At home and on the internet
2020 has clearly shown us how many areas of our lives can be moved online almost 100%. Interpersonal contacts, school, professional work, shopping and brand communication. With varying results, but many initial difficulties turned out to be a matter of time and were overcome quite quickly.
What's more - we liked it. Although the vast country code +81,japan phone numbers majority of us are longingly awaiting the return to meetings in restaurants and pubs, offices, gyms or universities. I suspect that the post-pandemic reality will leave us with a fairly large habit of online services and contactless delivery straight to the door.
Many companies that have so far provided services in the real world of online communication have rather said a firm "no". This year, they had no choice but to move online. What was a rather exotic curiosity some time ago is no longer surprising today. We are thinking here of online greengrocers delivering groceries to home or gyms run by Zoom.
This is good news for creators of digital products or companies offering subscriptions. These also include those with physical products - food, coffee, tea, hygiene products. The market for consumers of such services has grown - people who were skeptical about, for example, online payments were almost forced to test them. And the devil turned out not to be so scary.
Socio-political brand engagement as a trend for 2021
Brands have accustomed us to neutrality. Fearing negative comments on social media or even a consumer boycott, they remained silent on issues that inflamed public opinion.
This trend has begun to change, and 2020, as an exceptional year in every respect, has highlighted this very strongly. Movements such as #blacklivesmatter , #metoo , the fight for the rights of the LGBT community, protests in Poland and Belarus, have quite unexpectedly found their allies (but also opponents). Also among brands. We have the impression that this trend will become increasingly visible in 2021, and brands will consciously manifest their views.
Are we irrevocably saying goodbye to the era in which companies drew a clear line between the views of management and employees and products? Probably yes. Consumers have even begun to demand that companies take sides in conflicts and controversial issues.
It is also an interesting area for discussion as to whose worldview is reflected in the “brand views” and how freedom of opinion and speech among employees relates to this?
Towards ecology and responsible business – marketing trends for 2021
This trend is somewhat related to the previous one. Consumers have more and more choice and awareness. They want to vote with their wallets for ideas that are close to them. This applies to both the company's attitude to social issues and the rules prevailing within the organization.
The group of consumers of the veggie and lesswaste market is gradually growing . The largest corporations are joining it, trying to adapt to expectations. Ikea is launching a second-hand furniture store, cosmetic brands are launching "green lines" and investing in recycled packaging, and our domestic meat tycoon - Tarczyński, entered the market with plant-based kabanos sausages.
Is this the right direction? Sure! Are brands guided by noble premises and really want to change the world? Not necessarily… In many cases, this is pure greenwashing , or an attempt to whitewash the company's image through seemingly ecological actions.
The aforementioned consumer awareness is a double-edged sword for companies. They can gain a group of supporters thanks to it, acting in accordance with the principles of ecology and ethics, but they can gain very bad press if they are caught cheating. Jessica Mercedes, for example, found out about this in connection with her clothing brand Veclaim. The blogger convinced that her clothes are original and sewn in Poland, in accordance with the principles of sustainable fashion. Meanwhile, it turned out that quite expensive clothes are actually branded with the label of the well-known brand Fruit of the Loom.
In today's era of easy access to information, the green lie has very short legs. Many brands will probably find out about it painfully and on their own revenues - which, in our opinion, will be a not entirely pleasant, but necessary trend in 2021.
Virtual Reality Marketing
The growing sales of electronics are a great motivation to keep our fingers crossed for the development of technologies such as VR, AR and AI . Apart from the obvious entertainment function of VR technology, we can already see an increased interest in it by industry, healthcare, and educational institutions.
The combination of VR and AI could be a real breakthrough for online marketing, especially since sales of this type of headset have increased by over 60 million over the last 4 years . Advertisements will be able to reach a wider audience, and the experience will be more real and focused on the consumer.
Growing interest is promoting market diversity, which is leading to increased investor involvement and, consequently, falling prices. It is only a matter of a few years before VR equipment becomes an integral part of the home of an average citizen. What's more, it will also serve as training equipment.
The past year has also shown us how important fast and accurate analysis is. The development of artificial intelligence and AR will probably be due mainly to the protection and security sector. Statistics show that citizens look more favorably at the ideas of the authorities focusing on using AI for prevention and rapid response in life and health threatening situations.
This is quite a controversial topic, due to the fact that it is difficult to define a rigid line between protection and surveillance. However, this does not change the fact that the technological mechanisms "practiced" by us will be one of the key topics in the world in the next year, and data analysis will develop dynamically.
One thing is certain — improving the aforementioned technologies, even if they are not directly related to the e-commerce industry at the moment, is an increasingly visible trend for 2021.
Another Year – Another Chance for Voice Search – Marketing Trends for 2021
Almost every year we can hear voices saying that " voice search " will finally enter the Polish mainstream. There is almost everything to support this:
– statistics documenting the popularity of this type of search;
– falling prices of devices (Google Home Mini can now be found in the PLN 60-80 range);
– rumors about Polish language support for Google Home (some people supposedly already have it, some don't, and Google stubbornly remains silent);
– common sense (after all, it's a very convenient way of searching, it's a shame not to bring it to your home, kitchen, or even everyday use).
The problem is that all of this still exists outside the mainstream. True, SEO specialists are fighting for “position 0,” and technology enthusiasts are competing in ways to connect more and more smart devices to each other. But in Poland, these are still individuals, and the entire “invention” cannot get out of the elitist phase. Why might it be different in 2021? Precisely because of, among other things, falling prices, rumors about the Polish language (in the case of Google Home, because Google Assistant already has it), and… the need for communication for people locked in their homes. This year has shown that we have been forced to transfer many aspects of our lives to the network. And who else will always answer our question?
Unfortunately, there are two sides to the coin. Studies are already emerging that indicate that voice assistants have a detrimental effect on children (if they "sense" them) and young people. In countries where such services are popular, they cause virtually irreversible consequences for behavior. After all, an assistant does not require refinement, patience, etiquette, or even basic courtesy.
Local e-commerce will remain with us forever as an important distribution channel for local businesses.
We have already written about local e-commerce on our blog , now we are developing its idea in the context of next year.
We believe that in the post-COVID world, pandemic-era habits will remain with us. Of course, online sales in some industries will be lower than at the height of the lockdown, but customers accustomed to the convenience of online shopping from local suppliers will return to them.
What would that look like?
Customers in 2021
They will be more willing to buy products from local suppliers – soap from a factory located outside the city, bread from a local bakery or cheesecake from a pub located “only 6 km from home”. Many people have noticed that thanks to online shopping, they gain much more free time , which can be used in more interesting ways.
Other aspects that will further accelerate customer migration to the world of e-commerce:
Understanding among customers and acceptance of costs resulting from logistics . On the one hand, I pay PLN 10 for shipping, on the other hand I am aware that getting to the store and parking is often a greater cost and, above all, a waste of time.
Same day delivery is increasingly being carried out by small local businesses on their own – especially important for fresh products.
Greater availability of parcel collection points and general habituation to ubiquitous couriers. Not only in offices, but also in the space where we live.
Growing number of companies responding to the need for local logistics (Glovo, Uber).
Increasingly better and more friendly interfaces of stores / applications that encourage you to buy products.
Social commerce — that is, a greater push for sales where customers are and a general emphasis on the fact that this channel is also supposed to sell.
Companies operating on the local market in 2021:
The understanding among many businesses that online can generate real profits . In many cases, of course, covid and the need to quickly adapt to the situation contributed to this. Companies that have managed to successfully enter the e-commerce market will not give up this piece of the pie. They will certainly work on changing their business models to develop both distribution channels in parallel.
An increasing number of tools and platforms that replace the entire logistics process – e.g. Uber Eats, Glovo.
And finally, the opportunity to sail out into the open waters with a local business . Many businesses with great products limited their sales markets to the immediate area. Suddenly, they had the opportunity to sell products to the entire country or even Europe and the world.
A perfect example is Ruina i Raj in Poznań with its cheesecakes (because who would have thought of selling a portion of cheesecake online? And with the option of delivery nationwide).
Mental health and mindfulness
Especially during the first lockdown (around March), many people became interested in ways to survive in solitude. Family problems also came to light, which we had not noticed before, living in a fast-paced world, somewhere between the office and going out "on the town". What's more, 75% of people surveyed by the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw indicated the pandemic - in general, as the main stressor in their current life.
People who had previously ignored their problems were forced to confront them. This, in turn, contributed to increasing awareness of the importance of mental health, mindfulness, and gratitude . Facebook groups hosting guided live meditations became increasingly popular. Meditations saw an average increase of 2,900 % across all age groups among Fitbit users worldwide.
" Healthy habits " related to mental health hygiene that internet users have managed to develop during this period will not weaken, they will appear as a trend in 2021. Creators who want to refer to them have a wide range of possibilities. From podcasts on streaming platforms, through dedicated groups on Facebook to the aforementioned virtual reality.
Briefly summarizing marketing trends for 2021
All predictions for the next year are based mainly on the impact of the pandemic on the way we consume in the broad sense. Over the last few (a dozen or so?) years, there has been no event that has so radically changed our approach to the internet and the content available on it.
Will the trends we predict come true in 2021? We are convinced that they will.
