Technology and Consumer Behavior
How Technology Is Fueling Consumer Behavioral Market Research
By Enock Wandera
The world is witnessing a litany of technological developments that are driving fundamental changes in human behavior and attitudes, which determine consumer choices.
Digital technology is disrupting many sectors as it transforms so many aspects of our lives. It influences how we learn, how we search, how we form relationships, how we shop, how we keep fit, how we drive, how we work, how we connect, almost everything from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep.
As we constantly change our environment, our behavior keeps changing as we adapt to new environments. It is therefore important for marketers to get a deeper understanding of the consumer behaviors and how they influence the buying journey.
Behaviors and attitudes are at the root of the consumer decision-making process, and so it must be clearly understood, defined and acted upon across all service interactions.
Determining how consumers will behave in a certain circumstance is easier when there is data to draw from. Consumer behavior data will include past behavior patterns, thoughts and feelings about brands, and thoughts about past experiences.
The disruptions being witnessed, however, call for adoption of new technologies that allow social market researchers to go beyond traditional surveys and focus groups, enabling deeper, more accurate, and real-time insights into human behavior and attitudes.
New technologies also improve the scalability and efficiency of research efforts. The traditional Usage and Attitudes studies( U & A) have lengthy and sometimes tedious survey formats that have become out of touch with today’ s digitally savvy, visually obsessed, and time-deprived consumer.
People are increasingly shortening the way they communicate through texts and using more of images and videos to express themselves on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter( X). It is there impractical to expect respondents to answer a 40-minute
Digital technology is disrupting many sectors as it transforms so many aspects of our lives. It influences how we learn, how we search, how we form relationships, how we shop, how we keep fit, how we drive, how we work, how we connect, almost everything from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep.
survey or take the time to write down details in an open-ended question.
Traditional U & As are based on recall, which is not as optimal as capturing realtime, real-life behavior. It’ s like driving backwards while looking through your rearview mirror. When the road is straight, you will get to your destination- but when the road is curvy, it is more difficult to drive because you can’ t see all the twists and turns or, in other words, disruptions.
The disruptions happening in the fastpaced digital era require researchers to develop more sophisticated ways to capture real behaviors, real emotions and real insights so that we can develop brands that are relevant to tomorrow’ s consumers.
In short, it is time to disrupt the traditional U & A by incorporating more behavioral insights. Fortunately, today’ s technologies are allowing us to capture behavioral insights in ways that are fast, easy and efficient.
To help understand consumers’ behaviors and attitudes in today’ s disrupted markets, we need to capture real behaviors and actions, uncover consumers’ System 1 reactions and connect with consumers’ in-the-moment. These are the three“ new rules of the road” for U & A research, which technology has created.
Capturing real behaviors and actions, on top of stated responses through use of GPS sensor apps and passive monitoring of online behaviors and digital activity helps to build consumer profiles and digital journeys.
The second rule which is uncovering consumers’ reactions, including their brand and category perspectives through short,
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