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SchmidPreisslerConsultants · Innovative Strategic Advice - Research - Analysis - Market Solutions · Established 1961
March 2026
We are witnessing the emergence of a new consumer culture
For marketing strategists, the emergence of this new consumer culture opens up a wide range of opportunities for success. To capitalize on these opportunities, it is crucial to recognize the person behind the consumer and address them directly, without allowing artificial intelligence to interfere with the direct relationship between the individual and the brand.
While AI can now handle many tasks that were once performed by humans, one thing remains irreplaceable: the emotional connection between people and brands. It can only be established and nurtured through personal relationships, because in many ways, the brand embodies what defines people: it embodies the face of a company, its culture, its soul and spirit, its ESG values regarding the environment, social responsibility toward employees and society, as well as its leadership ethics.
While people are essentially the same as they have always been, the way they live their lives today is different from how it was 50 or 60 years ago. With the shift from a consumer society to a values-based society—and the resulting redefinition of people’s needs and desires—we are witnessing the emergence of a new consumer culture. People today, and in the future, live differently than they did in the past. They are setting new priorities in the areas of health, nutrition, sports, travel, and social life. Overall, people are values-driven and open to new ideas. To give just one example: shopping in rural areas is increasing dramatically, at the expense of cities.
New expenditures, investments, and a higher savings rate to secure prosperity in old age are highly likely to limit budgets for wants and needs. This, incidentally, tends to benefit the quality of new consumption, because those who have to budget also make sure that the price is worth the money.
Young brands have a great opportunity to successfully position themselves within this new consumer culture, provided they have a distinct identity and a unique selling proposition. And it’s also worth noting that in the future, generic labels and copycats will have little chance of securing a prominent place in this new consumer culture—let alone reaching the top of the bestseller lists.
The classic brand is regaining importance, though the competition for customers will play out not so much between “cheap” and “expensive” as between established brands and new brands.
Established brands must strive to be attractive and convey a message to people that leads to a purchase. They must be more than just accompanying labels for goods; they must, as we say, be the face of a company and represent its strategy.
If you would like to incorporate the exchange of ideas and the alignment of perspectives and assessments into your corporate and marketing strategies, we would be happy to assist you. Please send us an email at: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein!
Your F. M. Schmid-Preissler
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SchmidPreissler International Strategy Consultants GmbH · Ismaninger Straße 140 · D-81675 München · Tel. +49 89 139 29579
Für den Inhalt verantwortlich (MStG): Franz M. Schmid-Preissler - Anschrift siehe oben
