Defining the New Normal: Four Perspectives on the Consumer in this Economy

Mintel has been talking about the New Normal - our tagline for the changing economic landscape - and its impact on the consumer. Now the originator of the concept has designed a 4-part series to provide more technical depth and a holistic view of the consumer.

View for our series "Defining the New Normal: Four Perspectives on the Consumer in this Economy." Behavioral Economist Susan Menke, Ph.D., explores and explains the implications of the current economic situation from four different perspectives: economics, socio-economics, behavioral economics, and sociology.

Perspective 1: Economic - The Nuts and Bolts

We discussed the historical context of this recession, went beyond the headlines to understand the implications of the economy on today's consumer, and took a look into the future. We addressed the following questions:

What defines this recession from the consumer perspective?
How is the current economic situation impacting the consumer? ...Does this impact differ from past recessions?
What's next? How will the unique characteristics of this recession impact the consumer and the banking industry going forward?

Perspective 2: Socio-Economic - Understanding current financial services consumer "meta-trends"

We looked at things from a "top-down" perspective and explored the most important current consumer trends.

What were some of the major trends going into this recession, but more importantly how are they evolving?
How are advertisers using these trends?
How will this impact branding and our marketing messages going forward?

Perspective 3: Behavioral Economics - The Irrational/Rational Consumer

We explored how consumers make economic decisions. Understanding the Irrational/Rational components of decision making is critical to your company positioning and its products moving forward.

What psychological factors should be incorporated into product development and strategic marketing decisions?
What types of behaviors are becoming more important during this recession?
What are some useful implications for industries such as insurance, banking and investments?

Perspective 4: Sociological - Who, What, When & Why

One size doesn't fit all, especially in the financial services industry. In this webinar, we'll discuss different demographic groups and how they are impacted by this recession.

How are the mass affluent different from everyone else?
How are women impacted differently than men? How are Hispanics impacted differently than other ethnic groups?
What other types of demographic analysis are useful in examining current consumer behavior?

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About Susan Menke

Susan Menke has a Masters Degree in Finance and a Ph.D. in Economic Anthropology from the Ohio State University. Her primary areas of research have been Consumer Behavior and Financial Markets. Susan is responsible for the production of Mintel’s Financial Services Industry Reports. As an industry expert, Susan has been quoted extensively in a number of publications, including American Banker, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Money Management Executive, Euromoney, and others.

Susan has been with Mintel for almost 4 years, and has been in market research and financial services for more than twenty years. She has worked in various marketing positions at financial services companies over those years, including Fidelity Investments and Merrill Lynch, and has also taught International Finance as an adjunct professor at Boston College.