TrendSights Analysis: On-The-Go – Catering to consumers’ increasingly hectic lives with time-saving, convenient, and portable products
Summary
Many consumers feel time-poor because of long working hours followed by long commuting times, family responsibilities, and active social lives. As a result of this perceived time scarcity consumers are demanding more mobile, convenient, and easy-to-consume products to suit their busy, on-the-go lifestyles in which traditional consumption occasions and environments are becoming less common.
Trend drivers
– Urbanization and long working hours make many consumers feel stressed and required to be “switched on” all the time as a result.
– Technology is enabling consumers to shop while out of the house despite being busy.
– Consumers are increasingly eating/drinking products in non-traditional environments.
Consumer targets
– Men tend feel greater levels of time scarcity and demand more on-the-go products as a result.
– Young adults, particularly 18-25 year olds, place extra value in products that meet their hectic lifestyles when compared to other working-age consumer groups.
Globally, consumers are becoming more urbanized while countries become more globalized. Additionally, the growth of smartphones and longer commuting and working times has drastically changed consumers’ perceptions of time and space. This has help created a new global work culture of always having to be “on” and available. Smartphones have meant that work progressively seeps into leisure time while longer commuting times have created “dead time” for many workers.
Packaging must become more convenient, light, and innovative to appeal to on-the-go consumers, such as their desire for immediate or near-immediate use from the point of purchase. “Snackification” is becoming more popular as companies seek to reformulate and reposition products to meet the changing eating habits of busy on-the-go consumers. Smaller sizes and less messy products appeal to consumers seeking on-the-go offerings in the long term.
The report “TrendSights Analysis: On-The-Go” examines what On-The-Go means as a consumer trend and why it is important, who are likely to be the target audience, how FMCG brands can best capitalize on the trend, and what will be the future outlook for the trend.
Companies mentioned in this report: Muller, ToGo, REV, Rez, Starbucks, Tropicana, Bad Baby, Spykar, Oxy, Jameson, Big Bang, Heineken, Furbo, Glo, oNotes Cyrano
Scope
– 61% of global consumers are often or always influenced by time and money constraints when choosing food.
– 57% of global consumers often feel that they do not have enough time to cram in all the things they would like to do in the day.
– 33% of global consumers perceive convenience to be the greatest benefit of online shopping.
– 37% of global consumers said that the most important reason for prioritizing time-saving products and services is the desire to limit stress.
Reasons to buy
– Understand which audiences are most affected by the On-the-Go trend.
– Compare the presence of this trend in each industry across the FMCG space, and learn what the key opportunities are.
– See the actions that major brands are taking to get ahead of the greater interest in the On-the-Go trend.
