Consumer trends for 2024: meet the consumer of the future

How can I keep my audience engaged with my brand and attract new customers? Learn about the main consumer trends for 2024 and connect with the consumer of the future.

Because it is sensitive to various factors, from the global economic scenario to personal characteristics, consumer behavior can change faster than you think. Year after year, the way customers relate to brands undergoes major transformations, causing companies to constantly ask themselves: 

• How much is my client willing to pay?
• How can I reach new audiences? 
• Which friction points need to be eliminated? 
• How do I keep my customers satisfied and loyal to the brand? 

As we move into a new era of consumption, traditional paradigms are being redefined. It's no longer enough just to offer a product or service - the customer journey and the experience that surrounds it are now central.

And in order not to be caught by surprise, you need to be a few steps ahead, anticipating the main trends and adapting as changes are predicted .

The evolution of phygital

A few years ago, companies recognized the importance of establishing a solid online presence in order to reach new audiences and broaden their relationship channels with consumers. In this context, the term phygitalwhich represents the union between a brand's physical and digital environments. 

During the pandemic, especially, an active presence in the virtual environment has become essential for brands given the unprecedented increase in online consumption as a result of social distancing restrictions. And even after the end of these restrictions, consumers have continued to shop online, primarily because of the convenience it offers.

At the same time, consumers are returning to many of the habits they had before the pandemic - including shopping in physical stores.

In search of this balance, brands need to go beyond what used to be known as phygital and adopt new strategies that meet today's consumer preference: even greater integration between the physical and the digital in the purchasing journey.

In the digital environment

Developing an app or web app for your loyalty program can be one of the first steps. This allows participants to be just a few clicks away from your brand and increase engagement with the program. 

It is important that the customer has a complete experience, being able to see their performance and their rewards. This creates an incentive for them to increase their frequency of purchases in order to advance within the program and redeem better benefits. 

Integration with the physical environment can be encouraged by sending personalized communications that encourage visits to physical stores - this can include offering exclusive offers and coupons, for example. 

You can also allow customers to buy products or redeem benefits in the app and pick them up at your physical store, combining the convenience of online with face-to-face interaction.

In the physical environment

In the physical environment, it is essential to encourage new customers to join the program and access it digitally. To do this, you can explore activation marketing, with one-off actions in physical stores that attract the attention of new customers and encourage them to sign up to the app/webapp in exchange for immediate rewards - such as gifts and merchandising.

For customers who are already participating, it's important to encourage them to access the app/webapp while shopping in the physical store. By checking their performance in the program, customers feel more motivated to evolve and tend to increase the value of their purchase to earn more points, for example. 

In addition, the activation of discount coupons and the redemption of benefits in-store should be considered. The first option gives the customer an advantageous perception of the purchase, while the second makes the customer see the result of their engagement in the program and continue to actively participate.

Data protection is a priority

In this context of digitalization, in which work, consumption and personal life are connected to computer and mobile screens, the amount of online interaction has reached enormous proportions. To give you an idea, a survey by Appdome revealed that 73.7% of Brazilians access between one and ten apps a day .

With every click, transaction, upload and download, users allow - often unknowingly - their personal data to be collected, analyzed and shared by applications, platforms, companies and institutions. But the consumer of the future wants to put an end to this.

Aware of the sensitivity of their data, consumers are more attentive to issues of information security and demand transparency from companies. They don't want to feel misled by fine print in regulations and want to take control of what is shared or not. 

The main challenge in this scenario is to gain and maintain customer trust when it comes to data protection and cybersecurity. This trust will be an important asset for the relationship between brands and consumers, and one of the main factors considered in the purchasing decision. 

First of all, it is essential that your loyalty program is transparent about how data will be collected, stored and used. Draw up clear, easy-to-understand privacy policies that are available for consultation at all possible points of contact. 

Also make sure you ask your customers for their consent to data collection/use and communications. As well as allowing this choice, you must respect it: no one wants to receive emails or have their data collected without prior permission. 

Finally, don't hesitate to invest in robust cyber security measures. Encryption, internal policies, authentication and regular external audits are just some of the measures that should be considered to guarantee data protection and monitor possible threats, preventing information leaks. 

Conscious consumption and ESG

Anyone who thinks that conscious consumption is only a characteristic of Generation Z is mistaken. This is a growing trend among all consumers and one that must be observed by brands wishing to generate lasting relationships and loyalty.

The consumer of the future feels responsible for making significant changes to environmental, social and governance issues. They recognize that individual attitudes can have a positive impact on the world and want to encourage more people to do the same. 

In addition, they understand that companies must also take responsibility for their actions and the impacts they cause. The consumer of the future sees companies beyond the products and services they offer, considering them important social actors who have the power and duty to join forces to promote changes in ESG aspects .

And it's not just lip service. In order to investigate the level to which the public cares about this issue, McKinsey conducted a study over 5 years. The result: products not identified as ESG on their packaging had an increase in consumption of 4.7% per year, while products identified as ESG on their packaging had an increase of 6.4%.  

More than half of consumers are willing to pay 6% to 10% more for sustainable products, such as:

• Local products 
• Recycled or eco-friendly products
• Products from companies with ethical practices
• Products of traceable origin
• Products with a lower carbon footprint
• Biodegradable products

Therefore, building loyalty with purpose is the way forward for companies that want to connect with their consumers through conscious consumption. 

In addition to allowing the accumulation of points based on desired actions and encouraging participants to donate their points to institutions that support causes relevant to the brand, loyalty programs can add purpose in a number of other ways. 

It is possible, for example, to offer rewards related to sustainability. Eco-friendly products, merchandising made from recycled materials and even carbon credits are some of the benefits available to participants. 

Also be transparent with your consumers by regularly sharing relevant data on the ESG practices adopted to generate social and environmental impact. This disclosure allows various stakeholders to stay informed about how the company is positioning itself, what its vision is for the future and what changes it is generating.

The most important thing, in the end, is to defend agendas and issues that are really related to your business and to commit to generating positive results. Only in this way can you truly connect with your audience, promoting a meaningful legacy of responsibility and sustainability.

Loyalty 2024 eBook

2024 has already begun. Are you ready?"Loyalty 2024" is the exclusive eBook that introduces you to the main trends in loyalty and customer relations so that you can create the best loyalty strategies next year!

In this exclusive and free material, you will learn about:

• Use of Artificial Intelligence
• Offering experiences
• Rise of Generation Z
• Consumer of the future

Download it here!