• by Aaron Baar , August 3, 2010

Having weathered the recession, people are still wary about spending in the future. And while much is still uncertain, marketers who want to be successful in the post-recession era should begin figuring out what the "new normal" is going to be.

According to a study from Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies, a third of consumers plan to continue the reduced spending habits they adopted during the recession. However, slightly more -- 43% -- remain undecided about what their future spending patterns may look like, suggesting there is some opportunity for marketers to gain some ground, says John Giegengack, director of CMB's eCommerce and retail practice.

"The companies that understand the ways consumer spending is changing are going to fare the best and pick up market share," Giegengack tells Marketing Daily. "The recommendation that we made based on the study is not to assume that when the economy turns around, the way you've always positioned yourself is going to work.

"There's a lot of bad [economic] news, but there's also some silver linings," he says. "One of those is that in this upheaval, consumers are forming new kinds of habits and attitudes. There are a lot of entrenched behaviors that are being broken and there's a lot of spending that's looking for a best place to land."

Through the study, the market research companies identified four product groups that generally hold with consumer purchases. The first, "Investments in My Quality of Life," includes things such as vacations, home improvement and other items for which there are no easy substitute. "Things I Don't Think About" includes activities for children and subscription services (cable TV/Internet/ Magazines). "Things that Entertain Me" includes video games, books and electronics, while "Guilty Pleasures" refers to things such as jewelry, designer clothing and shoes.

Of the four categories, the Guilty Pleasures will have the hardest time rebounding. On the other hand, the "Things I Don't Think About" category will fare the best, largely because discontinuing these products and services requires consumers to opt out of them. Marketers -- even those whose typical business model doesn't run in a subscription fashion -- may want to look at new ways to package and promote their products along these lines, Giegengack says.

"There's evidence that companies that don't package services like that probably could and have some success with that," Giegengack says. He cited JetBlue's "All You Can Fly" pass and promotion as one example of rethinking how to package traditional items. "It was a really big hit with consumers, and it was a moneymaker for Jet Blue," he says. "That's an example of understanding how people are making these decisions and adapting to match."