The decline of public trust in government and private institutions, the evolution of work dynamics, and the rise of digitalisation — particularly in e-commerce and digital banking — are among key 2020 trends slated to shape 2021, according to Singapore-based market research firm Blackbox Research.
The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined and revolutionised the way people live, and this is particularly evident in how people turn to e-commerce to make purchases — from essentials and groceries to entertainment — in an era where safe distancing has become the norm and anxieties about the virus linger.
“Shopping is now “click-and-mortar”, as modern retail blurs the digital divide. Consumers are growing impervious to binary channel segmentations, making it less about where a purchase journey begins and more about what drives a purchasing decision,” said Blackbox Research.
Satisfaction levels with the e-commerce experience, however, were consistently low, which has prompted consumers to call on e-commerce players to drastically improve user experiences, the firm observed.
The pandemic has also turned many people into anxious germophobes — leading to record-breaking sales of cleaning and disinfecting products, as well as transforming the way we greet, mingle, and interact with one another, Blackbox Research observed.
Blackbox Research noted that while essential workers and frontline officials who dealt with the pandemic up-close are valued by respondents, many large institutions — from governments to Fortune 500 companies — have failed the litmus test for leadership from the perspective of the public.
“The pandemic revealed the limitations of many respected institutions,” the firm said.
Blackbox Research’s data shows that 56 per cent of respondents were of the view that their country’s response was not swift enough in responding to the threat of COVID-19.
54 per cent of respondents were surprised at how poorly prepared their country was in handling COVID-19, while 39 per cent of respondents said that their country was not prepared for such a major health crisis.
Most notably, data from Blackbox Research shows that 31 per cent of people felt that the World Health Organization (WHO) performed below expectations, and 36 per cent expressed the same sentiment towards the United Nations.
Organisations, said Blackbox Research, can overcome the trust gap by walking the talk, breaking away from superficial messaging, and by taking swift, tangible action.
Safe distancing measures have also reinvented work and labour dynamics as working from home becomes a cornerstone in business continuity mechanism — redefining notions of workspace, collaboration, and productivity, said Blackbox Research.
Thus, in 2021, it is likely that “work from home” will become “work from anywhere”, and that technology-driven innovation will play a major role in the future of workplace dynamics.
“Data from Blackbox Research found that 9 in 10 workers are not rushing to resume office life, having fully adapted to working remotely,” said the firm.
Beyond discussions on the new Zoom economy and how future home design will give rise to workspace
planning, the rise of flexible work arrangements, however, will have wider repercussions.
Indeed, employers now have the ability to hire well beyond the cities in which they operate, making remote locations much more attractive than big cities where talent, taxes, and real estate are infamously expensive, Blackbox Research noted.
The digitalisation of banking and finance services, Blackbox Research, is also slated to become one of the key trends this year that will influence consumers’ spending methods in 2021.
“The financial advisor gets the app treatment. The pandemic has accelerated the rise of digital platforms for everything from financial advice to retirement planning,” said the firm.
Blackbox data reveals a 6 per cent to 8 per cent growth in the use of digital financial services platforms, suggesting that people may be hedging against future crises by taking more control over their finances.
The pandemic has also taken fintech start-ups “from the fringes of finance to mainstream name recognition”, it added.
“Neo-banking is now on the horizon, not beyond it,” Blackbox Research said.
Blackbox Research founder and CEO David Black said: “The pandemic’s most enduring impact will be its role as catalyst and accelerant.”
“As this year comes to a close, there is a sense of hope and opportunity – however tenuous – that comes with the dawning of 2021.
“It is up to us to figure out how we can build ourselves back up to not only survive, but thrive, in the new normal,” said Black.
Black added that everyone – citizens, communities, businesses, and governments – “needs to understand and anticipate the new dynamics that the pandemic has set in motion” to “emerge from the crisis stronger and more resilient”.
WATCH: Blackbox Research on 10 key trends that will shape 2021
