Adobe: consumers reject age-based stereotypes

New research from Adobe suggests consumers are rejecting age-based stereotypes, revealing the importance for brands to connect at an individual level.

The Make it Personal report found that the majority (86%) of APAC consumers want to be treated as an individual with unique interests and preferences. One in two (57%) say they have negative feelings about brands that interact based on broad assumptions and labels, including age-based stereotypes such as ‘Millennial’ and ‘Gen-Z’.

Adobe’s research shows the emergence of a new consumer who is not defined by age, refuses to be stereotyped, and expects to be understood as the unique person they are today. Brands seeking to meet consumers’ new expectations must ensure they are equipped with the latest customer data platform technologies, creating a complete single view of every customer capable of delivering personalised experiences in real time.

“Across Asia–Pacific, customers are calling on brands to demonstrate that they know them, show them, and will help them in the moments that matter — not once, but all the time,” said Duncan Egan, Vice President of Marketing, Adobe Asia Pacific and Japan.

“To meet that standard, brands need to unlock preferences in real time through customer data and use it to deliver relevant interactions and content at the right moment. Scaling that across up to millions of customers is the next step.”

Time to get personal

The survey of 5000 APAC consumers (2000 Australians, 2000 Indians and 1000 Singaporeans) reveals three times as many APAC consumers feel closer to people who share their passions and interests (62%) than those of a similar demographic (19%). Australians felt more strongly about this, with half (49%) rejecting the stereotypes of their generation and 91% wanting to be seen and treated as an individual.

Change is constant

The company found that consumer preferences and tastes are constantly evolving, reinforcing the need for brands to move away from simple groupings based on age or other fixed demographic factors. Consumers’ collective experience over recent years and months has only added to that rate of change. Most consumers across Asia–Pacific see themselves and their peer group differently from how they were pre-pandemic, and 79% have adjusted their preferences and tastes even further in the past three months. The average person takes on a new interest or hobby six times a year, rising to 10 times a year for people under the age of 25.

Brands’ ability to keep pace is also a significant expectation for Australian consumers. When asked, 62% of Australians said they have changed their favourite brands as their tastes and financial situation has changed. Real-time visibility and delivering experiences in line with emerging preferences is vital to keeping even the most loyal customers onside.

Individuality is key

Today’s consumers have high expectations for the brands they engage with — they expect brands to see them as unique people, keep up with their changing habits and interests, and respect their privacy preferences. Almost half of Australians (46%) now expect businesses to have a clear understanding of who they are as individuals, and only contact them with information relevant to what they are interested in at any given moment.

Over two-thirds of consumers (66%) say they expect personalised experiences from brands they share data with, with more than half (50%) wanting real-time offers relevant to them. However, 25% of Australians say brands are not doing this well or are inconsistent in their efforts to keep up with their personal preferences. Regular efforts to engage consumers with bespoke offers related to their current interests is of the highest importance — more than three times as many people want frequent, thoughtful gestures (61%) over bigger one-off moments (14%).

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