consumer trends: everybody wants "more," secondhand apparel boom & Amazon's meh Prime Days

Verde Consumer Behavior Report - June 30, 2021

Consumers (aka people) are nuanced, which is why entire industries are devoted to figuring out their every desire. It’s why brands devote time, energy, and money to understanding them. In a competitive landscape, the better we recognize and honor those nuances, the better we’re positioned to earn their business.

At Verde, we’re never going to advocate for dismissing the nuance. But every once in a while, it’s healthy to step back and see the forest for the trees. This week, we’re taking the 30,000-foot view: the simple, in-your-face messages that consumers appear to be sending.

The Most Recent Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey

PwC released its June 2021 Global Consumers Insights Pulse Survey, taking (you guessed it) the pulse of the consumer mindset and behaviors.

In general, consumers report they have become more attuned to the following since the first survey:

More price oriented
More focused on saving
More “digital”
More eco-friendly
More healthy
More data conscious
More “local”
More optimistic about the economy

Among the trends identified in the first survey, PwC suggests the following are sticking around. Select proof points are listed.

More digital
- Online shopping (especially via mobile) remains strong, but the June 2021 report shows in-store is making ground once again.
- 6 to 7% of U.S. consumers report making an online purchase at least ONCE a day.
- Price is the primary decision factor for shopping online. Rounding out the top four are:
  1. Fast and reliable delivery
  2. In-stock availability
  3. A good return policy
- About those returns: Return policies edged out “easily navigating the website,” which held that position in March 2021.
More health-conscious, or at least health-conscious individuals are spending more
1. Those who continue to work from home plan to spend more of their budget on groceries (43%), health and beauty (32%), and sports and fitness gear (27%).
2. Those who classify themselves as “health and safety conscious,” report spending more online in almost every category.
More eco-conscious
1. Those who work from home report that they agree or strongly agree that the following factors influence their purchasing decisions: product transparency (61%), brand environmental ethos (62%), eco-friendly packaging (61%), biodegradable products (61%), sustainability certifications (60%).
2. Across the same categories among those who do not work from home, the percentages of those who agree or strongly agree ranges between 55% to 47%.
3. On the flip side, 44% of all respondents aren’t actively seeking sustainable options. Why not?
  1. Price. Price. Price.
  2. Also, lack of sustainable options, inconsistent quality, not enough time to research options.
  3. Among those who don’t shop sustainably, only 19% said they have no interest.
Consumers indicated their brand loyalty is influenced by:
1. Reliability (46%)
2. Product availability (31%)
3. Exceptional customer service (26%)
4. Loyalty programs (26%)
5. Ethical practices (24%)
6. Enjoyable/fun experiences (20)
7. Sustainable practices (19%)
8. Exclusivity (18%)
9. Personalization (17%)
10. Commitment to give back to society (15%)
11. Engaging content (14%)
12. Seamless digital experience (12%)
Consumers continue to be price-sensitive, and interested in building household savings
1. Price won out over quality and convenience in every shopping category (e.g. fashion, grocery, electronics, sports/fitness gear, health/beauty, home improvement, household).
2. Even so, consumers expect to increase spending in most categories over the next six months.

Used Apparel Sector Growing

According to Retail Dive, secondhand apparel sales are outpacing the wider apparel market. A survey by ThredUp projects secondhand sales will hit $77 billion over the next five years and outpace the market eleven-fold.

The ThredUp report found:

60% of all apparel retailers are either offering or are open to selling used clothing.
42% believe it will be an “important part of their business.”
33 million consumers bought secondhand for the first time in 2020.
Of those, 76% plan to do it again.
223 million consumers are open to shopping for used gear.
Two out of five consumers say they’re replacing “fast fashion” purchases with used fashion.

One note: Consumers may shop secondhand for price, for environmental reasons, and for the thrill of discovering a great find (think: a vintage design or an ex-pro’s mountain bike). These all may be contributing to the boom. But the article doesn’t address an elephant in the “used” apparel room. Many consumers are making money by selling their used stuff. Technology and secondhand-specific websites are making it possible to consign globally now. If you’re considering a used section in your store or website, also consider how you’ll bring the “sellers” into the success.

Only $11 billion in two days? Meh

Amazon Prime Days were June 21 and June 22 this year. During that 2-day period, Adobe estimates $11 billion in sales occurred online. Amazon doesn’t release sales figures for Prime Day, so the $11 billion amount includes online sales at Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and all other e-commerce Adobe is able to loosely track, estimate, and project.

Amazon’s announcement was lacking the usual superlatives, which indicates (but doesn’t prove) that the mega tech company/retailer was underwhelmed with the results.

What can be suggested from the number is:

The 48-hour period was bigger than Cyber Monday 2020 ($10.9 billion in 24 hours), the biggest single e-commerce day on record.
Amazon’s haul of the total likely represents a more modest year-to-year growth over its last Prime Day(s), in October 2020. The 2020 event saw a 43% growth over 2019. Blame it on the pandemic.

Whether these massive sales stoke your excitement or dread, some trend-watchers feel Prime Days provide a halo effect, where consumers are activated to shop online. According to an article on cnbc.com:

“Adobe said that retailers that bring in more than $1 billion in revenue each year reported a 29% increase in e-commerce sales during Prime Day compared with an average June day, while smaller retailers doing less than $10 million in annual revenue saw a 21% lift.”

For its part, Amazon said that third-party sellers were the real winners this year, above its own branded products. Though, it’s also been estimated that by the end of this year, membership in Amazon Prime will go up 3% to reach 63% of the U.S. households. That means that roughly 83 million households are paying $119 to Amazon each year, before buying a single product.

Our take: As we opened, we’re taking a “forest for the trees” look this week. Going back to basics: Consumers are compelled to buy a specific product through a varying recipe of price, convenience, and quality. The consumer pulse survey proves it; the growth of secondhand proves it (for a certain sector of consumers), and Amazon Prime Day proves it.

There is no doubt that brand values, image, sustainability, and other factors influence purchasing decisions. Those elements provide a competitive edge and serve to persuade a consumer to choose your brand or your product over another. We are 100% in support of these value-driven differentiators. But if you don’t already meet their initial parameters for price, convenience, and quality, the other aspects lose some of their power to convert.

Of course, not all consumers are looking for the same price point, same quality or same convenience. You already know your audience’s parameters in those realms. So in the race to differentiate and in the earnest drive to share your brand values, don’t forget that price, quality and convenience are representative of your customers’ values, too.

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Consumer Behavior ReportVerde VoiceJuly 8, 2021