Trend Spotlight: Consumer Security & Stability

Each month, Weber Shandwick’s Trends in Two Minutes bulletin outlines three trends impacting businesses throughout Asia Pacific. With Trend Spotlight, we share some of the individual trends highlighted. Today, exploring how the upheaval of the current era have led to new consumer interests in building more secure, stable, and comfortable lives.

When China first began to negotiate recovery, the country’s leading search engine saw weekly searches for ‘wealth management’ more than double. Similar post-lockdown spikes were observed in interest in ‘home renovation’, ‘house cleaning’, and ‘vitamin supplements’. It’s indicative of a larger trend throughout the region.

For example, more than 19,000 home improvement projects were given approval to proceed in Singapore following the lifting of circuit breaker restrictions. In Australia, interest rate cuts saw an immediate increase in mortgage applications for first-home-buyers, even during the thick of the pandemic – with search interest in home-buying growing in the wake of the cuts.

With the combination of restricted movement and ongoing stress brought about by the events of the past twelve months, consumers are investing in the comfort, security, and stability of their immediate home environment. An early indicator came in the widespread popularity of bread-baking at the outset of the pandemic; a practice scientifically-linked to comfort, stress-relief, and community.

As economies work towards recovering from the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers are both managing and recovering from the trauma of the pandemic – partly through building more comfortable homes and safer futures. To this end, brands and communicators that can appeal to the new consumer priorities of comfort, security, and stability will enjoy a distinct advantage.

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