Modern Supplement Brands Must Understand This Shift
Exploring offbeat historical linkages or root causes that can possibly explain trending consumer behavior is my jam! I’ve presented some unorthodox connections before, but any guesses what a series of children’s books from the 1980s and 1990s might have to do with today’s consumer expectation of a frictionless omnichannel retailing environment?
Choose Your Own Adventure Books
“Choose Your Own Adventure” was a series of children's books where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The books were based upon a concept created by Edward Packard and became one of the most popular children's series, selling more than 250 million copies between 1979 and 1998.
It prompted the creation of dozens of other copycat series that begun being published by rival publishing houses. The large popularity of the concept led to the titling of a new genre of writing for the format, which was called the gamebook. You can still see this style being used in media today, with Netflix utilizing the adventure-style film creation in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
Impact of Millennials
Millennials are defined by those born between 1980 and 1995…those dates sound familiar, right? There’s no doubt in my mind that Millennials have been influenced by those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books and it’s now playing out in the consumer market. This is a key insight because…
~80 million U.S. Millennials
Millennials now have the largest generational spending power
Millennials also stand to inherit over $68 trillion from Baby Boomer and early Gen X parents by the year 2030 (setting them up to potentially be the wealthiest generation in U.S. history)
Connect the Dots
We are living in an era of “Choose Your Own Adventure” shopping experience…
Millennials read more because they were put in the driver’s seat. They made choices, and so they read.
Let me repeat that sentence, but this time I’ll swap a word for another in two occurrences.
Millennials shop more because they were put in the driver’s seat. They made choices, and so they shop.
Omnichannel Retail Heats Up
Omnichannel retail is an approach to commerce that focuses on providing shoppers with a unified experience across digital and physical channels, from browsing to order fulfillment. It’s based on the premise that integrating multiple touchpoints adds extra value, and it’s greater than the sum of its parts. There’s no one-size-fits-all omnichannel strategy because there’s no longer a one-size-fits-all consumer.
Technology shifted the power from retailers/brands to consumers. Customers are no longer obligated to participate in old legacy retail business models where they were the default picker, packer, and last-mile delivery driver. Customers now have a (where/how/when/why/what) shopping experience that can be combined to created infinite optionality.
Since 2020, executives’ earnings calls mentions of “omnichannel” in the context of “retail” has seen a major uptick. This is likely due to three main reasons:
Vast majority of consumers prefer interacting with brands through an omnichannel experience
“COVID-19 Effect” tailwind created extra importance for optionality
Omnichannel customers have proven they spend more than single-channel shoppers.
Why This Matters
If the legacy commerce models are in fact dead, what does that mean for your supplement brand?
You must have a mindset that places the consumer at the center of a flexible, almost “Choose Your Own Adventure” style of consumerism, whenever and however he/she desires it. Challenges notwithstanding, frictionless omnichannel retail is here to stay. It’s more than a trend, it’s a reflection of how today’s consumers behave daily.
Just like the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, alternate paths to the shopping journey speaks to the desire of control that consumers seek. That means choice becomes more important in an age of personalization. The future will be rich with personalized products, endless customer service options, 1-to-1 marketing, and loyalty programs that make us feel like special snowflakes. For all that, I guess we can thank Edward Packard.