Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) has, once again, featured Hero Digital’s Wellness Truth & Beauty Index in a recent trends article—Three Consumer Trends Marketers Need to Know. Written by Arthur Zaczkiewicz, the Executive Editor of Strategic Content Development at WWD, this article highlights Hero Digital’s discoveries on digital experiences that empower today’s wellness customers. Check out the full article below.
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Today’s shoppers are more discerning and buy brands that align with their lifestyle and values.
To engage consumers today, it is critical to garner insights into their behavior and shopping preferences. Here, WWD spotlights three recent findings that reveal what consumers expect and prefer from a brand.
Financing Purchases
As buy now, pay later options continue to expand as a flexible payment option, not all shoppers expect the same type of service. In a recent survey by Attest on behalf of Splitit, 60 percent of respondents said they prefer using BNPL on an existing credit card versus on a new line of credit.
The survey also revealed that most consumers prefer “making monthly over biweekly payments and prefer longer terms, especially for larger purchases.” The research also showed that 64 percent of consumers anticipate their credit card spending to be the same or more this year compared to 2021.
Regarding larger purchases, it makes sense that shoppers see BNPL as a viable option. Regardless of income, paying over a longer-term is more manageable and can maintain stronger and steadier household cash flow. The survey, titled: U.S. Consumer Perspectives: Credit Cards and Buy Now Pay Later, also revealed that 56 percent of respondents would prefer to make installment payments monthly instead of 25 percent of respondents wanting to pay every two weeks.
Feeling Empowered
Hero Digital, a digital business transformation company, surveyed several generational cohorts and found wellness solutions are not viewed the same among each consumer demographic group. Hero Digital’s survey revealed insights into the preferences found across Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer shoppers.
The research follows a consumer re-prioritization trend where many shoppers reassessed various aspects of their lives — including their careers and family life, as well as their personal wellness and mental health. As a result, the wellness category, which had been on an upward trajectory prior to the outbreak, soared, experiencing double-digit growth. Segments such as digital fitness, wearables, and weight loss-related products, in particular, saw robust sales.
A key finding of the Hero research found that half of Gen X consumers and 40 percent of Gen Z shoppers polled prioritize empowerment when shopping for wellness brands. The notion of empowerment also aligns with other trends born out of the pandemic — especially the “Great Resignation,” which involves consumers leaving their jobs for new opportunities.
Purpose-Driven Brands
The pandemic also served as a catalyst for consumers seeking out purpose-driven brands; meaning brands that are mindful in regard to social activism, the environment, people and the planet as well as how they treat their employees. Lucie Greene, founder of Light Years and a noted futurist, said in a question-and-answer with WWD that “acting with purpose has become essential to recruiting and retaining talent — especially in the midst of the Great Resignation, where workers are questioning everything about their work and lives, and seeking to insert more meaning into careers.”
Greene said on a commercial level, “being purpose-driven is also becoming a key driver of growth and investment. The most exciting new venture capital companies are focusing squarely on purpose-driven businesses. Likewise, Unilever has said its purpose-led Sustainable Living Brands are growing 69 percent faster than the rest of the business and delivering 75 percent of the company’s growth.”
Greene’s insights can be found in “The Future of Good” report, which was done in collaboration with the Conspiracy of Love, the Los Angeles-based “purpose consultancy.”
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