The New Vacation = Camping

Everywhere you look out on the road, you see motorhomes, trailers, campers, roof tents and van conversions. It seems to be the summer of camping. In fact, the annual North American Camping Report shows that camping has experienced ‘aggressive growth’ during COVID-19 and have caused campgrounds everywhere to be sold out for months. Just try to book a campsite this summer and you’ll see it is true! 

Reduced Parent Taxi Time

One of the silver linings and most difficult to juggle aspects of the pandemic was that our kids were suddenly at home with us, all the time. We didn’t spend our days shuttling them back and forth to school and various extracurricular activities. Many parents enjoyed the time to breathe and spend more time together as a family, without the sometimes overwhelming amount of activities kids have going on on a daily basis. Perhaps the pandemic will remind us to slow down, and maybe just pick one or two meaningful activities for our kids so parents aren’t running ragged.

Cooking at Home

In some parts of the world, we are finding that our schedules are ramping up and our lives getting more hectic again. One thing many families don’t want to give up is the trend of home cooking. Seventy percent of people, according to Food Dive, want to continue cooking at home. And brands like Hello Fresh and Purple Carrot, that deliver ingredients to your door, are out to help keep home cooking going, even as busyness enters our lives again.

The Stay-At-Home Workout

Shifting our workout routines to a mat on the floor in the dining room or an exercise bike set up in the garage, and away from the gym and group exercise classes, was a big change for many during COVID-19. According to the Wall Street Journal, one in four gyms are projected to close for good this year, and people are saying their change to the home workout is here to stay; especially with the purchase of expensive digital equipment like the Peloton or Mirror. 

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Relief from the Never-Ending Work Day

For those lucky enough to work full-time from home beginning during shelter-in-place orders and continuing today, the struggle for wellness is real. Suddenly, people are working all the time with no routine for wellness activities or self-care. Snacking can happen 24/7 and exercise is  difficult to incorporate. According to a new study by Asana, more than 89% of American workers said they faced burnout in 2020, and nine out of ten workers also admitted to working longer hours throughout 2020. There has been an emergence of brands and products aimed at helping people better manage time at home from exercising, to eating, to sleeping. Until the pandemic lifts (and likely beyond) we will continue to see new ways to bring wellness into the home and ideas for putting work on pause. 

The Rise of the Calming App

Apps for meditation and sleep are hitting the market at record speed. With stress and anxiety continuing unabated for nearly a year and few traditional stress relief outlets available due to lockdowns, people have turned to their phones for help by downloading apps that help manage stress and enhance wellness. The Calm meditation app (despite the premium version of the app costing $69.99 for a year subscription) has been downloaded 80 million times. Headspace, Reflectly and Sleepiest are other popular apps that promote wellness. Mental health has been a big concern this past year, and brands and companies are taking positive strides to normalize care for mental and emotional health.

Enjoying the Home-Cooked Meal

How people think about and get food has been heavily influenced by the pandemic. According to a recent article in Food Dive, “more than four out of five consumers say the coronavirus pandemic has changed their food habits, driving them to cook, eat, shop and think about food differently.” More people started cooking at home during the onset of the pandemic, and they are planning to continue to do so after things open back up. 

Taking Breaks from the Media

During the pandemic, the search for truth and facts about the virus has been difficult—with lots of conflicting information. This same conflict continued through the presidential election here in the U.S., which fueled a mistrust of the media. Unable to find trustworthy news sources and wanting to take a break from “doomscrolling” and the never ending amount of information, people are attempting “digital detox”. From creating “no tech zones” in their houses to downloading apps that enforce time limits, finding ways to hit pause on screens has been a hot topic the past year. 

The Focus on Brand Responsibility

While brand responsibility has been important in the past to many consumers, how people think about what brands are responsible for shifted during 2020. People started to pay more attention to how brands were treating employees and their approach to dealing with the pandemic. As opposed to in the past where brand responsibility was tied to helping the environment or generally “doing good”, brand responsibility in 2020 became directly tied to the wellness of others. In a study by AMC Global, consumers reported that they were looking closely at how companies are treating employees and handling their needs during COVID-19. Brands like Starbucks and Target have boosted mental health resources for employees in response, and these efforts have been well-received by employees and consumers alike. 

“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”  – Michael Pollan, Author + journalist + food activist

Real Food Pride

We define “real food pride” as consumer desire to eat wholesome foods, to know where food comes from, and the pride that comes with sharing that knowledge with others. The Real Food movement has been around for a while, but the newly invigorated desire to share digitally during pandemic shutdown has given it a resurgence—especially, we’ve found, for baking bread! In this arena, brands can participate by educating consumers and providing knowledge in a way that makes it easy to share.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” —Socrates

The New Paradigm

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we live, work, play and—most importantly for brands—how we buy. For example, REI and West Elm teamed up to create an outdoor home line to help people get safely outside during lockdowns. Right now, consumers are looking to brands for assurance and information on business practices as they relate to safety, integrity and good will. This can be done in a variety of digital ways, and brands that rely heavily on point-of-purchase will need to think about fresh ways to connect with consumers.

“Discard everything that does not spark joy.” —Marie Kondo

Simple Joy

Even before COVID-19 hit, people were looking for ways to simplify their lives and return to a more simplistic way of finding joy. Now in conjunction with The New Paradigm, people are trying to navigate this collective challenge by finding joy in the reimagination of fun. Marie Kondo, the decluttering guru, deployed videos in Japan during quarantine to help people take advantage of being stuck at home to find joy. With a focus on finding joy in the simple things, brands may need to look at their products and messaging through a new lens.

“Take your pleasure seriously.” —Charles Eames

Not-Guilty Pleasures

The change in pace and the alteration of our lives has resulted in a blurring of the places and times that people indulge in “guilty pleasures”. Indulgence can be had anytime, anywhere, and these pleasures are an important part of our new way of living. Now viewed as an essential component of self-care, guilty pleasures no longer carry the guilt they once had. Watching Tiger King in the middle of the day or eating two bowls of ice cream for breakfast are all acceptable behaviors as people navigate their days. The concept of indulgence is being redefined as as more people #quarantineandchill. For brands that operate in the category of indulgence, your time is now. For those that don’t, you must focus on ways to help people unwind and enjoy the moment despite the uncertainty of the future.

“You—and only you—are in charge of your destiny. No one else should tell you what you can do. Only you can decide that.” —Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur, Shark, NBA owner

Passionate Pursuits

People aren’t necessarily looking for experts, but rather brands and people with whom they can align with who will to guide and inspire them to take action in the face of uncertainty. Specialty and craft brands open up the possibility for individuals to become their own “expert” in a sense and pursue their personal passions. MasterClass, celebrity-taught classes on a variety of topics, experienced surge in popularity during COVID-19. Brands must reconsider their role in providing opportunities for people to explore their interest and act on their values.