Yankelovich MONITOR
While consumer anxiety deflates or tempers some consumer trends, it galvanizes others, including the “going local” movement. This week’s MONITOR Minute explores how marketers can connect with anxious consumers by conducting business with a local flavor.
Strong and Growing Interest in “Local”
Seventy-three percent of consumers—strong across all generations—say they make an effort to support local neighborhood businesses rather than large national companies, and more than half say they look for goods produced in their own state or in nearby states. From a strengthening of the “buy American” sentiment, to increased interest in local produce (including a willingness to pay more for it), to more consumers contributing money to local schools and participating in local elections, these days, local holds greater sway.
Local Replaces Global as the New Badge of Chic
The roots of “going local” are embedded in the convergence of two primary dynamics. First, a super-abundance of global has led to a scarcity of local(2). Over the past several years, there has been an increased focus on global connectivity, rooted in lifestyle interests that transcend local geography. This, along with nonstop news feeds about the global economy, the global socio-political landscape, the global climate, etc., has led to a super-abundance of global connection. The result? Saturated with the global, consumers begin to seek the local. Second, consumers in the new Responsibility Marketplace are examining the impact of their choices to a greater degree. From environmental concerns to a desire to “do good” for the economic health of one’s community, to viewing local business as more trustworthy partners, buying, thinking and acting local satisfies on many levels.
Implications and Opportunities
- Find the level of local that fits for you. Whether it’s the American city from which a product originates (in whole or part), the town in which you operate or the economic impact you make in towns and cities across the United States, put a face and a feeling behind the idea of local.
- Don’t assume that local means small-town. City dwellers can feel just as passionately for, and intimately about, their million-plus-population cities as those in classic, nostalgia-laden small towns.
- Make “mass” feel local. Hit the streets (literally) to discover and address local nuances, idiosyncrasies, claims to fame and the like.
- Give local a face and a spotlight. Be a network hub for local—even if you are national. Consider hosting venues or events in which local farmers, producers and business owners can interact with, and speak personally to, consumers about their processes and products.
- Explicitly link local to responsibility. Not all consumers understand its value, but most consumers do want to live more responsibly. Show them how local delivers by talking about, for example, protecting the environment or eliminating shipping or transportation costs. And it goes without saying: Be honest and transparent about what “going local” can and does mean.
Bottom Line
Look for the “going local” trend to continue to build despite (or even because of) consumer anxiety and financial hardship. Create out-of-the-box ways to make an authentic local connection. And remember: Local is as much a lifestyle and an attitude as it is a location.
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