Do you think your next 2010 meeting and conference attendance will return to similar numbers before the Recession?
Are you waiting for the economy to rebound back, like a rubber band to where it was in the early part of 2008?
If you are, you might be waiting for a mirage, an illusion or even a ghost of the past.
According to research from Decitica, the recession has caused a profound, deep-rooted change in consumers’ spending habits in favor a more restraint. Many have accepted the change as a new normal and not part of a usual economic cycle. The Great Recession’s effects on consumer behavior are so profound that many of the assumptions underpinning consumer segmentation are no longer valid.
The Great Recesson's Effect On Consumer Spending Attitudes
Decitica has identified four distinct consumer segments emerging from the recession:
- Steadfast Frugalists
- Involuntary Penny-Pinchers
- Pragmatic Spenders
- Apathetic Materialists
Steadfast Frugalists
Steadfast Frugalists are committed to self-restraint, engaging in prudence with unequivocal enthusiasm. They make up about one fifth of the American consumers, representing all income and age groups. 80% say that their new behaviors will likely stay with them for a long time. 6 in 10 are women.
Impact to meetings and event attendance: Likely little impact. Nearly one-third of this group considered themselves as tightwads before the recession and probably did not pay for conference attendance out of their own pocket.
Involuntary Penny-Pinchers
Involuntary Penny-Pinchers have been the most severely affected, financially and emotionally, by the recession. Over represented by people in their 30s and 40s, this group was forced into frugality, as many had not saved for emergencies. Their behaviors do not differ much from Steadfast Frugalists. 6 in 10 are women and they represent 29% of the population.
Impact to meetings and event attendance: Unless their employer is paying for their registration, travel and lodging, Involuntary Penny-Pinchers cannot afford to attend a conference in 2010.
Pragmatic Spenders
Over represented by those in their 60s, Pragmatic Spenders have the greatest capacity, both financial and psychological, to willfully resurrect their past spending patterns. Representing about 29% of the population, they have a cautious spending approach. They have cut back on expenses and embraced thrift like others. 6 in 10 are men.
Impact to meetings and event attendance: This is the most attractive group for conference marketers as they have the above-average financial means. Conference organizers will have to show extreme value to attract this group since they are cautious about unnecessary spending.
Apathetic Materialists
Apathetic Materialists, over represented by people in their 20s and 22% of the total population, seem least changed by the recession. It is likely that their relative indifference springs from their life stage–younger, single people with limited disposable income at the moment.
Impact to meetings and event attendance: An attractive target for youth-oriented conferences and events. The challenge is that many may not have the same respect for attending a two- or three-day conference and sitting passively in chairs for eight hours or more. Many from this group have been attracted to non-traditional conferences like Unconferences and BarCamps.
Ultimately, the Great Recession has induced new attitudes towards thrift. Many have internalized simplicity and thrifty-living and expecting conference attendance to return to 2008 numbers may be a fallacy of the past.
So, how will these four consumer spending trends influence your next meeting or event attendance?
Jeff:
I agree that there will be a new normal, if and when the recession blows over for no other reason than remembering the behavior of my grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. The experience was traumatizing for them and it affected them their entire lives. When they scolded us about wasting electricity or not eating all of our food, they were still reliving the hardships they experienced. What do I do now with my own children? I walk around turning off the lights and making sure they don’t waste food.
I believe there will be an institutional legacy of the same sort for our industry. Exhibitors were already complaining about the costs to exhibit. Attendees were already weeding out some conferences from their travel plans because there were too many conferences, not enough time to attend or the content wasn’t compelling enough. The recession is the final, decisive blow.
If event organizers aren’t well on their way to delivering conference content (at the very least) differently, via more channels to a larger audience, they are in trouble. If exhibition organizers aren’t invested in taking matchmaking to another level and reducing the costs to exhibit, they will be in trouble.
Midcourse Corrections » The Recession’s Lasting Impact On Conference Attendance…
“Many have internalized simplicity and thrifty-living and expecting conference attendance to return to 2008 numbers may be a fallacy of the past.” …
@Michelle – Fantastic comments. Thanks for adding them and I agree 100%.
Jeff, I’m a little late visiting this post. The analytical side of me had to double check your math to make sure that the four groups added up to 100%. You did good! I’m thinking there’s a missing segment though…the “Voluntary Apathetic Frugalists”. These are the people that showed up last year, didn’t get enough out of the conference and ain’t coming back because their money is better spent on other stuff. This group represents 18% of your audience and runs across the board on age and gender.
No question that 2010 is going to be a tough year for lots of segments/events. Most sponsor and exhibit commitment for 2009 were made before the bottom hit in Q4 of 2008. Tougher decisions were made in 2009 for 2010. Less sponsors/exhibitors makes it harder to keep registration fees down. Associations are going to have to ratchet things up for 2010 to compete.
It’s going to be another interesting year for many of us.
Dave Lutz – @velchain
Our country was also hit hard by the Economic Recession. At least we are seeing some signs of economic recovery now. I hope that we could recover soon from this recession.
a.-
Some of us of course, (me, because I saw the impossibility of prices continuing to rise in property out here on Spain which led to us being thrifty from a year or two back) were not ‘that’ suprised by the recent (and ongoing) recession.
Having said that we were still way off base with our adjusted targets and it really has been a year of hurt. Maybe we have survived but certainly have not grown at previous trends. If we hadnt have already started being ‘tight’ then things could have been a lot worse.
I definately agree and have been saying myself that there will be shift in cashflow at least. Event holders are going to be looking more closely at their budgets from here on in, less waste, more streamlining. Social media and things like the new Google Wave are changing the landscape as we speak and more and more companies and corporate bodies will be joining and adding them to thier marketing mix.
As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them) to change some marketing avenues, to utilise and track new media solutions, to be more heavily involved with tech and gadgets than ever before…
I say the worst is over for us personally, we were one of the first and worst hit industries, particularly for Spain’s Business tourism on the whole. Now I see some light. I predicted much later enquiries over the next year still with events being arranged much closer to the actual date and already this is ’starting’ to show signs of activity.
Great blog, I think I will add this to my blogroll, keep it up!
@Conference Coordinator
Thanks for the comment–and a great comment it was too. I concur with your statement “…that there will be shift in cashflow…” and “As event planners we have to continue to evolve, to stay on top of trends (if not ahead of them)…” Great insight there. Thanks again for stopping by.
Our country had been so much affected by this Economic Recession. there are lots of job cuts and company shutdowns. We are seeing some signs of economic recovery right now and we hope that it would continue.
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