Frugality fatigue

In today’s Research Brief, they again pointed to an interesting element of the recent report from Price Waterhouse Coopers… suggesting that many consumers are just plain tired of being thrifty. I’ve cited this study before (see “Generation Why Not”, 3/9/10), but the concept of “frugality fatigue” is a separate and sovereign point worth thinking about.

[Again, here is a link to the full briefing from Price Waterhouse Coopers.]

Implications: In Elm Street workshops, we often suggest that when consumers are feeling the doldrums, your product or service might be precisely the thing that can lift them out of their funk. That doesn’t necessarily suggest you should encourage “conspicuous consumption.” Think, instead, about simple pleasures like customer satisfaction, small indulgences, or the pleasant experience that sales-floor interactions can be (when done right).

If people are tired of focusing on “cheap” or “purchasing restraint,” how can you give them a little nudge? And what can you do to make the purchase something to smile about, so the practice goes from “isolated incident” to “a shift in mind-set?”

Mike Anderson