Where Are My Comfy Slippers And Cup Of Tea 🫖?
Poet Emily Dickinson once said, “If you take care of the small 🤏 things, the big things take care of themselves”.
This is indeed the approach consumers are utilising in the battle ⚔️ against stress, “The Health Epidemic of the 21st Century,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Recognising the importance of mental wellness, consumers are coping with stress 😣 and anxiety in myriad ways, many times referred to as "self-care". Google searches 🔍 for “self-care” have been experiencing a steady climb worldwide in the last five years but have reached an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past, joy and escapism were a big part of self-care routines, including “Insta-worthy” experiences, boxes 📦, kits and surprises, travel and indulgence. However, as consumers are adopting mindfulness when dealing with the everyday struggle with stress, brands can build loyalty 🤝 by helping consumers help themselves.
🛀 Mindful rituals
Consumers are adopting a strategy of mindfulness, redefining their day-to-day activities. Consumption opportunities can become a chance for relaxation and assurance. Unlike routines, rituals are reflective by nature 🌳, and consumers assign meaning to them. One example of reflective behaviour is journaling 📔 - regularly writing down thoughts and goals, especially in the morning ☀️ and prior to bedtime.
Searches related to “bullet journaling” have experienced a breakout over the last five years, though the practice has been around for many years. The beauty 💄 industry highlights the polarisation in stress reduction: the rise of multifunctional products versus the adoption of “beauty rituals”, taking time to pamper and rejuvenate.
For example, take the Jade Roller, a best-selling beauty product described on the Sephora product page as “relaxing 😌 and de-stressing", moving beyond the functional attributes to a metaphysical, experiential proposition. Brands can make any product more mindful by connecting it to a ritual - for instance, offering a notebook 📒 for journaling morning thoughts as you sip your coffee ☕️, or offering aromatherapy or functional add-on kits to give consumers a chance to reflect on how they are feeling and what they might be needing.
🛀 Mindful consumption
Consumers are reconsidering what a "good" brand means for them. They are hoping brands will help them feel like they are “better 👍 people” and considering the environment, society, farming practices, and ethical issues as well as their own health when making purchase 💵 decisions. An IBM 2020 global study of nearly 19,000 consumers even found that brand purpose is more important to today’s shoppers 🛍 than cost and convenience.
Consumers look to digital apps to help them make better choices and to remind them to breathe 🌬 and calm down. The leading health and fitness app in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as of September 2020 is Calm, a meditation, sleep, and relaxation app with over 675,000 downloads in 2020, according to Statista. The Apple Watch ⌚️ even has a built-in “Breathe” app, aimed at promoting relaxation and calm.
Whoop, an athlete-oriented smart band, helps consumers track not only their training but also their sleep 😴 and recovery. The app requires the consumer’s regular feedback - journaling in the morning to gain insights into recovery data and to understand the mental 🧠 and physical consequences of a workout.
🛀 Family and friends
The need to belong to a family or a community 👥, amplified by long periods of social distancing, is acute to people’s well-being. Social networks, online groups, and video-conferencing technology are blooming 📈, and marketing efforts are focused on the story of connecting to loved ones, including Facebook’s Portal and Amazon’s Alexa.
Discord, a social platform built around gaming 🎮 that has expanded to other shared interests, “from local hiking clubs, to art 🖼 communities, to study groups”, has garnered 100 million monthly active users with people talking for upwards of four hours per day on the platform. Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce is a growing 🌱 part of this trend: consumers are connecting to their peers through selling and shopping by reselling or creating.
At AK47™, we know that everyone is constantly working very hard during these difficult and tough times in order to survive. Therefore, we encourage you to remember to practice self-care to cope with the levels of stress and anxiety ❤️🤩😎.
Reference:
Schieber, H. 2020, December 30. What The Self-Care Consumer Trend Means For Brands. Forbes.
