We’re almost to the end of 2021, so it’s time to start looking ahead to the trends affecting shoppers that brands should keep watching for in the new year. Alter Agents CEO Rebecca Brooks gives us the rundown in her latest column for Forbes, titled “4 Trends For Brands To Watch In 2022.”

Skimpflation is a hazard for brands

As structural economic challenges impact balance sheets and profit margins, some companies will be tempted to blunt inflation’s effects by skimping on the customer experience. NPR dubbed this “skimpflation” from the customer’s point of view – they’re getting less for the same or higher cost. This is a hazard for your brand, because we know that getting good value for the money is a key motivator for shoppers. Adjusting service or product attributes to save money should be done with care that doesn’t cheapen your brand.

Consumers are reevaluating priorities

It’ll be harder to keep tabs on what consumers are really looking for when they don’t quite know themselves. The Great Reshuffle, shifting buying patterns, and other changes we’ve seen over the past year indicate that consumers are in a state of flux. To help bolster our normal quantitative research methods, we’ve turned to including more agile neuroscience methodologies in our projects to make sure we’re getting to the heart of what consumers brain’s really want.

Shopper Promiscuity on the Rise

All that life reevaluation means that people are going to shop differently, and that’s not good news for brand loyalty. Shopper Promiscuity has been on the rise for a few years now, but it got a boost from the pandemic. Brands should shift to a state of constant acquisition and reacquisition to stay ahead of this issue.

The election will be messy

The midterm elections in November aren’t going to put consumers in a good mood. It’ll be really important to understand what your customers are thinking about and what issues matter to them so your messaging doesn’t misfire at a delicate moment.

Chances are that your target group isn’t just red or blue. We’ve written before on the importance of understanding how to communicate with divided audiences, but it’s worth repeating: Your shoppers are constantly changing and it’s critical that you keep up with that.

It’s time to take stock of what we’ve learned as the world changed over the past 20 months and look forward with hope and bold, new thinking. Here’s to 2022!

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