What defines Bangladeshi consumer confidence?
By Wafiur Rahman
There is a growing popularity of short-term economic indicators in many countries to monitor the economic trends and provide analysis with early signals of the turning points in economic activities. Both the government and the private sector decision-makers benefit from these indicators to plan their strategies. Recently it is widely heard in Bangladesh that there is a lack of confidence among businessmen which ultimately may slow down crucial economic activities. Some governmental initiatives have also been seen to stimulate the growth momentum.
It is largely the consumers who set the trends in the economy. For Bangladeshi consumers, for example, they are willing to stockpile way ahead of time before both the Eids, which leads to a surge in economic activities, as pointed out by eminent economist Hossain Zillur Rahman, which he terms ‘festival economics.’ According to him, festivals are a big economic opportunity. The Bangladeshi consumers make their fiscal planning and expenditure based on the two Eid festivals.
Consumers across the world are having a strong love-hate relation with technology as it becomes omnipresent in their day-to-day life, says the latest trend-spotting report of advertising firm Asiatic JWT. They are as follows:
Here are the 10 trends as mapped by JWT:
Immersive Experiences: Entertainment, narratives and brand experiences will become more immersive and altogether more enveloping in a bid to capture consumer’s imagination and attention. Check out the recent advertisements on TV, Pran-RFL and other brands are starting to think outside the box, don’t you think?
Speaking in Visuals: We are shifting to a visual vocabulary that relies on photos, emojis, video snippets and other imagery, largely supplanting the need for text. ‘Visual’ is a new lingo that needs to be mastered. Don’t believe me? Ever checked how many emoticons Dhakaites use on Facebook?
Age of Impatience: With the mainstreaming of the on-demand economy and our always-on culture, consumer expectations for speed and ease are rising exponentially. As businesses respond in kind by making their products and services instantly available, impatience and impulsiveness will only continue to increase.
Mobile as a Gateway to Opportunity: In emerging markets, the mobile device is coming to represent a gateway to opportunity, helping people change their lives by giving them access to financial systems, new business tools, better healthcare, education and more.
Telepathic Technology: Thanks to the rise of brain-computer interfaces and emotion-recognition technology, brands are getting more adept at understanding consumer’s minds and moods and reacting accordingly.
End of Anonymity: Thanks to an array of new technologies and growing drive to collect personal data, it’s becoming nearly impossible to remain unobserved and untracked by corporations and governments. As anonymity becomes more elusive, expect pushback from consumers and growing paranoia around technologies and services that affect privacy.
Raging against Machine: As we move further into the digital age, we are starting to both fear and resent technology. We will pull a higher value on all things that feel essentially human and question (while not entirely resisting) technology’s siren call.
Remixing Tradition: With social norms changing fast and a new anything-goes attitude becomes common, people are mashing up cherished traditions with decidedly new ideas, creating their own recipes for what feels right.
Proudly Imperfect: Imperfection and even outright ugliness – the quirky, the messy, and the flawed – are taking on a new appeal in a world that’s become neatly polished and curated. Imperfection provides an unfiltered, all-too-human version of reality that reflects all the diversity that’s seen in everyday life.
Mindful Living: Consumers are developing a quasi-Zen desire to experience everything in a more present, conscious way. Once the domain of the spiritual set, mindful living is filtering into the mainstream, with more people drawn to the idea of shutting out distractions and focusing on the moment.
Verdict
The commercial banks have relied heavily on consumer financing last year as industrial credit disbursement suffered a setback in the wake of the political unrest ahead of the political impasses. With more and more consumers receiving easy credit through obtainable credit/debit cards, their expenditure spree has gone up. “The consumer financing increased rapidly last year as industrial expansion and business activities remained almost stuck up and credit growth slowed down amid political turmoil,” said a senior executive of a third generation bank.
So what can be done to set newer trends in consumer confidence? Spend more and more. The more we spend is the more likely we will get our money back one way or the other.
