Following New Zealand’s move back to level one in June, a strong sense of national pride was installed, and became the predominant driver of consumer attitudes and behaviours over the following few months. 

New Zealanders were in a very rare position to be returning back to a sense of normalcy as other countries continued to grapple with the virus, and our COVID response was praised around the world.

Armed with a strong sense of pride and community spirit, New Zealanders were more motivated than ever to take action in order to protect the ‘team of five million’, with an understanding that collective action would be the most effective means to achieving shared goals.

So what implications did this have on the changing relationship between consumers and businesses?

Consumers were encouraged to spend, but spend locally. Spending was framed as an act of kindness and community – a helpful action, a way of supporting people, and an opportunity to give back. This values-based messaging tapped into the community-oriented value set that was consistently shared by many New Zealanders over this time, and this paid off with the flurry of local buying behaviour. Businesses that can hook into these values will likely see positive results. 

Businesses that took the time to connect with their customers and build a community realised success. These businesses were clearly spending their time and efforts on establishing their unique value. By sharing stories about what they believe in, their values, how they give back to the community, their uniqueness, and their value to New Zealand and New Zealanders these businesses were able to genuinely connect to their customers and cement themselves as part of their local communities.

Active support for businesses putting people before profit, and scrutiny of those doing the opposite has heightened. Large, high-profile businesses have been publicly criticised for using the COVID-crisis and wage subsidies as an excuse to axe jobs, administer pay cuts, and engage in significant restructures, before going on to report a profit. This left a bad taste in consumers mouths, and prompted an even greater shift towards supporting smaller, local business. Meanwhile, other businesses who demonstrated a genuine care and concern for the well-being of their people and their communities were publicly praised and supported. 

Wellington-based Hiakai Restaurant showed their support for the wellbeing of their people by giving all of their staff a paid week off in recognition of a hard year, and to recognise Mental Health Awareness Week and demonstrate an effort to drive a better work culture. 

Read more about it here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/122852671/the-kai-can-wait-wellington-restaurant-gives-all-staff-a-paid-week-off

We’ve seen New Zealanders start to take a more considered approach towards supporting local businesses with a clear purpose, and who are living their values.  

But will this continue as time goes on, and the behaviours embedded into consumers during lockdown start to become a distant memory? 

What sort of businesses will we see emerging and thriving as we move closer towards the New Year?

Find out where consumers are heading in our next article.