Google recently published an analysis of ‘billions of searches from 2020, as well as consumer behaviours, surveys, and interviews.’ The analysis yielded five insights about consumers in 2021 that will help digital marketing agencies reach audiences more effectively in the coming year.

Creating Control: Consumers sought ‘signals of reassurance and safety’ and ‘ways to gain control over their immediate environments’ in 2020. With COVID-19 cases surging across Canada, this trend will likely continue in the New Year.

Bargaining for Balance: March 2020 brought profound changes to the way Ontarians work, with many shifting to semi-permanent work from home models. As consumers moved their professional lives into personal settings, they found it more challenging than ever to enforce work-life balance and sought ways to alleviate this problem.

Cultivating Connection: The COVID-19 pandemic forced tens of millions of Canadians to drastically alter the way they interact with friends, family, and neighbours. Throughout 2020, consumers sought new ways to forge and maintain interpersonal connections.

Curating the Home: Just as consumers interpersonal relationships changed in 2020, so too did their relationships with their homes. Consumers sought ways to make their homes more comfortable and functional in 2020, but also sought ways to escape them…

Acting on Allyship: One of the few positive aspects of 2020 was the newfound fervour of multiple social justice movements, particularly the fight for racial justice. Black Lives Matter, for example, drew attention to the desperate need for change in Canada and around the world while simultaneously offering hope to younger generations. Consumers increasingly want brands to take a stand on social justice issues.

Together, these five insights indicate that consumers will act much differently in 2021 than they did in January 2020, and that marketing tactics and messaging that worked twelve months ago may not be adequate for the current moment. As a Google Premier Partner digital marketing agency, GrowthEngine Media can help your business remain agile and adaptable as we embark on perhaps the most unpredictable year in recent memory.

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