Socio-economic context, “social web” burst: after the “Portraits de Femmes” (“Women’s Portrayals”) study, by the Kantar Media agency, the European female consumer changes and deeply modifies her relationship with brands since six years. The “rational” brand prevails over the “emotional” brand. A study, performed in France, Spain, Germany and Great Britain, to understand this evolution.
The European female consumer tends to question the emotional range in her relationship with brands. Emotions and values are no longer enough as fields of communication. In fact, in 2013, European women who buy products the values of which they share are only 13%, versus 26% in 2006. We see a come-back of a buying behaviour, and a relationship with the brand entrenched in a more rational range, in which the products can no longer be monetized. They are now 48 % to opt generally for the cheapest products, against 43% in 2006, when 57% liked everything that came with a “new” label, against 46% only now. They are less inclined to pay more for an “additive-free” product that makes their lives easier, or because it is of high-quality (57% in 2006 versus 52% in 2013).
The ability of the brands to retain their consumers is also vanishing. The European female consumers are now only 11% to be loyal to the brands they like (14% in 2006). Beauty products, though a sector for which the brand identity is important, are no exception to this trend. They are only 39% to pay attention to this point, when 51% did it in …
