Note: This is a guest post written by James Hanson
Surging inflation, increased competition, global recession challenges and shifts in consumer behaviour post COVID-19 are putting increasing pressure on businesses to remain competitive. However, recent insights from the GfK Market Intelligence Point of Sales Retail Tracking reveal that despite the macroeconomic trends and the pessimism they generally cause, the consumer durables market in Australia is actually performing very well. There hasn’t been a drop in demand despite those macroeconomic factors.
Market value is actually up over 12 per cent, which is incredibly strong and the result of inflation, rising costs, and premiumisation.
The research also reveals that the widespread appetite for premium brands and products has continued despite the looming economic downturn. ‘Premium brands’ have grown by 34 per cent in value versus the prior year, compared to a drop in value for ‘Entry’ brands.
New opportunities, new ways of thinking
Ahead of GfK’s upcoming Insights Forum in Sydney, Australia on 16th Nov, Dr. Morten Boyer, Managing Director at GfK Australia and New Zealand, this is just one example of the many new pockets of opportunity that have emerged for brands and retailers to explore post-pandemic and business decision-makers now need to move away from old habits and ways of thinking.
“It’s time to re-think business models and align a more innovative, data-driven strategy with the current rapid shifts in consumer values and market dynamics,” he says. “To remain relevant and succeed, they’ll need to use data to unpack consumer behaviours and redraw the lines between traditional customer segments because people have changed their attitudes regarding the products they prefer, what they are willing to spend, and where they buy.”
Consumer tech, retail and brands: Get ready to become more data-driven
According to Dr. Boyer, leveraging data in more innovative ways to ensure actionable and connected insights are made available to their wider teams is critical for building brand resilience in 2023.
“In short, they’ll need to innovate across supply, product, price, and brand positioning. It’s time to review the basics because the status quo will not maximise your performance,” he says. “It’s a lesson learned from previous crises. Those brands that continued to innovate during the 2008 recession had gained an average of +13 points indexed market share by the following year, while those companies that pressed pause on their activities lost five points in the same period (with 2008 performance as a baseline).
“Much the same trend is playing out with the pandemic, where brands that invested more in innovation during 2020 saw a nine-point growth in indexed market share in 2021, and those that didn’t saw a ten-point decrease from the 2020 baseline. That’s why now is the time to recalibrate and react to current challenges.”
“Ask yourself how your business moves from Data to Decision. Do you have the right trusted data? Are you extracting the maximum insights and value from it? Do you integrate your various data assets and use them collectively, or do they sit in separate silos and teams? During times of change, the companies with strong data strategies will always have the edge.”
To find out more register your interest to attend GfK’s upcoming Insights Forum in Sydney, Australia here.
About Dr. Morten Boyer
Dr. Morten Boyer, Managing Director, GfK Australia, and New Zealand
Morten’s background and passion is in the discipline of Psychology with a focus on research, data, and analytics. His earlier career was dedicated to the academic research of emotion and cognition and the role they both play in how people make decisions. Since joining GfK, Morten has been able to satisfy his curiosity for understanding human behavior by exploring the choices we make every day regarding the media we consume and the products we buy. He has held a variety of leadership roles within GfK and is currently the Managing Director of the total business in Australia and New Zealand. Morten holds a First-Class Honours degree in Psychology, and a PhD in Psychology.
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