The Soul of the New Consumer: Authenticity – What We Buy and Why in the New Economy

Citation

Goldsmith, R.E. (2001), "The Soul of the New Consumer: Authenticity – What We Buy and Why in the New Economy", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 179-189. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2001.18.2.179.2

Who are the new consumers and why are they so important? David Lewis and Darren Bridger address these issues in their new book, The Soul of the New Consumer. David Lewis holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Sussex and is chairman of the David Lewis Consultancy, an international consumer research firm based in the UK. Darren Bridger is a researcher at the same firm. Their thesis, that large numbers of new consumers populate markets in the USA, UK, and perhaps other economically advanced nations, is based on their own consumer research and on the suggestions of many observers of the consumer landscape. Their purpose is to describe changes in the marketplace and to recommend how marketing managers should react to these changes.

According to Lewis and Bridger, we have entered a new era of consumption characterized by the appearance of the new consumer. New consumers exist alongside old consumers. These groups are distinguished less by a demographic divide than by differences in motivations, attitudes, needs and wants, and behaviors. New consumers share with old consumers many of the same problems: stress, time pressures, and information overload stemming from too many products, brands, stores, and ads. New consumers, however, differ from old through their relationships with and reactions to companies, marketers, advertisers, and brands. Old consumers are conformist, uninvolved in the production of goods and services, and uninformed. New consumers are individualistic, involved, independent, and generally well informed. “Perhaps the most significant change … is that while old consumers were largely motivated by a need for convenience, new consumers are driven by a quest for authenticity” (p. 6).

The concept of authenticity is a key theme. New consumers take for granted and have high expectations for the quality of goods and services. They expect this level of quality to be automatic and they desire instant gratification. Beyond this, they seek value‐added extras that make products special, fascinating, and unique. This is because consumption plays a central role in the their lives. They seek to create meaning and to develop personal identity through consumption. Old consumers often spent money in the pursuit of conspicuous consumption to impress others. New consumers spend to create unique images and lifestyles, both for themselves and for others. The quest for authenticity leads them to make product and brand decisions that express individualism, personal uniqueness, and self‐worth.

This quest leads new consumers to get involved in production. They are not shy about informing businesses of what they want and when they want it. Their restless striving for self‐actualization through consumption gives them a distinctive style. Old consumers are content to wait for marketers to develop and market products to them, and they are often later adopters of new things. New consumers seek authenticity by taking an assertive role in telling marketers what they want or they take a role in the actual production of the product if they can get the opportunity. They are often new product innovators.

Lewis and Bridger expand on the implications of their thesis for business practice. Because new consumers are well informed and involved, they are skeptical and difficult to persuade. For a marketer to lend authenticity to a brand he must “weave around the product or service a story that not only has emotional appeal but also communicates an authentic message” (p. 39). There are four ways to this. First, locate the product in place by identifying the brand with a unique location, a concept familiar to many consumer researchers as the “country‐of‐origin” effect. Second, locate the brands in a specific time period. Nostalgia often appeals to the new consumers, as do retro styles and fashions. Third, make the product credible by using credible spokespersons and brand icons. New consumers are less trusting than old of authority in general, and so are suspicious of many sources of marketing information. It behooves the marketer and advertiser to test spokespersons carefully for credibility with new consumers. Finally, making the product original gives it authenticity.

Individual chapters discuss how new consumers develop patters of consumption, which the book terms tastespaces, and how marketers should develop research methods, such as data mining and personal acquaintances, to learn about these patterns. They recommend personalization as the preferred method to involve the new consumer with the product and to give it authenticity. They discuss problems with marketing hype and suggest creating authentic buzz as a preferred alternative. Since new consumers are ambivalent regarding shopping, one chapter discusses how retail environments can be crafted to appeal to them. Advertising receives a considerable discussion in which the timing, length, style, and content of TV ads is dissected and critiqued from the perspective of new consumers. Marketers are challenged to do more than pay lip service to the call for relationship marketing and to take positive steps to involve new consumers in all aspects of developing and delivering products.

One reservation about the book is the absence of a discussion of where new consumers came from; i.e. what has led to this transformation in the marketplace. Moreover, there are few suggestions for research activities associated with this new consumption style. Some do come to mind. Since marketers need accurate, reliable, and valid measures for large‐scale market research, some attention could be devoted to developing measuring instruments along the lines of psychographics, which could be used to identify new consumers or measure the “degree” to which a consumer shared new consumer attitudes. The theoretical issue arises: how does the appearance of the new consumer impact mainstream theories of consumer behavior, the ones that make up the bulk of the textbooks? How well these theories describe new consumer behavior could prove valuable to both consumer theory and to marketing practice. Finally, how do new consumers react to advertising? Do their reactions differ from those of old consumers, and if so, in what ways? Lewis and Bridger provide one example drawn from research from their consulting firm called the “Mind Scan Research Program.” The method uses EEG activity to register how consumers are reacting to ads on a real‐time basis. This data shows cortical activity on a second‐by‐second basis through the period covered by a TV ad that reveals which scenes produce the most attention and interest. In their research, new consumers react differently to ads than do old consumers.

The Soul of the New Consumer is written in a lively and lucid style. It draws on many secondary sources (not all of which are as thoroughly documented as they could be) as well as original research. Well‐chosen examples from both the USA and UK help reinforce the message. While written for managers, it is entertaining enough for the general reader and for the consumer researcher who would like to see what informed observers are saying about the marketplace. While it is non‐technical and adds little to consumer theory, it could be a good source of anecdotes for classroom discussions of consumer behavior.