Two Riddles to Kickstart Consumption

The effects of the economic crisis on consumption remain uncertain. Authoritative opinion highlights the manifold signals of change and predict radical discontinuity for many businesses. Our research points out certain riddles and a few fixed points, which we should ponder in depth. The two main riddles are about the international dynamics of consumption and the recovery of trust in consumer sentiment. The riddle of consumption is not easily solvable, as it depends on the evolution of savings in mature economies and the possible compensation effects between them and emerging economies. Will the expected increase in the saving rate in countries like the US and UK be compensated by a higher propensity to consume in emerging economies? Even if we consider this hypothesis likely, still the riddle of the time needed to achieve such adjustment (considering the relative economic weights of the two areas) remains on the table, as well as of the innovation that should be proposed to stimulate demand and defend profit margins, in socio-cultural contexts that are markedly different from the economies of mature capitalism. The second riddle has a relational nature, and it is about the recovery of consumers' trust in companies. Usually economic difficulties erode this intangible asset and in the current scenario the worries are heightened by the analysis of consumer perception with respect to the actions taken by firms to brave the economic crisis. From a recent research study conducted in Italy by Bocconi CERMES on Economic crisis and marketing it emerges that 20.2% of the consumers interviewed perceived a decrease in the quality of the products purchased, 23% a reduction in product innovation, and 40.5% an increase in prices. Summing up, the crisis seems to have further weakened the perceived value of products and strengthened the perception of opportunism in companies' behavior, destabilizing brand trust and brand loyalty. The certainties underscored by the study concern the growth in consumers' self-determination, the renewed sensibility for the true "value for money" of goods and services, and the emerging centrality of environmental issues in consumption. Consumers think, that once the crisis is over, they will have become more savvy in purchases (89.5%), more knowledgeable about companies (80.2%), more attentive to pricing (84.8%), to quality (88.3%) and the environment (81%), more oriented to savings (79%), promotions (79%) and innovation (57.4%). On the other hand, companies will find more difficult to influence consumer behavior (80.2%) and will have to implement more ethical practices, respectful of people and the environment (86.7%). Such evidence imposes decisive answers on the part of firms in terms of trasparence, relational fairness, verticality and horizontality in the proposition of value offered to the market, and sustainability. All this implies a re-organization of the whole value network, starting with the planning and design of goods and services, and a constant orientation to the activation of collaborative innovation processes, which can extend beyond the consolidated horizontal and vertical partners, also involving final customers. The creative potential of more savvy and self-confident consumers constitutes important leverage to restructure market relations around solid values. The new digital technologies help reach such objectives, favoring the establishment of open collaborative platforms, which more and more will have to be used to put the real welfare of people and well-being of society at the center of corporate strategy.