Jul 22, 2020
Consumer Insights
Going towards a new meaning of “Home”
The concept of home is evolving and the new notion will focus on the ideas of Wellness, Safety & Productivity.
“Home” is a concept common to all societies across the world and is basically defined as “the house, apartment, etc. where you live, especially with your family”. Philosophically speaking, we can say it is a space where we have lived a good part of our life, where we have developed our cultural identity or where we can be completely ourselves. Although all these notions are completely valid, the future of the “home” lies in other definitions.
The evolution of societies, technology and even the COVID19 crisis are some of the causes that originated the redefinition of “home” and accelerated major changes.
New “solo” lifestyles far from traditional family life take the connection between home and family out of the equation. The great adoption of technology makes tech and home an indivisible union. At the same time, COVID19 and quarantine have triggered an interest in comfort, entertainment and security in relation to our places.
These movements, amongst many others early detected by Nextatlas, tell us that the concept of home is changing, and this new notion is expected to be more connected to the new spheres of consumers’ lives and their interests, instead of a philosophical interpretation.
According to the analysis of thousands of data points, Nextatlas predicts this new meaning of home will be based on three concepts.
1. Home as Wellness Centres
The search for physical and mental well-being will take place within our own homes. These will become the new wellness centres where we’ll be able to relax, unwind, pamper ourselves and feel good.
One of the main methods of selfcare that will be taking place at home is beauty and skincare.
Our platform expects an increase in DIY beauty and skincare products for the next months. During lockdown, consumers tried these methods and discovered multiple benefits such as having control over the ingredients of the products they use.
In the post-pandemic context, they are not letting this habit go.
The interest is so big that in the last few months we have seen a huge number of online workshops (like Zara D’Cotta’s) that invite people to create their own 100% natural beauty products.
But beyond beauty and skincare, we have discovered that the interest in cosiness and comfort at home will continue to grow and redefine our spaces with a focus on wellness.
From an architecture and decoration perspective, we will welcome those styles and materials that make us feel more connected to nature and that enhance contentment and warmth. From a convenience perspective, we’ll choose appliances and technology that make our life easier but without sacrificing cosiness.
2. Home as a Safe Territory
In the coming months, our houses will be consolidated as those refuge spaces where we feel safe in the midst of a crisis context. Our platform detected different manifestations of this behaviour that has been notably accelerated by COVID19.
On the one hand, hygiene will be a massive concern in the future. Although the peak of popularity of this topic occurred during the most difficult months of the pandemic, it has never returned to its pre-COVID levels. In fact, interest in hygiene is expected to remain 25% higher than the pre-crisis average.
In this sense, cleaning our home will be essential. Consumers will focus on keeping their place as immaculate as possible in order to maintain the idea of a safe shelter that gives them peace of mind and safety.
But beyond cleaning, the concept of houses as safe territories will also involve other industries and services. For example, the health industry.
During the pandemic we have detected a clear tendency to Telemedicine. Faced with the threat of the virus, people decided to stay home and assist to doctor appointments but online.
However, data tells us that this interest will remain in the post-COVID world. This type of services will allow us to take shelter in our safe spaces and solve our different health issues in an efficient and less risky way.
Ro is one of the most innovative companies acting on this. It’s a patient-driven telehealth company that aims to be a patient’s first call for all of their healthcare needs. Using technology, Ro empowers physicians to provide high-quality, affordable care when and where patients need it most.
3. Home as a Productivity Space
The pandemic has led thousands of people to work from home, and while companies are expected to reopen their offices and welcome their employees back, data analysis tells us it won’t be quite as straightforward.
Interest in Home Office is expected to continue increasing between 25% and 50% in the near future.
Many workers have realized that they can make better use of their time without commuting, that their work can be done perfectly from home and that they can actually go to the office less days than usual.
This implies that, even when it’s possible to return to the office, many workers will choose to continue working from home and, of course, that will definitely impact in our homes, which will need to adapt and become half houses, half offices.
Along the same lines, professionals will continue seeking for tricks and hacks of how to improve their productivity at home and using from stationary to apps to achieve and meet their objectives.
Tide is one of the apps that is gaining popularity because of its great value for working from home. It helps people stay focused by playing white noises and other background music. It is based on the time management method Pomodoro that uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.
These rising movements show us that “home” as we know it is changing. In this sense, industries and brands will have to adapt to remain relevant in a new territory that is already taking shape.
So, the question is…How is your brand going to respond?
Trend lines, data and information described in this article emerge from the ongoing analysis performed by Nextatlas on its global observation pool made of innovators, early adopters, industry insiders expressing their views on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
To know more, visit www.nextatlas.com
