ustralian Financial Review, Myer CEO Bernie Brookes, thinks that shoppers are still “fragile and frugal”. But are they spending less and saving more because of nervousness around the world economy, and worries about rising interest rates? Or is there something else, perhaps more profound, going on? This week, I met with John Gerzema, co-author of a new book called “Spend Shift: How the Post- Crisis Values Revolution is Changing the Way we Buy, Sell and Live.” Gerzema is chief insights officer of Young & Rubicam (part of the IdeaWorks family of companies), and his treatise is founded upon research from a proprietary Y&R study called the Brand Asset Valuator. The book is currently #2 on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller List, and it argues that the post-GFC consumer is a fundamentally different and less ravenous beast. “Spend Shifters” are moving from “mindless to mindful” consumption and are racing to embrace “main street values” such as “thrift, faith, community and hard work”. They demand companies that not only provide “value”, but also demonstrate “values” – such as sustainability, craftsmanship, kindness and empathy. When it comes to retail, these new shoppers are motivated much more by quality than quantity, and by experiences rather than objects. And they’re voting with their wallets, rewarding businesses who do the right thing, and abandoning companies who don’t fit the new mindset. (Witness the backlash against the banks this past week.) Before you label this undeclared movement a force of the lunatic, hippy fringe, consider this: 55 per cent of all Americans fully embrace the attitudes and characteristics of “Spend Shifters”. And the latest data shows that 51 per cent of Australians are also “shifting”. So even though we have half the unemployment of the US, a soaring dollar, and a resource boom, we may be fundamentally changing our perspective on consumption. Gerzema told me that the term “consumer” is actually now out of date, a “term of disrespect and ignorance”. As retailers, we have to embrace the fact that “there are no longer consumers, only customers”. And those customers are savvier, more demanding and more powerful than ever before... and far more “strategic” with their discretionary dollar. If the “Spend Shift” is a reality, then it may provide some answers to lacklustre retail sales, and some clues for how retailers need to change to cope with a new type of customer. At the very least, it provides some stimulating food for thought. * Jon Bird is CEO of specialist retail marketing agency IdeaWorks. He can be contacted on jon.bird@ideaworks.com.au. Inside Retailing is looking to stock “Spend Shift” on its Retail Books site – www.retailbooks.com.au – details shortly.