Recessions help good brands
When you read the headlines from the Deloitte report into post-recession US, you would think the right solution for brands would be to adopt aggressive pricing strategies. 79% of US shoppers believe that they have become “smarter shoppers” in the last 2 years, and 60% claim to have become more price conscious, utilising vouchers and coupons to a greater extent than previously.
However, there is a more interesting statistic from the same report – 75% believe that the financial crisis had caused them to realise which brands were important to them and which brands are less important to them.
This explains why the discounters have been doing well but also why the robust brands are doing well at the same time. The brands in the middle – the ones without a distinctive set of values – are the ones getting squeezed. Let’s hope that the natural instinct of consolidation in times of uncertainty doesn’t cause those brands to wither and die. This is a time for putting your best foot forward.