Report: In 2020, consumers are set to embrace technology, trust, and autonomy

Consumers' behaviours are evolving, making brands need to follow the changes closely to better meet their needs. In its latest report, Dynata has highlighted four key trends in 2020 about changing consumer attitudes on technology, evolving consumer sentiment, privacy and trust, and media consumption habits.

The first noticeable trend is the rapid adoption of voice-activated assistants. Amazon’s Echo and Alexa, Google’s Home, and Apple’s HomePod are some of the major examples which are becoming more prevalent and seeing a massive increase in use. The adoption of these tools heralds the broader adoption of other technology-enabled household tools. including remote-controlled heating systems, and door locks. The report has also shown that there's been an overall 30% increase in usage from the installed base, most coming from baby boomers and Generation X, with millennials showing modest growth and Generation Z showing almost no growth.

The study's respondents also expected technology to disrupt workplaces. Seven out of 10 said they could see their jobs being performed by a robot or AI. Baby boomers were most resistant to the idea of their jobs becoming obsolete, while about a quarter of respondents in surveyed countries felt that robots and AI taking over jobs will make the
world a better place. Interestingly the majority of respondents in China held the same idea.

Evolving consumer sentiment is also another area that brands need to be aware of. The report highlights a steep decline in trust of consumer reviews. While consumer reviews were still the second-highest ranked source of information, the percentage of people who consider them their most believable source dropped from 30% to 23%. This can be attributed to the shrinking differences between consumer-sourced reviews and independent websites.

Privacy concerns continue to mount. After complaining directly to brands or signing petitions, customers now use their money to say yes or no to the brands.  80% of respondents strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that consumers lost control over how personal information was collected and used by companies. Also, 70% said brands and companies were dishonest about how personal data was used. Customers deleted apps that they had concerns regarding, which counts towards lost sales for those brands. To allay their concerns, brands and companies have attempted to adopt a transparent approach and increased consumer choice on what they wish to share.

Lastly, the report noted that consumer media consumption habit has changed significantly. Current, consumers are not passive receivers of media content but are active agents in the process.

Millennials and Generation Z were found to consume over half of their TV content either on-demand or via streaming services. The same situation could be seen in radio for these generations, as streaming music services, funded by advertising, accounted for more than half of all their listening hours. Generation Z consumed more than twice as many hours online as baby boomers and almost twice as many as Generation X. Each successive generation's consumption of online content is greater than the one before with more time spent in front of a screen.

"Looking across the key trends, it's more apparent than ever that connection, on a human level and with the issues people care about most, is the path to forging valuable customer relationships and more effective dialogue with consumers, globally," said Gary S. Laben, CEO of Dynata.