Growing through the recession

& beyond:

It's a Recession Get over it!

“Great fortune$ are made

at times like this”

Companies launched in a recession

HyattBurger King

TescoFedExCNN

Wikipedia

80% consumers say they've changed their

purchasing habits

(WPP/Lightspeed Research, 2009)

“We can't afford that.Get the cheap stuff.”

Belt-tightening

• Decrease in amount spent

• Downshifted shopping basket

• Budget shopping behaviour

Brand-swapping

• Ditching lifetime favourites

• Pursuit of price, value, limited choice

• Need for trust and reliability

HOWEVER

Different groups are impacted differently

FINALLY

Is the Recession more

a fundamental reappraisal of the nature of consumption?

The real meaning of the Recession?

• No to “WANT IT!” marketing• Savvy consumption• New imperatives (eco-planet; children's future)• Boycott of big business (untrustworthy, opaque)

PLANNING FOR THE UPTURN

Why survive the recession

only to lose the recovery?

Companies that will WIN the recovery are planning for it

NOW

The deeper & longer the recession,the more social attitudes willbe shaken

3 plausible future scenarios

1. Goods, Greed and Glamour

2. Modesty and Austerity

3. New Status

Scenario 1 : Goods, Greed and Glamour

The recession is seen to be no more than a blip; a pause in the journey to an ever more

consumerist society

• Our characters are left unchanged• Greed resurfaces• Pent up demand leads to high spending• Flaunting it is back• Partying is back

• Things return to 'normal'

Scenario 2 : Modesty and Austerity

The shock of the recession changes values radically. Even when money flows back

people continue to live cautiously

• After the drunkenness comes the hangover• Saving is now a habit & a virtue• Savvy consumers abound• Spending no longer seen as providing happiness• Back to basics - a return to solidity, longevity

and craftsmanship

Scenario 3 : New Status

People realise that there is no going back to the bloated era before the recession and they want

something more meaningful

• New collective norms • Hard work, social responsibility, ecology • Materialism has to be hidden eg.

cars are more flash inside than out• People spend on new 'post material' status• Higher controls, regulations, administration

Chris Middleton

www.futurescoaching.com