several of our member organizations, to uncover insights that inform how best to redesign offerings and reallocate resources. What is clear is that today’s senior business leaders feel that the landscape has changed, with 90% of respondents to a World 50 poll agreeing that consumer behaviors had changed either significantly or moderately.
Which changes have actually become permanent?
Which have reverted to pre-crisis norms?
There is ample evidence that the consumer shift away from accumulating “stuff” and towards accumulating life experiences continues to grow. Another key question is understanding what customers are willing to pay a premium for. “Purpose isn’t a buzzword,” said one senior level executive at a consumer products company. “Customers want it and expect it, but what is interesting is they don’t necessarily want to pay for it.”
The change is real. But much of that change has proven to be markedly different from what many experts predicted. That’s why we decided to take a deep dive into the preferences and patterns that define this New Customer. We hope you find the research insightful.
– David Wilkie, CEO, World 50
*The Pandemic Altered Shopping Habits Beyond Return (The Wall Street Journal, June 2021)
6 ways the coronavirus pandemic has forever altered the retail landscape (CNBC, September 2020)
These eight charts show how COVID-19 has changed B2B sales forever (McKinsey, October 2020)