Covid-19 leads to an emerging new consumerism doctrine

Covid-19 has disrupted the norm and upended our daily lives. Our sense of security has unsurprisingly been shaken and as a result has forced us to realise our vulnerabilities and focus on our own mortality. This collective awareness of memento mori has inspired a newfound urgency to live a life that reflects our new values and what matters to be human.

This new doctrine is seeing consumerism being questioned from members of society as we re-evaluate what matters to us. Out of the ashes we are seeing the emergence of new values and what matters most:

·       A desire for a stronger sense of community

·       Building stronger bonds with those we love

·       Escapism to the ‘old normal’

One example of this manifestation is:

People are seeking solace in past pleasures. Stable, unchanged traditions can provide comfort in such uncertain times. We look to our grandparents who offer us decades of experience and knowledge we can learn from. We are retreating to time honoured past times e.g. board games, knitting, planting, cooking etc to create a sense of security and comfort in a highly destabilised world.

Brands which understand the value of the past and what made it so safe will go far. Not the ones that just helped out during the pandemic with nice ads. But the word of caution is do not just talk about longevity (100 years) but rather focus on why your brand has stood the test of time, how has it weathered storms, how has it helped past generations in times of upheaval, why does your brand provide comfort in a storm – what is your unique anchor point in comparison to other brands?

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