With every new year, comes a long list of new year’s resolutions for many of us. Whether it’s eating healthier, saving money, or adopting a new habit, we wanted to know what is at the top of the list for consumers in 2020, and how these resolutions are impacting their buying patterns. Sampler surveyed over 2000 consumers to better understand their goals and the factors that drive them and here’s what we found:
New Year's resolutions are alive and well
When asked about their tendencies to make New Year's resolutions, a whopping 82% of respondents confirmed that they made goals for the new year. From there, we wanted to figure out the most common types of resolutions consumers are making, and how confident they were in sticking with them.
Weight loss goals continue to be a primary focus for consumers
For those that are setting goals early on in the year, weight loss and leading a more active lifestyle continues to be at the top of the list. The results indicated that the majority of respondents want to do something about their health and well-being. 54% indicated they'd like to lose weight in the new year while 44% are making fitness-related goals.
Consumer New Year's Resolutions
Consumers are serious about sticking to their resolutions - sort of
Even with these ambitious New Year's goals, only a third of respondents claimed they stick to their resolutions all year long. In contrast, a whopping 45% said they stay on track for a few months, while 19% only stick to them for a few weeks.
Length of time consumers stick to their resolutions
Consumers are willing to try any product that will help them reach their goals
Now that we know the types of objectives these consumers are focused on, and how likely they are to stick to them, we wanted to dig deeper into how this influences their buying patterns. How open are these consumers to trying new things, particularly if they help them reach their New Year's goals?
The results show that with these new objectives in mind, consumers are open-minded and willing to try a new product that promises to help them succeed. 99% of respondents admitted that they would try a sample in it helped them reach their goals. Tapping into the resolutions of consumers could be a massive opportunity for any brand to get their product into the consumer's hands during this decision-making timeframe.
A sample holds a lot of power
We now know that consumers are in fact interested in receiving a product sample, but are these samples actually leading to a sale? The results suggest that they do. According to the survey results, a whopping 99% of consumers indicated that receiving a sample they enjoyed would get them to consider buying a full-sized version of the product. This is promising news for brands investing in or considering adding product sampling to their marketing toolkit. The results indicate that actually getting a product into the hands of consumers, and delivering a positive experience is very likely to convert them into paying customers.
Interestingly, consumers seem to care less about staying loyal to a brand and more about the results a product offers them. 47% of respondents admitted they were very likely to give up a brand if another product actually helped them follow through with their new year goals.
Consumers want results and they're willing to pay for it
We also wanted to find out how willing consumers were to put their dollars behind products that supported their New Year's objectives. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they were willing to pay whatever it took, while 33% set a maximum budget of $50 and 18% said they'd pay up to $100.
Amount consumers are willing to spend on their resolutions
Quality and samples drive consumers to swap their go-to brand for a new one
Brands today invest heavily on strategies that create and maintain brand loyalty. So what exactly drives devoted consumers to switch to a different brand or product? 72% of consumers said the quality of a product would encourage them to switch products, while 66% suggested that receiving a sample is usually what makes them try something new. 63% of respondents indicated that price played a big role in their decision while 32% say better ingredients would motivate them to switch products.
What makes consumers switch products
Takeaways
Consumers are setting their new year's resolutions early and it's clear that these goals are influencing their openness to try new products. These highly motivated consumers seem to be more results-driven around January than the rest of the year, and given the opportunity, they are open and willing to try new products to help them reach these goals. For brands looking to introduce new consumers to their products, aligning marketing initiatives with the new year is the perfect combination. The open-minded nature of consumers during the beginning stages of a fresh new year makes for an ideal time to get a new product into their hands. Adding a sample to the mix only increases a consumer's likelihood to try a product and become a lifelong brand advocate.
