No Flying Cars?: The Future and Why the VoC Matters More Than Ever
By Marty Molloy
I’m a market researcher, and naturally a consumer as well. I bring both experiences to how I view the world, and lately, things seem harder instead of easier.
This all ties back to a recent conversation here at W5. Client Relations Consultant Brennan Mullin asked if I felt I was living in the future compared to my childhood.
I immediately answered no.
In a lot of ways, the world feels like one step forward, one step back. Life is different from the year 2000 but also much the same. I can order online and have things delivered, but inventories are low. When I shop in-store, they don’t have anything I want. I have a mobile phone that offers help and convenience for directions, information, etc. but the pace of life feels more complicated, so the benefit is negated.
Beyond advances in medicine and cancer care, there are few true advancements I can point to and say life is markedly better. It’s different. There’s a net gain in things I need to manage and take care of. Overall, though, life isn’t a version of The Jetsons where everything is different.
Living in Stagtopia
There was a New York Times article a few weeks back telling people to embrace Protopia, a state neither dystopic nor utopic, but one where small, steady progress is being made on a consistent basis.
While the author coined the term Protopia, I think we’re living in something that feels much more stagnant―a Stagtopia. Not the most eloquent term, but it’s a scenario where the net gains of technology and convenience are zero. From what I can tell skimming various happiness/quality of life indices, people feel no different today than they did 20 years ago despite the advancement.
Not quite dystopian, Stagtopia feels more stuck. One could argue people have been on the hamster wheel of life since the fifties, and yes, there has been a lot of advancement around social norms and civil rights. The issue I have is that we are also expected to cram so much more into our lives and brains that the public discourse (overly simplified) is either push it into the future and change everything immediately or go back to the way it was and never speak of it again.
Convenient or convoluted?
From a purely consumer perspective, I have added convenience (+10 points) but left where I’m not able to find what I want, product quality has declined, and the joy of shopping is reduced (-20 points). Other factors might even it out to net zero. Too often the shopping and entertainment experiences have been factory produced (James Patterson, most of network television), overly positioned, disposable, etc. What’s a consumer to do? Too often they tune it all out and focus on price (and they often believe inflation and price gouging are worse than they actually are).
Constantly updating and changing technology, products and goods that don’t last, shifting societal requirements, a pandemic, pressure on brands to be new/fresh/growing all the time leaves consumers exhausted. Our brains may not be a limited capacity model in the purest sense but simple tasks are getting harder and we’re less able to adapt. Is the the time we’re in a loop or a transition? Both are uncomfortable.
The Solution to “Stuck”
Either way, it seems smart brands have an opportunity to appeal to consumers through retro branding (Pepsi), championing favorites instead of the latest fad, and finding ways to make their lives easier. I know all the talk is about Gen Z and what they want, but even my 15-year-old son gets mad when things are in a constant state of flux. His response? “Why couldn’t they just leave it? They’ve ruined it.”
W5 can help you get a better idea of what consumers (even Gen Z) actually like and get a leg up on the competition.