The Behavioural Science of CPG: Disrupting the customer experience

It is well understood that digital transformation is leading to radically different consumer behaviours. The way we shop, pay for things, listen to music and do our banking is changing beyond recognition. But as brands continue to digitally transform their businesses, it is all too easy to forget that consumer decision-making is also transformed in the process.

Technology is not only changing the way customers behave, but it creates a new set of expectations, which is in turn alters their purchase decision-making.

Behavioural science offers the right lens and tools to explore, measure and predict consumer behaviour in CPG.

This paper proposes five key ways in which technology is reshaping customer decision-making, and their particular relevance for CPG.

1. Personalisation: Moving from one-size-fits-all to services that meet our individual needs. 
2. Engineered environments: Increasingly designed and immersive environments mean external cues (rather than internal factors such as opinions or attitudes) will shape our décisions.
3. Moment optimisation: The time gap between the desire and its fulfilment is shrinking.
4. Hyper-rationalisation: Rather than relying on the brand as a marker of quality, we increasingly look at product and service features and their assessment by others.
5. Experientialisation: The continued move away from products and towards services which offer richer experiences.