Consumer behaviors have shifted in light of the ongoing pandemic, which can spell opportunity when building a product and launching a startup. While there is the obvious change of people working from home and cutting out their daily commute. Others are slightly less obvious. Taking the shift in consumer behaviors into account could mean major opportunities for your startup.
The Diminishing Power of Product Placement
Companies pay to have their product at eye-level in stores to grab your attention, but what happens when people stop physically shopping at stores?
Running to the grocery store used to be a regular errand for people, something that happened once or twice a week. We all had our grocery store mapped out mentally and knew where to quickly find the items we needed. Today, more people are utilizing online methods for their grocery and retail shopping. Whether you have the store bring your groceries to your car or Amazon deliver them, the fact of the matter is that product placement is losing its luster.
A Direct-to-Consumer Business Model
With product placement taking a back seat, so are third-party retailers. Businesses are adapting to shifting consumer behaviors by adapting their business model to sell directly to them. When you sell directly to your consumers opportunities arise—such as, offering product customization, wholesale pricing, specialty packaging, customizable delivery methods etc.
With direct access to your customer base, there are opportunities to build brand loyalty and establish relationships that might have been less feasible before.
The Shifting Online Landscape
With people cutting out their daily commute, they have more time to head online. While online shopping has certainly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, so have game downloads.
“According to a SensorTower report, game downloads surpassed 13 billion across the App Store and Google Play for the first time during the first part of 2020. That’s an increase of over two billion compared to the previous record quarter. The report also found that the most popular game downloads were those that connected people remotely and offered a social component.” (Entrepreneur)
“The spread of COVID-19 dramatically altered the app landscape in early 2020. Overall downloads grew rapidly, especially for categories such as Business, Education, and News, as consumers adjusted to their changing day-to-day lives.” (SensorTower report)
In short, people are heading online to connect, take a break from the endless news cycle and play. Is your business prepared to reach consumers online? Whether it is with an app or virtual reality ad targeting, it is time to start thinking about ways for your startup to capture customers in more fun ways.
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed daily lives and altered consumer behaviors. View this as an opportunity to adapt your product to meet these new demands.
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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