There has been a lot written in the past 18 months about how the pandemic realigned the way we were living. A moment in time that stretched into a phase that was different for literally everyone, affecting us all in different ways; young and old, key workers through to shop staff, blue collar workers and office employees. Just think for a moment about how different life is now, how you think it might have affected the above groups and how such a seismic shift defines who we are today, what we want from our lives, our relationships, our jobs and our future.

Key reflections in the new year

As we move into a New Year, even if we don’t make wholesale changes, I always find it to be a good time to reflect on where you are at, force a change – even a small one – and move into the New Year in a new gear.

In the last few years, those changes for me have been about reflecting on how we are conducting ourselves on a day-to-day basis and resetting into what is needed in the year ahead rather than drifting along with an adopted behaviour that you inherited post-Covid. I have been very keen to try to get colleagues to do the same.

Go out and see clients face to face, walk around the places we work on and have delivery meetings on client sites rather than on the dreaded Teams. While I’m fully aware of the benefits in time and travel that Teams has brought, I think it is incumbent on us all to ensure we use the channel in the right way, not just because it is the easiest thing to do. There will always be instances where face to face does make a lot more sense – think about it and make the effort!

Understanding the impact of consumers’ changing values and priorities

Working in consumer understanding at CACI, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot over the past 18 months, not just about the behavioural changes the pandemic has instilled in us, but how it has altered our values. In general, we have become much more particular about what we choose to do with our time away from home. Some groups, because of what home is to them (singles in smaller shared accommodation versus families in larger, out-of-town homes for instance), will have wildly different values based on that home set up, their life stage, affluence, etc. which maybe, or may not, be like their pre pandemic selves. However, how they value their time, effort and disposable income has definitely shifted.

The impact of the Cost of Living crisis has further evolved everyone’s position, with disturbing situations becoming everyday concerns. Simple things such as keeping warm, having a hot shower, or saving on electricity bills are driving the younger cohorts back to the office now more than the Boomer generation. That, and the realisation that without real face time with their peers and seniors, their careers may be stunted.

Applying these learnings in real time: Revo takeaways

Beyond this change in ourselves, we have seen huge changes in the businesses and organisations we work with.

In this last year, I became a board member of the industry body, Revo – an organisation that has gone through wholesale change, not because of Covid per se, but because of what the market needs out of such industry groups. In the past, it was famed for a large-scale conference, held over three days in a regional city, overlapping with many other similar events and organisations. Today, it is very much reset as a not-for-profit organisation, run by the members, for the members.

It is focused on providing a community platform to connect next generation Revo Hub members with those who have a few years under their belts. Instead of a huge annual conference, we now provide smaller events, including the very recent Revo Awards ceremony at Control Room A in Battersea Power Station. On this night, we celebrated the achievements of the best in the business across marketing, asset management, regeneration and leasing. As Revo evolves, those members who contribute will do the same, with a focus on getting out into the market to explore and learn from these winning best practice examples.

Predictions for the future of our working world

So, thinking about the future changes; in our work world, 2023 was centered around the birth of generative AI, albeit over thirty years after the business world started using all forms of AI (under a different name). I no longer struggle to answer the question ‘What do you do for a living?’. While our world at CACI isn’t as straightforward as saying you work in Finance or Retail, with Generative AI for the masses now, I can (relatively) easily explain that I work in consumer data to support businesses like banks, using natural language in AI to categorise large volumes of calls data to better direct enquiries. Or, using AI on satellite imagery to create spatial wealth distribution indices for far flung places. Or, put more simply, use behavioural data (like GAI can) to enable better actions and interactions with customers and prospects.

My biggest goal moving into 2024, and one I would encourage colleagues and friends alike to adopt, is to just get out there and see places again. Make sure you are putting a value on that travel and time, but also make a concerted effort to get away from your screen (office or home), force a new experience, and share that. In a world where AI will take away the mundane tasks, it is even more important to enjoy the new experiences that these new repurposed places bring.

The latest findings from our Cost of Living consumer survey are in, and we’re taking a look at the insights through the lens of the leisure industry. 

With over 2,000 respondents surveyed in November, we asked consumers about their thoughts and priorities in the lead up to Christmas to help brands understand how their customers may be behaving. For companies in the leisure space, being able to predict the movements, intentions and spending patterns of customers is key at this time of year, especially in the current economic climate. 

So, what did we find? 

Nearly half of consumers still want to socialise and spend despite the impact of the Cost of Living

With 46% of respondents agreeing that the increased Cost of Living will not impact their intended Christmas social plans (up from 40% in 2022), leisure brands can expect to benefit from people wanting to attend and spend on events out of the home this year. 

While this is reflected in general financial fears dropping since the late summer, there seems to be a generational divide with Gen X, Millennials and Boomers feeling more confident. Gen Z, on the other hand, reached a new peak of concern at over 50%. 

Their concerns relate to their personal finances as opposed to family finances or the national/global economy, which could affect brands reliant on young adults to boost their seasonal profits. 

Energy fears remain high as the cold moves in, leading to potential cost-cutting in other areas for some groups

With energy costs becoming more of a focus as temperatures drop, some demographic groups are having to cut down on other costs to keep warm this winter – with one in three among the Low Income Living Acorn category expecting to have to do so. 

The impact decreases as we climb the affluence scale but remains fairly significant, with over 20% of the Established Affluence category also considering cost cutting for this reason. 

Spending on food and drink at home remains a priority, but the importance of entertainment and leisure at Christmas is growing

With a significant 79% of people considering spending on food and drink at home to be important this festive period, there is further optimism for the leisure industry as our latest survey has also detected a shift back towards entertainment and leisure as a source of importance. 

While consumers report that most other areas of spending are reducing in importance, entertainment and leisure is trending in the other direction, with 59% of consumers surveyed classifying entertainment and leisure as either somewhat or very important to them this year, which is up from 53% in 2022. This is supported by 47% of respondents identifying that socialising outside of their homes this year is important, which is a slight increase from 2022. 

Overall, the social planning picture is a lot less negative than last year

When we consider the contrast between pre-pandemic and Cost of Living crisis behaviours versus consumer attitudes now, it’s fair to say that people continue to exert caution in the lead up to Christmas. Nonetheless, we’re seeing less negativity year-on-year, which shows that there’s opportunity for leisure brands in the coming weeks. 

Brands may still want to consider how different demographic groups are going to drive success this Christmas, as levels of concern and caution seem to be directly related to affluence. The findings show that the Established Affluence category appear to place the most importance on maintaining their food and beverage spending and socialising this year. 

When taking age into account, we found that a surprisingly large pocket of younger respondents actually prefer New Year’s Eve to Christmas Day as a celebration. So, this could be something to consider when rolling out engagement strategies post-Christmas. 

Apply these insights to your consumers and stay in the loop as you strategise

We work with a range of market-leading brands in the leisure industry, helping them to identify, understand and locate their customer base to drive value for their businesses and inform successful estate optimisation and growth. If any of our demographic or location-focused data is of interest to you, or if you’d like to dive deeper into our survey results, please get in touch to discuss this with us. 

Findings from our latest Cost of Living survey show that while this may be the most wonderful time of the year for some, this sentiment remains aspirational for others in the current climate. 

With Christmas spending behaviours changing across all demographic groups, where are consumers opting to shop during this festive period? Which retailers are appealing to which age ranges, and which are benefitting the most from the resurgence of consuming food and drinks at home during the festive period? 

Christmas grocery shopping behaviours breakdown

Despite a gradual decline in the perceived impact of the cost of living on households over the last 18 months, 63% of all respondents surveyed remain “somewhat concerned” or “very concerned” about the increased cost of food and drink this Christmas. The most concerned groups are those in the lower affluence Acorn categories, comprising 66-68% of respondents. On the other hand, the higher affluence Acorn categories of Established Affluence and Luxury Lifestyles are among those marginally less concerned about these increased costs, at 52% and 63% respectively.  

So, where are these shoppers turning to for their groceries? How much of an impact does ‘value for money’ messaging and promotional activity have on consumers’ purchasing decisions ahead of the festive season?  

Where are consumers shopping this holiday season?

When asked about their preferred Grocery retailer for their main Christmas shop this year, there was an uptick in consumers’ preference for Sainsbury’s (16% in 2023 versus 11% in 2022), and a pronounced drop in consumers’ interest in shopping at Aldi from 19% in 2022 to 13% in 2023.  

Sainsbury’s was the favourable choice for 20% of Boomers and older generations, while only 7% of Gen Z respondents said that their Christmas grocery shop takes place here, turning to Grocery retailers like Asda (19%) and Aldi (17%) instead. Tesco came out on top at 25% and was the most popular choice across all generations and Acorn categories. 

Differences between where those who are/aren’t concerned will shop

Among those concerned about the cost of F&B, there’s a nearly three-way tie for the second most popular retailer between Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi for main grocery shop at 16% for Asda, 15% for Sainsbury’s and 14% for Aldi. For those who are reportedly unconcerned, however, the split shifts to 17% for Sainsbury’s, 13% for Asda and just 9% for Aldi. 

With heightening concerns around the cost of food and drink, Grocery retailers looking to attract price-conscious customers in the run up to Christmas should focus on creating effective ‘value for money’ messaging and promotional offers. The fight to retain customer loyalty is in full swing, with the holiday season being a key period for major Grocery retailers to retain and gain customers.

Therefore, retailers that promote competitive pricing and supply exclusive Christmas deals and limited time offers will attract consumers who are on the hunt for the best deals during the holiday season and retain their loyalty. 

Resurgence of socialising and consuming food & drinks at home

When asked how important various social activities this Christmas were, 79% of respondents surveyed considered the most important to be ‘food and drink at home’. Gen Z and millennial respondents placed the most importance on this festive social activity at 84%, along with families with children at home at 87%. On the other hand, only 75% of baby boomers and older generations felt this way.  

In terms of Acorn categories, each category ranked this social activity as ‘most important’, with ‘gifting’ coming in second place. 

As the younger generations and families with children are often the demographics attending or hosting holiday festivities in their homes during this time of year, there is an evident increase in the purchasing of food and drinks to cater to the increase in home visitors. Hosts are likelier to opt into buying higher-quality foods and alcoholic beverages to ensure their guests have a memorable dining experience, which further contributes to the uptick in spending at various Grocery retailers during this time of year. 

How can CACI help?

As the cost of living continues to impact consumers and contribute to changes in spending behaviours ahead of the holidays, CACI can help you determine the impact that these changes may have on your business’ performance both in terms of its online halo and physical store network, how to navigate the changing behaviours of various Acorn groups and devise strategies for success at each of your store locations.  

To learn more about how you can futureproof your business through data-backed insights, please contact us today.  

In this third blog of our series looking at balanced locations, we shift our focus to Skipton, a picturesque market town in North Yorkshire known for its rich history and breath taking countryside known as “the Gateway to the Dales”.

With its 900-year-old medieval castle forming a centrepiece that overlooks the town and its charming, cobbled streets, traditional shops and vibrant markets, Skipton has retained its historic character while also providing modern amenities and a welcoming atmosphere for residents and visitors alike. These key contributing factors have earned Skipton its place on our list of perfectly balanced places to live per our report, “Six Pillars of Success: Building Resilient Places”.  

If you have yet to read our blog that introduces these pillars, we consider a ‘perfectly balanced’ place to be:  

• One that houses a suitable mix of chain and independent retailers at optimal sizes 
• Supplies unique offline experiences that meet the community’s needs 
• Provides community infrastructure that supports daily living
• Offers adequate residential properties for the community 
• Offers employment opportunities and flexible working spaces 
• Encourages time spent outdoors in green spaces.  

So, what exactly are the driving factors behind Skipton being a perfectly balanced place to live? 

Pillar 1: Representation & proper sizing of independent & chain retailers

Skipton’s historic High Street is home to an array of independent shops, boutiques and local businesses, which are complemented by national retailers such as M&S and WHSmith, clothing retailers like Next and Phase Eight, and health and beauty retailers like The Body Shop and Boots.  

On the cusp of Yorkshire Dales National Park with hiking and cycling trails galore, the High Street of this historic market town also offers an array of outdoor clothing and equipment specialist retailers such as Chevin Cycles, Trespass, Regatta Great Outdoors and Mountain Warehouse.

Pillar 2: Uniquely tailored offline experiences

One of Skipton’s standout features is its weekly farmers and crafts market that offers a variety of locally sourced, traditional produce and handmade goods. All the stalls are run by local Yorkshire businesses, which generates a lively community atmosphere in and around the town. On Saturdays, locals can stroll through Skipton Market lining both sides of the High Street, establishing itself as a vital player in the town’s overall shopping experience and offerings.  

History aficionados can also visit Skipton Castle, a remarkably preserved medieval castle where the Fattorini family— jewellers and creators of the Football Association Challenge Cup— continue to live to this day. Plaza Cinema is also popular with cinemagoers—a century-old, art deco, single-screen cinema that is the sole survivor of the town’s cinemas. 

Skipton is also home to many small cafes and coffee shops (both independent and chains), pubs and restaurants. 

Pillar 3: Engaging community infrastructure

In terms of amenities and services, Skipton houses nearly everything that would be expected from a town of its size, including both small and large supermarkets like Grape Tree Skipton and M&S, banks like Barclays and NatWest, dry cleaners, furniture shops, charity shops and estate agents.  

Skipton’s town hall is also situated near the castle, with a museum and gallery, a library and a small music amphitheatre just off the High Street.  

Skipton Station is also a major force in the town’s infrastructure, with regularly scheduled direct commuter trains travelling to both Leeds and Bradford, and several London-bound trains daily. 

Pillar 4: Support social cohesion through optimised residential design

Skipton features a wide variety of properties that are suitable for several types of people, ranging from large, detached houses to converted mill apartments, with terraced houses being especially prominent in the town. Families with children will find excellent educational opportunities available in the area, with several prestigious schools such as boys’ and girls’ grammar schools in the vicinity. 

Pillar 5: Sufficient & accessible work opportunities for the local population

Although the Skipton Building Society is currently the largest employer in the area, the town’s largest industry is likely to be tourism. Train line connections to Leeds and Bradford have opened many additional job opportunities as well.  

Pillar 6: Appealing open spaces for the community to dwell in

Being the gateway to the Dales, Skipton is home to plenty of green spaces. From inviting woodlands and walking paths situated behind Skipton Castle to impressive views accessible within a half-hour drive, Skipton and its vicinity has something for outdoor enthusiasts.  

In the heart of the town is Aireville Park, a large open space packed with sporting facilities suited for football, tennis, netball and basketball, a wheel park catering to BMX, skateboarding and rollerblading, children’s play areas, a treetop high ropes course and a café. The park is also home to Skipton’s weekly parkrun and annual triathlon, Yorkshire and Humberside’s largest pool-based triathlon. 

Fans of the Harry Potter film franchise will be pleased to know that scenes from “The Deathly Hallows” were shot at the top of Malham Cove, a short drive from Skipton, showing views across Malhamdale, down to Malham Village and Kirkby Malham. Scenes from the 1992 version film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” were also shot in Malham Cove.  

In the opposite direction and of similar driving distance, the renowned Brontë sisters’ home in Haworth can be found. It is now one of the oldest literary societies worldwide and was converted into the Brontë Parsonage Museum in memory of the celebrated authors of classic literature. 

Saltaire, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the mid-19th century as a model Victorian village depicting life for workers in Sir Titus Salt’s textile mill, can also be reached from Skipton within half an hour’s drive. Visitors will find ornate and well-preserved houses, a church and public buildings surrounding a park to stroll through, with the namesake mill, Salt’s Mill, at the epicentre of the site.

Stay tuned for our next pick of a ‘perfectly balanced’ place to live in our upcoming blog.  
 
To learn how our six property pillars can help ensure you are creating resilient places, please speak to one of our Placemaking and Property experts. 

Happy GIS Day, where we take a fresh look into the history of the Gillette disposable safety razor blade, appreciate the facial movement of Movember and explore the cutting-edge stats on hairdressers across the UK. 

On 15th November 1904, the disposable safety razor blade patent was granted to King C. Gillette. To understand the grooming habits of the UK population, GIS can be employed to analyse regional expenditures on razor blades. By mapping consumer spending patterns, businesses and policymakers gain razor sharp insights into grooming preferences, allowing for targeted marketing strategies and resource allocation. This data-driven approach enhances our understanding of cultural and economic factors that influence grooming choices. 

Map shows the South East Region has the highest annual expenditure on razors

Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find ourselves in the midst of the Movember movement. This annual event encourages men to grow a moustache during the month of November to raise awareness about men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health challenges. GIS plays a crucial role in tracking the global impact of Movember, helping organisers analyse and visualise participation, identify cutting-edge trends and target areas for increased awareness campaigns.

Shifting our focus from shaving to hairstyling. According to the NHBF there has been a 21% increase in the number of hair salons since 2019. 19 million people, almost a third of the population, now live within a mile of a hairdressers in the UK. GIS provides a powerful tool for mapping the distribution of salons and barbershops, helping identify areas with high concentrations of hairdressing establishments.

Map shows postcode walking accessibility to a hairdressers

Ready to groom your business strategy with GIS? From mapping trends to uncovering hidden opportunities, contact us to explore the cutting-edge possibilities InSite and CACI data can offer your business. Sharpen your strategy, shape up your success!

In this second blog of our series looking at balanced locations, we focus on Reigate and Fleet.

These two enchanting towns are brimming with rich history and exceptional greenery. A blend of nostalgia, tranquillity and friendliness, they are south of central London in Surrey and Hampshire counties, making them the closest to London on our list of balanced locations outlined in our report, “Six Pillars of Success: Building Resilient Places”.

While inhabitants of both towns are proud to call them home, the criteria they achieved in our report reiterate the reasons why we consider them wonderful places to live.  

If you have yet to read our blog that introduces these pillars, we consider a ‘perfectly balanced’ place to meet the following criteria: 

• House an appropriate mix of chain and independent retailers at optimal sizes 
• Supply unique offline experiences that address the needs of the community 
• Provide community infrastructure that supports day-to-day life 
• Offers residential properties that meet the community’s needs 
• Offers employment opportunities and flexible working spaces 
• Encourage time spent outdoors in green spaces

Pillar 1: Representation & proper sizing of independent & chain retailers 

Reigate and Fleet both feature a myriad of national chains and independent retailers that take part in annual local activities and events.

In Reigate, national retailers like M&S and Boots are complemented by a range of independent retailers like The Vineking, a wine tasting and dining experience independent merchant, Art of Living, a family-run cook shop and showroom, and a handful of boutique gift shops like The Lemon Tree. Day-to-day convenience shopping is also supported by a large high-street Morrisons, which offers free parking. 

Just under an hour from central London, you will find the town of Fleet, an ideal travel connection town for those who regularly commute into the city. Fleet Road, the town’s high street, features an array of independent shops and a mix of both independent and chain restaurants. Hart Shopping Centre houses several known brands and independent retailers. It hosts monthly craft markets that bring the community together to support local, independent businesses.  

Pillar 2: Uniquely tailored offline experiences

Reigate has more restaurants than any market of its size, all of which are successful staples in the area. Just off Reigate High Street, you can find the Pilgrim Brewery, an independent retailer that is actively involved in our community’s sports teams and events, and is known among locals as a wonderful spot to gather and socialise.  

Pan Asian chain restaurant, Banana Tree, recently opened its door to the Reigate community, joining the likes of Bills, Nando’s and Wagamama on the High Street to further enhance Reigate’s food and beverage offerings. Monte Forte also took up a fixed residency on Reigate High Street after trading from a pizza van that visited the town. After a cozy dinner or a day spent shopping on the High Street, locals can also catch a film at the local Everyman Cinema. With several independent pubs and even a couple of late-night venues catering to the night owls, Reigate’s independent retailers have something for everyone.

Reigate High Street is also involved in several national events throughout the year, from artisan, food and street markets to Pillage the Village around Halloween, an annual Christmas Fayre on Church Street, and most recently, Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park, which featured food stalls, live musicians and renowned chefs from around the country. 

Popular cuisine in Fleet tends to be Italian and Indian, with several restaurants a notable hit with locals. For vegetarian options, The Greenhouse Fleet is an independent vegetarian cafe/restaurant with a strong environmental emphasis and diverse selection of palatable meals.  

Zinc & Popworld and a variety of local pubs form Fleet’s leisure scene. For a cozy lakeside view and nautical atmosphere, locals can visit the Heron on the Lake pub. The recently redeveloped Hart Leisure Centre now offers a sports facility that doubles as a community gathering spot. For the town’s younger population, a recently opened  virtual gaming experience arcade, Chimera VR, has quickly gained popularity.

Pillar 3: Engaging community infrastructure

Reigate’s array of yoga and Pilates studios along with a centrally located gym appeal to locals looking to stay in shape. Many companies or large groups also make use of Priory Park for outdoor fitness classes. To cover local essentials, Reigate houses a Royal Mail delivery office to the north of the High Street, a couple of dry cleaners and a key cutting shop, all of which cover local essentials. A launderette is also situated south of the High Street within a small parade of separate shops, and a Busy Bees nursery can also be found in this vicinity. 

For a town of its size, Fleet’s array of amenities and services cater well to the needs of all ages of the local population. It’s home to a large leisure centre that comes with a pool, spaces for squash and indoor sports and a gym. Many of its eco shops like Fleet Scoop, a ‘Zero Waste’ community spirited and environmentally conscious shop along with other local gems that opened just before the Covid-19 pandemic have been warmly embraced by the community and have continued to perform well post-pandemic. There are also plenty of smaller rows of shops outside of the High Street, along with a number of hairdressers and nail salons catering to its residents’ beauty needs. 

Pillar 4: Support social cohesion through optimised residential design

Housing in Reigate and Fleet is affordable for those that live in the area, as the higher than national average prices are reflected by respectively higher-than-average earnings. With plenty of private rentals to choose from and hundreds of newly built homes going up in the last few years.  

At £1,147 per calendar month, private rentals in Reigate are 24% of average earnings, a smidge below the national average of 25%. Private rentals in Fleet equate to £1,095 per calendar month (or 21% of average earnings), also below the national average of 25%. Fleet has also seen 815 new homes built in the last five years– a growth rate of 4.8% which sits above the national average of 3.8% in the same period. 

 Fleet has experienced organic growth and periodic development in its housing market. Approximately every 20 years, a new housing development has emerged, including the likes of Ancells Farm Nature Reserve, Zebon Copse, Church Crookham, Elvetham Heath, and the currently under construction Edenbrook. Each estate has brought new retail and food & beverage opportunities with it, such as pubs, community centres, supermarkets, parks and cafes. 

Pillar 5: Sufficient & accessible work opportunities for the local population

Reigate and Fleet’s economies are both active, with only 1.7% of the population in both towns being unemployed (below the national average of 2.5%). Fleet Services also employs many locals and acts as a stopover for those travelling from London and the East. 

Fleet is home to many managers, directors and senior officials, with over 50% of the population in managerial, administrative and professional occupations. While it has historically been home to many commuters to London, it now houses several business parks, primarily occupied by Information Technology (IT) companies.

In Reigate, 46% of the population are in professional and technical occupations, with a higher-than-average 17% in service industries. There are thousands of companies and hundreds of medium-large-sized businesses that locals can work for, including the UK and European head offices of Willis Towers Watson, Kimberly-Clark and Pfizer. While most local employers operate in the private sector, there are public sector opportunities available in the local Council and NHS Trust.  

Pillar 6: Appealing open spaces for the community to dwell in

Reigate’s Priory Park just off the High Street offers a great open space to tire the kids out either at the skate park, playground or by strolling along the lake or through the woods. The park hosts many events, including a free park run every Saturday morning that draws in upwards of 200 locals each weekend. It also hosts sporting events like local kids’ football teams, bringing together the community to the town centre.

Fleet’s lush greenery similarly draws in locals– at the heart of the town lies Fleet Pond, connecting various parts of Fleet. The town’s younger population is also catered to through open spaces such as a skatepark in the local park, The Views. 

To learn how our six property pillars can help ensure you are creating resilient places, please speak to one of our Placemaking and Property experts.

In our previous blog, we explored some of the most common challenges that have arisen in the travel sector in 2023 and how you can leverage digital marketing and personalisation to tackle them. 

In an era where the Cost of Living is placing pressure on consumers’ budgets, the significance of precise, targeted marketing and aligned messaging cannot be overstated. Moving towards the end of the year and the holiday-booking surge that happens in January, marketers will need to be aware of timely shifts in behaviour and expectations to capitalise on customer intent at the right times. 

Through our recent Cost of Living consumer survey, we have identified important shifts in travel spending habits that will influence the January booking window, and have pinpointed the demographic groups experiencing the most significant adjustments:

• Travellers are more frugal than they were, but still want the best experience they can afford 
• Travellers will spend more time than usual researching to try and find the best the value options
• Travellers may be more sceptical about convenient booking options and package deals still offering the best available value 
• Solo travellers, travellers without children and families are all being hit differently, and will therefore have different needs and expectations when it comes to researching and booking.

Despite these shifts, there are still plenty of opportunities for travel businesses to keep customers interested in going away. Below we have detailed some of the tactics that can help:

Consumers’ travel spending will continue—with exceptions

Many travellers may have set expectations in their minds around what a ‘good trip’ looks like, such as having to be a certain distance away or for a minimum number of days. Our findings concluded that despite the ongoing Cost of Living crisis, holidays remain a priority for consumers of all ages, and they are determined to find ways to make them happen.  

In fact, 57% of consumers surveyed have or will be making changes to their holiday habits to save money and get more for their money. 

Respondents expect to cut their expenditure on their next holiday, with 45% saying they will either find a cheaper destination, travel option, accommodation, do fewer activities or simply reduce their trip length. Which means that they will most likely spend more time researching their holidays and trips. Equally, this may affect the package holiday market as consumers compose their own holidays by booking their own flights, hotels and transfers.

The most affluent Acorn demographic groups expect to cut their holiday expenditure in this way more than other groups, as do millennials and Gen Z respondents. 22% of respondents are also taking fewer breaks compared to previous years.  

To continue to encourage travellers to go away, travel businesses will need to shift the focus from larger packages and holidays and instead start spotlighting the benefits of closer destinations and shorter trips or weekend getaways. Their focus language will need to be around ‘doing more with less’ to ensure travellers continue to see the value in getting away no matter the length of holiday. Travel businesses can promote this throughout the year as well, as shorter breaks are far more flexible and can happen at any time.

Gen Z are spending the least on travel this year

Younger holidaymakers—particularly Gen Z— appear to want to spend as little as possible to keep travelling this year.  

When it comes to cheaper destinations and accommodation, more than 1 in 5 respondents of younger age groups have opted for these. Younger men surveyed are particularly determined to continue to take breaks as they have before. Just 14% of Gen Z men expect to take fewer breaks compared with previous years, yet that rate more than doubles among Gen Z women, 29% of whom reported that expectation.  

To combat this, travel businesses that speak directly to traveller concerns around value will build their trust in the options they’re being presented with. For travellers that are wary of costs and will expect to be researching for longer periods of time to seek the best value, curated options and direct, value-based messaging will help to make their concerns feel acknowledged and will offer a faster and more convenient option for them to browse.

Family holidays are being cut…

Respondents that have children appear to be affected to a greater extent than those without. The appeal of cheaper destinations rises from 14% among those without children to 24% among those with under 18s in their household. Bearing this in mind, more price-sensitive families can be a stronger focus for value-based messaging and cheaper travel options from travel businesses.

…while solo travellers are on the rise

The results show that independently living, single travellers are taking the most advantage of getting away on holiday this year. In fact, rates of those cutting back on holiday expenditure are nearly 1/3 lower among those who live alone. This includes reducing spend in other areas to make room for travel and shortening the length of trips compared to previous years. To maintain interest across all pricing options, travel businesses should target more expensive and premium options towards solo and non-children couples.  

How can CACI help?

As a trusted partner to major brands within the travel industry, our team is highly experienced in supporting strategic targeting by leveraging the necessary data and technology to understand customers and their behaviours as innately as possible and being able to design marketing strategies to target these groups. 

CACI partners with global brands to harness and enhance customer data, enabling them to identify and prioritise the most valuable customers. Insights are then activated through strategic CRM initiatives and acquisition strategies, ensuring targeting is precise and relevant. This approach is pivotal for brands seeking to align their products with consumer needs and foster long-lasting brand loyalty, repeat bookings and maximising share of wallet. 

To find out how we can support your business strategies or operations by enhancing your customer understanding, or to find out more about the products and services we offer, please get in touch. 

Read blog 1 from our travel series: Travel sector hurdles and the promise of digital marketing and personalisation

Ever since helping an automotive client launch their first all-electric vehicle into the UK a few years ago, I’ve had a growing interest in sustainability and the environment. Now, as part of CACI’s internal working group on Climate Change and Decarbonisation, I’m involved in several exciting initiatives where CACI is using data to drive sustainability.  

Everyone has a role to play

Climate change and what governments, brands and individuals are doing about it has become a constant in the news cycle and data is proving to be a powerful asset in identifying and meeting key sustainability targets. 

Governments need to support their communities

At a local level, governments must understand their communities and provide support via adequate infrastructure. For example, councils are already working with a wide range of data to understand demand and develop strategies for residential EV charging points. Working with CACI means that council-held data can be enhanced through consumer and geospatial data to further define community needs for EV infrastructure or even green space development. 

Strong brands are those taking environmental responsibility

The last five to ten years has seen the rise of new, innovative brands that are disrupting their industries. Among my favourites are a company using flexible solar cells to create solar powered remote controls and headphones, and a packaging company being recognised by Prince William and the Earthshot Prize for using seaweed to replace plastics in food takeaways and hospitality. 

In more traditional industries, environmental responsibility is arguably even more important if we are to have a sustainable future. B-Corp certification is a widely recognised way of measuring a company’s social and environmental impact, and being certified tells consumers a company is serious about their commitments. The CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) is a not-for-profit charity that enables companies to disclose and take accountability for their environmental impacts – a key first step in positive action – something many of our clients are signed up to.  

Away from these more well-known programmes, we’re working with clients who have clearly stated environmental goals of their own and who understand that all departments have a responsibility. This includes Facilities Management assessing how to cut energy consumption, Logistics optimising their routing to reduce CO2 emissions, and Marketing implementing paperless processes and better segmentation to make communications more efficient. 

Individuals support net zero goals

A survey by CACI at the beginning of September shows that 84% of consumers support the government’s goal of achieving net zero by 2050. Consumers are actively looking for brands that have strong environmental policies, with half of respondents seeking brands that set their own, earlier net zero targets.

Fig. 1 Support for Net Zero goals from CACI State of the Nation Update consumer survey (September 2023) 

How CACI is making a difference

Data is at the heart of everything we do at CACI, and we’re encouraged to think of innovative ways to use it. One example is Ocean, a database of the UK population containing over 600 attributes across demographic, digital and attitudinal characteristics. Our Green Lifestyle attributes include attitudes to recycling, reducing energy use and dietary choices, and can be used to profile and understand your customers’ attitudes to inform targeting audiences and messaging. 

Further evolving this, we’ve developed an ESG score, that drills deeper into Environmental, Social and Governance issues and can help brands gauge which customers are likely to pay a premium for sustainable products and services.

Fig. 2 Example Environmental Score pen portrait 

IIn addition to these attitudinal variables, we’ve been looking at carbon emissions and developing innovative ideas and solutions that include: 

• Carbon footprint of Household and Travel: Identifying and measuring the impact of consumer behavioural choices on carbon emission. This will help consumers understand their impact (based on property, travel and consumption) and improve local governments’ understanding of their communities. 
• Carbon footprint of Fulfilment: Helping commercial property owners and retailers assess the carbon impact of acquiring customers and fulfilling orders. This could be used to inform parking, EV charging infrastructure and determine whether click & collect is better than delivery. 
• Carbon footprint of Logistics: Evolving CACI’s Pin Routes route optimisation software to support the electrification of fleet and distribution services. Our algorithms help reduce mileage, vehicle count and CO2 emissions, cutting valuable costs and reducing your carbon footprint. 
• Carbon footprint of Marketing: Measuring the carbon emissions from different marketing campaigns and channels to enhance businesses’ understanding of their environmental impact. This enables marketing teams to balance sustainability with sales and optimise campaign strategies to improve both. 

CACI is registered to the Social Value Portal and is actively working towards achieving social and environmental goals aligned to the National TOMs framework.  

We’re passionate about using data and technology to create more sustainable businesses, so if you’d like to discuss how we can help you, please get in touch.

The travel sector has faced turbulence over the past few years. From the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the cost of living crisis and ever-changing travel norms, the sector finds itself navigating a host of challenges.  

A holiday purchase is often one of the largest purchases that a family will make in a year, with an average UK family spending roughly £4,000 per annum. With ever-inflating costs and even higher customer expectations, providing an exceptional customer experience is critical to your long-term success. 

In this blog series for the travel sector, we will be exploring how you can harness the power of data and modern marketing technology capabilities to overcome and even exploit these challenges. 

What are the most common issues in the travel sector in 2023?

Changed travel behaviour

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis have left their mark on the travel sector. Travellers are more cautious, often opting for cheaper domestic or localised trips over international adventures. Health and safety have become paramount, leading to a new set of expectations from travel providers.  

In fact, 25–34-year-olds were reluctant to make holiday plans this year, instead waiting to see how the cost of living crisis evolved. 

Moreover, ¼ of those aged 55+ made no plans to travel this year. 

With different demographic groups approaching their holiday planning in different ways, applying the right segmentation techniques to target those who are most likely to travel is crucial. 

Environmental concerns

There’s also a growing call for sustainable travel. Tourists and travellers are more eco-conscious than ever, wanting to reduce their carbon footprint and seeking eco-friendly options. The consideration of travelling sustainably is especially a factor for 18–24-year-olds, where 22% say this is important to them. 

Over-tourism

Popular destinations from Venice to Bali faced issues of over-tourism, where local ecosystems and infrastructures have become overwhelmed. 

Complex travel policies

With countries having their own quarantine measures, vaccine mandates and travel advisories, there’s an increasing complexity in international travel logistics. 

Trust deficit

After numerous flight cancellations (UK flight cancellations are up 39% in 2023!), changing regulations, strike disruptions and refund issues during peak pandemic times, travellers are more sceptical about committing to bookings.

How can digital marketing & personalisation save the travel sector?

Digital marketing and personalisation have emerged as two tools that can address several of these issues: 

Tailored travel options

Through advanced AI and lifestyle and behavioural data analytics, travel companies can now provide tailored packages and ancillaries for individuals. If a user has shown interest in eco-friendly destinations or prefers secluded spots, personalisation and decisioning tools can offer suggestions accordingly. This not only enhances user experience, but can also divert traffic from over-crowded tourist spots. 

Building trust throughBuilding trust through transparency

Customer Experience Platforms (CEPs) like Adobe Journey Optimiser and Braze can provide customers with real-time updates on disruption, travel policies, health and safety measures and reviews. An informed traveller is a happier traveller. That happiness will lead to greater trust, and an increased likelihood of future bookings. 

• Educative marketing:  Digital and content-rich campaigns focused on educating tourists about the importance of sustainable travel can be instrumental. From tips on how to be a responsible traveller to highlighting the less-explored destinations, digital content can shape travel behaviours. It’s worth noting that according to our recent Cost of Living consumer survey, 17% of people believe that they will do most of their travel via sustainable methods by 2030.
• Feedback mechanisms: Personalised feedback options and rapid data ingestion help companies understand the unique needs of each traveller, leading to improved offerings around ancillaries, personalised and targeted to the right customers via mobile channels, making holiday purchases easier. 
• Loyalty programmes & retargeting: CDPs and data-driven marketing allows travel companies to launch personalised loyalty programmes. With retargeting strategies, companies can re-engage potential customers, offering them custom deals based on their search and booking history. 

Despite the many challenges faced by the travel sector in 2023, the digital and data tech revolution offers an array of solutions. By adopting well-planned digital marketing and data-driven personalisation, the sector can not only provide enhanced customer experiences, but also address broader issues such as over-tourism and environmental concerns. It’s a transformative era, and travel companies at the forefront of these digital innovations are poised to chart a smoother course ahead. 

How can CACI help?

CACI is already a trusted partner to major brands within the travel industry, developing strategic customer journeys to increase frequency of bookings and ancillaries’ revenue through the effective use of data, technology and targeted marketing. 

If you would like to discuss your needs in any of these areas, or to find out more about the products and services we offer, please get in touch.

Read blog 2 from our travel series: Travel spend behaviours that will redefine your customer strategies

In our latest Cost of Living Podcast, we examine how expectations around missing payments are doubled among the least affluent demographic category in the coming months, with concerns around paying utility bills affecting nearly one in five households within the Low-Income Living category. 

How we drew these conclusions using our Cost of Living survey

CACI’s recurrent Cost of Living survey has revealed particular concern among this group, who cite their likelihood to miss payments on rent, council tax and utility bills as impacts of the rising cost of living. Where 11% of the UK population fear missing payments on utility bills in the coming months, that figure rises to 18% among those households with the lowest incomes. Unlike other demographic groups, this figure outranks their expectations of going overdrawn or using credit cards to fund or defer payments. 

Every three months, we ask a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults a series of themed questions around the Cost of Living, their challenges, plans, behaviours and expectations. CACI has been conducting this research since the height of the Covid pandemic, establishing a series of trackers that monitor feelings towards the Cost of Living, the impacts this is having and how their activities are changing. At CACI, we utilise the power of our demographic segmentation, Acorn, to inform brands about how these changes will influence the way consumers are behaving. 

Cost of Living Podcast – Part One: How consumers are reacting & adapting to living costs

of our special two-part podcast focuses on the latest changes in sentiment around living costs, the rising use of foodbanks and how Gen Z have been able to avoid cost-cutting measures on the scale as the older generations. Our hosts, Paul Langston and Hannah Smith, react to the findings, including how housing situations may develop as tenants in particular become priced out of their current rentals.

Cost of Living Podcast – Part Two: Impact of living costs on mental health, travel & brand orientation

moves on to consider the knock-on impacts of the continued strain on mental health, changes to the way that we are taking holidays and how consumers are turning to brands to lead on Net Zero goals. 

If you’d like to find out more or subscribe to our monthly podcast and receive all of our Cost of Living analysis as it’s published, you can sign-up here. 

What makes a place ‘perfectly balanced’?  

Interestingly, only 1 in 20 regional towns in the UK are balanced. This demonstrates that despite achieving perfect balance in some places, there is still a lot that can be done for places to enhance their community engagement. 

In this blog series, we’ll uncover the defining criteria for ‘perfectly balanced’ places and find out how these communities’ tactics can be applied to other locations across the UK.

Pillar 1: Representation & proper sizing of independent & chain retailers

Having retailers that ensure a return on investment for occupiers and effectively appeal to locals’ needs along with proper leasing of a retailer in terms of its tenant line-up are critical to an area’s success. A ‘perfectly balanced’ place achieves a balance between chain retailers to boutique shops and independent retailers by understanding the core of their community’s personalities and values and reflecting that in the area’s retailers.  

Pillar 2: Uniquely tailored offline experiences

Unique offline experiences are ones that are only available in person and cannot be replicated at home. A place that is ‘perfectly balanced’ will host things to see and do for customers to do in person that come with halo benefits and contribute to the overall liveliness of the area and can only be experienced in person. The results will be achieved through an uptake of dwell time, varied footfall patterns, greater customer spending and more.  

Pillar 3: Engaging community infrastructure

The types of amenities and services offered in an area can play a vital role in enhancing social value and community engagement. A ‘perfectly balanced’ place has optimised its relationship between supply and demand across amenities to help commercial landlords plug gaps within the community and reinforce social value.  

Pillar 4: Support social cohesion through optimised residential design

A lack of suitable housing can be damaging for an area. ‘Perfectly balanced’ places optimise their residential design to positively influence the community and create long-term value, income and footfall for developers. These places typically feature residential units that closely align with the needs of the community and offer the right types, tenures, sizes and price points to fill supply gaps

Pillar 5: Sufficient & accessible work opportunities for the local population

Communities need job opportunities for those looking for employment. Acute un- and under-employment can be damaging on both an individual and community-wide basis. In our post-pandemic world, 29% of the UK population work in hybrid roles, allowing them the option of splitting their work week between the office and home. A ‘perfectly balanced’ place offers working opportunities that reflect the demand levels of the area and increasingly include collaborative, co-working spaces.  

Pillar 6: Appealing open spaces for the community to dwell in

To drive footfall to a location, a ‘perfectly balanced’ place draws people into spending their leisure time there. It will be conveniently located, offer appealing services and amenities and encourage dwelling and exploring. With an increased interest in greening urban environments and finding pockets of greenery in even the most unexpected spots, ‘perfectly balanced’ places will offer luscious open spaces that are built sustainably and encourage biodiversity and carbon capture. 

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog featuring the first two of our top five ‘perfectly balanced’ places to live. 

To learn how our six property pillars can help ensure you are creating resilient places, please speak to one of our Placemaking and Property experts.

On 20 July, the Social Housing Regulation Act received Royal Assent to become law. This places the social housing sector under increased scrutiny and introduces wide-ranging implications for how housing associations operate. The Act will: 

• Hold social housing providers responsible for new consumer standards, empowering tenants to provide the regulator stronger powers to hold landlords accountable.  
• Offer powers to the regulator to issue unlimited fines to rogue social landlords, creating a new risk for housing associations to manage customer engagement.  
• Enforce a closer working relationship between the ombudsman and the regulator. The ombudsman has emphasised the need for improved knowledge and information management across the sector and can enforce its recommendations more effectively through significant fines.

What transformational changes will housing associations need to consider implementing?

Housing Associations have several operational touchpoints with customers, ranging from complaints, repairs, arrears teams and beyond. This means that data and information are siloed across housing associations, prohibiting organisations from effectively engaging with customers or meeting their needs and falling foul to the new laws. 

Housing associations will need to improve data quality across customers and assets to meet these new standards set by the regulator and avoid fines. A complete, up-to-date and actionable view of customers will be essential to effectively engage with them.   

How can CACI help?

CACI can support on these key first steps for housing associations. Our work with housing associations has revealed that they are experiencing issues across the board with siloed data, gaps in customer data and complications with data foundations. 

CACI can drive value for housing associations and help them become compliant with new regulations through various methods of support, including:

• Assessing risks, reviewing and transforming data management in line with Knowledge and Information Management: We provide the data foundations in line with new regulations and recommendations to reduce your data risks and conduct thorough data quality and architecture assessments to do so. 
• Recommending technology and data roadmaps: We offer insight into the best platforms, the processes needed to adapt to support data quality initiatives for your housing association to manage data and drive value across the organisation. This will help you achieve a single, unified view of residents in the community. 
• Understanding customers and assets: Our wealth of consumer and asset data supplies deeper insight into customers’ demographic, vulnerability and lifestyle variables, while asset and place-based data enhance your understanding of your homes and community. 
• Activating actionable and accurate insights: Tailor your propositions and engagement by building a profile of customers according to key organisational issues such as complaints and arrears. Our trusted asset and consumer insights will help you offer the right services to the right people, reducing cost and resources while supporting your customers.
• Driving value to improve customer satisfaction: An embedded data strategy that will improve outcomes for your customers by harnessing the power of analyses and spatial platforms.

What’s next? 

CACI will be leading roundtables for housing associations to discuss approaches and best practices for data quality and insights. These sessions will offer a platform to share challenges and resources on meeting the new standards to ensure that housing associations deliver more value and improved outcomes for customers.  

Please reach out to Tom Clarke or Gina Bryden for further information. 

How is Consumer Duty compliance affecting client communications?

Consumer Duty is rapidly changing the way Financial Services businesses communicate with clients. It is also causing consumers to re-evaluate the value of advice they receive from financial service advisers, and how financial institutions segment clients and offer relevant products and services.

On 30 April 2023, the UK adopted the new Consumer Duty obligations, and financial service providers and firms concluded their review of their existing open products. The changes that Consumer Duty brings impacts the way financial service providers interact with new and existing clients. Therefore, it is now more important than ever to ensure that you and your business are equipped with rich, actionable insights into your customers, to help you understand where to focus your Consumer Duty activities to ensure compliance.

What are the most impactful challenges currently resulting from Consumer Duty compliance?

• Solidifying customer communications. You must show that the essential steps to understand customers’ needs and improve communications are being taken to remain compliant.
• Identifying and supporting vulnerable customers. Vulnerability indicators change over time, therefore, without adequate customer knowledge, determining the diverse needs of your customers will be difficult.
• Lack of strategy for maintaining and nurturing customer relationships over their policy, resulting from limitations of technical debt and data capabilities.
• Inability to provide relevant offers or leverage existing customers to attract new customers when you do not know who your customers are.
• Future proofing your business becomes compromised without the insights to initiate transformational change. Your brand will need to remain relevant for customers and adhere to their customer experience expectations.

The steps CACI takes to make a difference for your business

We support Consumer Duty compliance across several key requirements, including:

• Supplying support beyond the strategy – understanding customers and improving communications.
• Developing a testing process to help you understand your customers and find areas for improvement.
• Accelerating Consumer Duty delivery and showing progress through an innate understanding of your customers’ diverse needs.
• Providing a comprehensive view of all customer communications, assessed for suitability against Consumer Duty and amended as needed.
• Scoring and evaluating your performance against key Consumer Duty metrics.
• Bringing in all channels to support customers.

Our process guarantees that you will be solving Consumer Duty compliance issues as they arise to secure a successful future for your business. We break this down into four steps:

1. Audit:

We work with you to gain an understanding of your existing communications, technical capabilities and data available, for communications improvements to be made effectively.

2. Campaign strategy, testing & delivery:

We then identify initial tests to show iterative improvement and implementation of the defined methods of communication that will meet Consumer Duty standards.

3. Customer strategy:

We create robust segmentation to define where there is headroom opportunity and who your priority audiences are. We also define the customer journey to activate your segmentation and strategy accordingly.

4. Contact strategies & use cases:

Finally, we develop detailed contact strategies for the execution of your customer journey, and identify technology and data use cases that will inform your future architecture and technology roadmaps.

How CACI ensures your business meets Consumer Duty compliance: real-time example

When one business with a range of financial products that fall under Consumer Duty recognised that they did not have an established amount of internal experience, they approached CACI to ensure that Consumer Duty compliance was addressed with each of their products, tailored to the customer audiences they served.

We highlighted several opportunities that the business could leverage through our capabilities, including:

• Understanding the business’ customer base and identifying headroom opportunities to drive growth.
• Creating engagement strategies that would protect and support their customers throughout their relationship.
• Rapidly improving insight led capability by enriching, leveraging and harnessing their potential of customer data.
• Demonstrating the power that a 360° view of the business’ customers and market would have by blending their data with our own to analyse customers, identify opportunities and learn how they could serve customers more compliantly and effectively.

Why you can count on us to support your Consumer Duty compliance initiatives

Our extensive experience with Consumer Duty paired with our unique data capabilities allows us to define market opportunities and key audiences that will deliver immediate growth and engage audiences of the future. We translate rich, quantified insights into actionable strategies to deliver targeted, personalised and omnichannel programmes that will guarantee success.

Contact us today to find out how we can support you and your business ahead of the upcoming Consumer Duty deadline.

Pay is only one factor that influences the number and quality of candidates for your roles, and their loyalty.

It’s no secret that staffing is an ongoing challenge for most providers of elderly care. Market competition doesn’t only come from other care settings. Potential staff may be looking for local work in a range of sectors locally, where hourly pay is higher and the responsibilities seem less demanding. How can you compete to attract and retain quality staff for your elderly care services?

Take a targeted approach to recruitment and retention by applying marketing principles

Traditionally, elderly care providers have used their instincts to decide on good locations for their residential or in-home care operations. In recent years, some have made good use of market data to investigate and understand their potential customer base. By looking at the age and affluence of potential care clients in their catchment area, savvy operators can anticipate the level of need, design the right services and price them competitively. Today, we’re advocating the same approach, to understand staffing supply and demand.

In our work with a few forward-thinking, large-scale elderly care providers, we’ve helped them to factor in staffing availability when looking for new sites or deciding whether expand operations in an existing location. There’s a great opportunity for mid-sized operators to take advantage of the same approach.

Using local market insight and benchmarking to identify potential staff

Using demographic and location data, we can:

• Profile the demographic characteristics of ideal candidates for elderly care roles
• Contrast them to the Acorn profiles of typical users of the elderly care services
• Flag high-risk locations likely to face the biggest staffing challenges
• Highlight areas of demographic overlap, with a strong potential customer base and staffing base
• Identify the best catchment areas to recruit suitable candidates
• Analyse the likely needs and priorities of available candidates in the area

Contextual dynamics in practice: understanding local recruitment landscapes

Our current work with elderly care providers is commercially sensitive. So, we’re using an example from a different care sector with a very similar recruitment and retention challenge – children’s nurseries.

Our client told us that recruitment challenges are hampering business performance – they had had to close some sites because of a lack of staff. They needed to factor the potential to recruit into acquisition decisions. We profiled 11,000 staff members in 400 nurseries in the UK to discover their Acorn groups and identifies primary and secondary target staffing groups. We mapped nurseries in their locations, showing where the customer base and the staff base overlapped. This helped our client tailor recruitment messaging to available local staff priorities. They could plan to expand their service provision in locations where they knew they could recruit to meet demand.

Modelling the recruitment potential for new and existing locations

The approach is not only relevant for new elderly care locations and investment. By understanding the local employment landscape, you can recruit in a more targeted and effective way and find out what matters to the people you’d like to employ, so you can shape working practices and promote aspects of the role that will be most appealing.

Location and mobile app data can you help you focus recruitment in areas where there are candidates who can easily access your sites and domestic clients. Your potential staff don’t necessarily live on the doorstep but there may be nearby areas that have good transport links, where workers already tend to travel from.

Offering roles that local employees want to take

Of course, pay is a very important factor when it comes to attracting competent and committed staff. Premium elderly care operators may be able to pay staff more and offer a more luxurious workplace. But these are not the only things that influence employees. You can provide other, affordable benefits and mould your working environment and employee programmes to match what workers really value. Profiling target candidates in your local area can help you understand their priorities – from family-friendly working hours to free lunches and incentive programmes.

Beyond pay and benefits – understanding the appeal of elderly care roles

Working in elderly care is a socially responsible job. For some candidates, recognition of the value of their work can be a strong motivator. Creating better career paths and more tangible pathways for carers can make a big difference to your recruitment. Some larger elderly care operators are trying to emulate nursing pathways: clear role definition and progression can help to retain committed staff. If you understand more about the potential candidates in your area and your existing staff, you can decide whether this approach could support recruitment and retention for one or more locations.

CACI’s specialist elderly care and senior living team works with clients in the UK to help them improve operational and financial performance with access to vital insights into their customers, employees and locations. To find out more, contact us.

It is now crucial for wealth managers and financial service firms to better their consumer understanding. They can do so by ensuring they are well-versed in the entire consumer lifecycle and journey, understand optimal communication techniques required for effective customer marketing, collect enriching customer-centric data to tailor marketing and distribution effectively, and establish innovative ways of measuring these areas to remain compliant.

Access to insightful demographics on the lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours of investors within the market can help drive improved distribution performance, revenue growth and increased client engagement. This crucial investment market knowledge can be provided by CACI.

How does CACI support a firm’s wealth management customer journey?

Through a detailed understanding of current investor behaviour needs and growth opportunities, CACI can support businesses by quantifying acquisition opportunities across regions to inform effective growth and investor engagement strategies.  

Once businesses have been equipped with the appropriate datasets to target high net worth individuals (HNWI), CACI can support the optimisation of marketing performance across channels and help businesses improve their distribution performance through digital, direct and intermediated channels to drive improved marketing return on investment, increased customer acquisition and better investment retention performance.

CACI offer a range of support for wealth managers and firms to meet customers’ needs while ensuring compliancy, including:  

• Support in better understanding existing investors. 
• Understanding the market and identifying opportunities, particularly in identifying how and where to acquire HNWI.  
• Determining where potential and current customers are located, as well as their value. 
• Receiving demographic data and behavioural insights on investors to better understand the customer landscape. 
• Demonstrating compliance with Consumer Duty, with meeting customers’ needs remaining at the heart of what CACI do. 

How CACI use data science & analytics to support the wealth management customer journey

CACI’s data science & analytics services have three primary capacities to support the enhancement of the customer journey:

1. Using pre-existing information on younger investors in wealth managers and firms’ portfolios to build bespoke datasets. CACI’s multi-sector knowledge and access to unique lifestyle datasets enables the building of this bespoke consumer data insight, providing wealth managers and firms with a detailed picture of the opinions, preferences and spending potential of HNWI.
2. Modelling prospects for HNWI based on demographics.
3. Assessing firms’ historic data to determine how HNWI already in their portfolio achieved this position by tracking their movements and identifying signals and triggers, to enable modelling of future investors. 

CACI’s wealth management customer journey support: real-time examples

How CACI’s Fresco solution supported one business’ customer acquisition & marketing strategy

CACI’s Fresco solution was employed at one business to establish a granular understanding of existing investors. This allowed for the development of a targeting propensity score, which enabled the pinpointing of potential investors that would be most likely to join the business. CACI then identified and mapped opportunities across the UK, considering regional differences and high value areas to target. Detailed insight into prospects supported the development of a consistent marketing targeting strategy within the business, which was also rolled out across traditional and social media.  

Results:

• Development of a targeted audience strategy focusing on high propensity and high value audiences.  
• Reduction in digital marketing spend.
• Increase in digital marketing ROI (return on investment).  

How investor segmentation, personas & geographic data application transformed a business

CACI developed investor segmentation, detailed personas and geographic counts to support a market sizing initiative requested by one client.

The resulting data uncovered hundreds of variables at an individual level and provided rich insight into a range of traits and characteristics. This not only supported the business’ understanding of its current customers, but of the wider UK investment market. CACI developed personas to help the business gauge an in-depth view into consumer behaviour, insight into the market and the potential reach for key segments. Finally, geographic mapping helped the business understand acquisition and growth potential across catchments and regions, and cross-sell models were developed to support the immediate activation of distribution and marketing activity.

Results: 

• The business experienced steady and sustainable growth in its acquisition, retention and reactivation.  
• Increased investment values were received from both new and existing investors.  
• The business was equipped with actionable insights to help inform ongoing and future marketing and office location strategies. 

Throughout this blog series for the wealth management industry, we break down the opportunities for businesses to attract and retain high-net-worth individuals. Continue reading at the links below:

Blog 1 – Four barriers wealth managers face when attracting & retaining customers

Blog 2 – How to identify, attract & retain high net worth individuals

Blog 3 – Three reasons why wealth & asset managers need young investors

Whitepaper – Acquiring new high net worth clients – What wealth managers need to know

To find out more about how CACI can support your wealth management customer journey, contact our team of data experts today.

While wealth and asset managers may have developed a sophisticated and loyal base of investors, it is no secret that their client base is ageing and shifting. There have been noticeable changes in both the types of customers and their behaviours, whereby moving away from traditional investment styles and seeking out alternative areas of wealth to gain market share have become commonplace.

So, why would wealth and asset management firms benefit from having younger investors in their client base?

Their trajectory to wealth has high earning potential for wealth management businesses

Reaching the broader and untapped market of high-earning young investors has become critical for wealth and asset managers to continue to be successful. Supporting potential investors who are en route to wealth inheritance, who may find themselves in a position to sell off a thriving business in the near or distant future, or whose career path suggests high earning potential, are all inviting factors to drive wealth and asset management firms to acquire younger clients.

According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) is someone who either earns more than £300,000 per annum or has net assets of more than £3,000,000. Firms with a client base that is more likely to pass down their wealth generationally are left to wonder the amount that might one day be re-invested into the firm, while young investors are more likely to distribute their wealth differently as a result of their current life stage and emerging alternatives, such as Crypto currencies. While the average new and younger potential investor may, for example, only bring ~£100k in assets to the table, potential exists for this investor to be on the trajectory towards becoming a high-net-worth individual.

Their financial industry knowledge is superior

They are not afraid to take their services digital

The investor arena has increasingly filled with entry-level investors who have lofty expectations for customer service, especially with digital services. They are aware of the capabilities of self-sufficient online investing; therefore, they expect the same level of speed and ease of use in all their financial affairs.

How can wealth management businesses identify and secure young investors?

Throughout this blog series for the wealth management industry, we break down the opportunities for businesses to attract and retain high-net-worth individuals. Continue reading at the links below:

Blog 1 – Four barriers wealth managers face when attracting & retaining customers

Blog 2 – How to identify, attract & retain high net worth individuals

Blog 4 – How CACI supports the wealth management customer journey

Whitepaper – Acquiring new high net worth clients – What wealth managers need to know

Is your firm looking to attract younger investors? Get in touch with us by clicking the link below to find out how you can achieve this.

The distinction between attracting and retaining high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) within the existing investment landscape can feel like a blurred line for many wealth and asset management firms.

With new rules released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2022, which demanded increased consumer protection for financial services consumers, it is now more important than ever for firms to leverage data to improve customer experiences and outcomes.

As a result, firms may now be experiencing the impact of lacking the necessary customer-centric data to effectively and compliantly deliver positive experiences and outcomes. Understanding the steps that must be taken to ensure that wealth management firms are digitally safeguarded, while adopting customer-first practices and identifying the HNWI they would like to attract, will be critical.

How do wealth & asset management businesses know who to attract?

It is through enhancing customer data that is backed by demographic, lifestage, lifestyle and attitudinal insight that will enable wealth & asset management firms to better understand, reach, and serve customers. Without having the right data available, they will risk lacking an integral understanding of who to attract.

Wealth products were historically sold by independent advisors who knew the local area and could identify the ultra-wealthy with ease, including where they were likely to be, often by word-of-mouth. This is no longer the business model for many wealth management firms looking to identify potential business at scale and deliver direct sales to new investors who expect a different type of engagement.

What major challenges do wealth & asset management businesses face in attracting & retaining high net worth individuals?

Competition for investment

The everchanging investment landscape has caused wealth and asset management firms to re-evaluate existing investor experience approaches. To keep up with the changes in client demands, firms that lack integrated insight and digital engagement capabilities will find themselves at a disadvantage against competitors, and unable to provide the tailored experiences investors now expect.

Cost of living

With no definitive end in sight for the cost of living crisis, there is increased interest in targeting affluent individuals from across sectors, many of which are mature in their data and digital capabilities. Wealth Management firms will experience increased competition and pressure for those available assets. Firms are tasked with reassessing their customers’ journey end-to-end to determine how to effectively safeguard against these unpredictable times.

What techniques should wealth & asset management businesses use to retain investors?

Effectively identifying and catering for the right customers

No two customers are the same, and firms that may have opted for a traditional approach that meets the needs of all customers will quickly realise that personalised and customised experiences for each unique customer is the best way forward. It is integral for firms to understand what their clients want and where they are seeking out financial products that meet their unique needs, to help them access the right products. This approach will allow customers to gain the most use of their tailored solution and will encourage them to remain with the firm for future support in their financial endeavours.

Utilising consolidated data to retain customers

Firms that effectively utilise consolidated data will notice long-term growth and can leverage this to outcompete their competition. Firms have client data, but without an understanding of how to enrich it, decipher it and make use of it to improve their customers’ experiences, they will not determine how to retain customers effectively. Customising solutions for clients that are built on demographic, attitudinal and behavioural insight will be paramount for this.

Acting upon customers’ short and long-term needs

Firms need to better understand the current and future needs of investors to appeal to a wider investor audience. Those that acknowledge the need for enhanced client understanding can introduce insight into their business that will drive improved customer-first experiences and outcomes.

How can CACI help?

Consumer Duty is an authoritative intention that will guarantee trust between financial institutions and consumers. Firms must innately understand their customers to adapt their products and drive messaging that effectively engages them and improves results, whilst also ensuring compliance with the directive.

CACI is uniquely positioned to support businesses through agency, consultancy, data provider and system integration capabilities, all of which work in conjunction to drive value for your business. Our services and data products work in conjunction with our strategies and values to continue to connect firms with their customers.

Throughout this blog series for the wealth management industry, we break down the opportunities for businesses to attract and retain high-net-worth individuals. Continue reading at the links below:

Blog 1 – Four barriers wealth managers face when attracting & retaining customers

Blog 3 – Three reasons why wealth & asset managers need young investors

Blog 4 – How CACI supports the wealth management customer journey

Whitepaper – Acquiring new high net worth clients – What wealth managers need to know

To find out more about how CACI can support you, contact our team of data experts today.

How do you decide when to create a loyalty programme?

All businesses will eventually face the existential question of whether they should implement a loyalty programme or not. Understanding the value in doing so is paramount— customer loyalty is a big question for a lot of brands, and few know where to begin to devise a promising loyalty scheme, with many brands lacking an understanding of the potential return on investment. It is also integral for brands to have a business case prepared prior to formulating the loyalty programme’s design, as this knowledge will sway the development entirely.  

Why brands might be thinking of this now

There are several factors that may prompt the creation of a loyalty programme– increasing share of wallet, encouraging customers to buy directly from a brand versus through a third-party retailer, or enhancing direct customer relationships to drive repeat purchase behaviours. No matter what the driving forces, businesses have become increasingly aware of the impact that customer insight has on informing an effective loyalty programme and the potential cost and risk of not introducing one into your own business.

What risks are associated with creating a loyalty programme?

Improperly planned and executed loyalty programmes can result in hefty costs for businesses, plummeting bottom line profit figures and an inability for revenues to bounce back.

Additional elements you must consider when implementing a loyalty programme include:  

Getting the value exchange right

If customers do not understand the point or see the value behind your business’ programme, it will not be successful. Getting the value exchange wrong can erode your brand’s impression on customers. If the programme appears worthless as opposed to rewarding, it will fail to increase customers’ sentiment or engagement with your brand.

Getting the level of innovation right

Loyalty programmes must be innovative and uniquely tailored to a diverse customer base. Your business must meet customers’ expectations in one cohesive programme versus through multiple solutions, which demonstrates the importance of value exchange– meeting the wants of customers without sacrificing your business’ value.

Getting the loyalty mechanic right

You must be mindful of what customers are looking for from a loyalty programme, but this understanding must be backed by a data-driven approach that allows you to understand the unique selling point for your customers. There are a few approaches you can take:  

• Points-based loyalty programme: Customers are given points with every purchase they make, and when they reach a certain number of points, the points can be used towards a discount or reward.
• Subscription-based loyalty programme: Customers that sign up for subscription-based loyalty programmes will pay for their subscription upfront or in monthly or yearly instalments to receive exclusive discounts or rewards.  

A lack of access to customer-centric data and an understanding of your customers’ wishes, however, will hinder a loyalty programme’s capabilities.

What should you consider before creating a loyalty programme?

If you can answer these three questions, you can conclude whether now is the time to create a loyalty programme.

What steps should your business take to implement a successful loyalty programme?

How can CACI support you with implementing a loyalty programme?

CACI’s data science capabilities and Customer Engagement consulting team can determine the actual costs that your business will face in running a successful loyalty programme and support your business through an innate understanding of loyalty across enterprises.

We do this by using our own proprietary data, data science, and expertise to understand the headroom in the market and help determine KPIs, understand which of your customers want a loyalty programme and how they want it to look to inform what potential opportunity exists. Areas that we assess to inform this include demographic richness, compliance for use, permissions, and our own products to fill any gaps around customer segmentation to determine who customers are and ask the right questions.

Our teams of data scientists and consultants will scenario plan with your business to comprehend the mechanics and experiences that must served and managed to your customer groups to build the pilot. Once this business case is understood, and a feasible pilot market has been identified, we can design a sophisticated end-to-end offering to help you deploy a successful loyalty programme.

Could your business benefit from a loyalty programme? To learn more about how CACI can help you, contact us here. 

Navigating everchanging expectations from customers, as well as new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that increased consumer protection is in place, has led wealth managers to not only find new ways to better understand their existing clients, but innovate ways to identify and attract new high net worth individuals (HNWI). This has caused many wealth management firms to scramble to increase their digitisation and customer-first policies quickly and effectively.

The ability to define these HNWI and UHNWI can be cumbersome, especially when the HMRC, FCA and individual banks and wealth managers all use varying criteria to measure this. Wealth and asset management firms looking to grow their business through the acquisition of these individuals will have to consider the importance of overarching data and scalable transformation to do so.

While you may recognise the need to better understand your clients, legacy practices and technology can often hold you back. Currently, we have noticed four major barriers in attracting and retaining customers:

1. Sparse investor data to inform decision making

Building a high-net-worth portfolio of investors requires the right financial products. Financial and consumer data products that identify people with incomes above £100k are far and few. This makes differentiating between an investor earning £100k and an individual with a £500k annual salary complicated, and identifying and targeting high-net-worth groups a challenge.

You cannot rely on your clients’ intergenerational wealth either as, once it is passed down, it is often the case that inherited wealth will be spent or not reinvested. However, if it is reinvested, it is often done with other brands, as different investor groups have different needs. This can leave you questioning how much wealth will actually remain with your client.

2. Lack of understanding of current and future investors’ needs

Once you acquire a new HNWI investor, utilising your cross-sell and upsell capabilities to extract the most benefit from their available wealth will be crucial. The ability to understand your clients is paramount, including both present and future needs in order to establish a long-term relationship.

Consumer Duty has been introduced to make firms more accountable over the suitability of their products and services, to meet the needs of those they are sold to. You will need to review the entire investor lifecycle and journey, revisit how and what to include in your marketing strategies, and establish new ways to measure all these areas to remain compliant and trusted.

Outreach to younger target investors

Younger investors are not as likely to behave as their older counterparts. For example, they may not necessarily attend the same in-person industry events, and often need to be targeted and communicated with via digital channels or social media. They will also want to manage their assets via digital platforms to be more self-serving. This means you need to work harder to intrigue and engage with younger investor audiences.

3. Maintaining GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance

By attempting to reach your target investors via additional or new channels, you must consider data protection and GDPR. Substantial penalties can come with breaches; therefore, you must ensure that any data handling is done carefully and correctly. Plus, you need to provide clarity to your audience as to where you have sourced their data from and why you are legitimately contacting them.

4. Delayed response towards technology-first approaches

The last five to 10 years have seen a significant move towards digital transformation and customer-first policies, particularly with banks and building societies. While this ongoing transformation has been relatively steady for some sectors, the wealth and asset management sector has struggled to adapt.

To appeal to investors, brands must now adopt and embrace digital practices by implementing business models that will facilitate customer-led and technology-first transformation.

How can CACI help?

CACI is already a trusted partner to leading wealth and asset management firms, supporting investor acquisition and retention through predictive analytics and data solutions.

Throughout this blog series for the wealth management industry, we break down the opportunities for businesses to attract and retain high-net-worth individuals. Continue reading at the links below:

Blog 2 – How to identify, attract & retain high net worth individuals

Blog 3 – Three reasons why wealth & asset managers need young investors

Blog 4 – How CACI supports the wealth management customer journey

Whitepaper – Acquiring new high net worth clients – What wealth managers need to know

Or to learn more about how CACI can help your firm overcome barriers in this area, explore our services or get in touch.

What is ESG and why is it relevant?

ESG (environmental, social and governance) is a set of measures through which a business can assess its impact on the world. Alongside sustainability, these are factors that affect every consumer and therefore businesses alike, increasingly influencing how we think, behave, and live our lives. ESG and sustainability are quickly becoming the criteria on which businesses succeed or fail, especially as we look further into the future.

Why do businesses need to act on ESG & sustainability fast?

The Companies Act 2006 requires large and medium-sized companies to publish an annual strategic report which must include information on ESG-related items, such as the business’ environmental impact, employee disclosures, social, community, human rights issues, and the company’s policies on each. In addition, the UK passed the net zero emissions law¹ in 2019 targeting net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. To reach that target, the government has pushed reporting requirements. As a result, consumers and businesses are increasingly looking to reduce any unsustainable processes and practices, which is increasingly influencing how we behave and how we live our lives.

As companies are recording their environmental impacts, individuals are becoming more aware of their own carbon footprints. In fact, 62% of the UK population² now believe that climate change is the biggest threat to civilisation. Social consciousness continues to grow as consumers make decisions on how businesses conduct themselves, and 36% of the UK³ claim that they try to only buy from companies that are seen as socially and environmentally compliant. Businesses are starting to understand that not only is acting in an ethical and sustainable manner not having a negative impact on business, but that it is a requirement to act in the positive.

So, how can CACI help businesses navigate consumer attitudes towards ESG and sustainability?

Using CACI’s ESG Score to support ESG & sustainability-driven businesses

CACI can help businesses make informed decisions to quantify and ultimately improve their carbon and social impact. The ESG Score can help businesses identify customers that are most concerned about ESG issues and support businesses in engaging with them regarding the brand’s products, prices and propositions.

CACI’s ESG Score also uncovers individual attitudes towards environmental issues, social equality and governance, and can be applied to an existing customer base to identify a business’ exposure as well as help them re-position for the future.

The resulting data helps to inform decision-making and decipher the impacts that carbon footprints have in various societal capacities and circumstances.

Carbon footprint of household + travel

A household’s carbon footprint is assessed based on household consumption – food, housing, transportation, clothing, and other personal services. It is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Leveraging the depth of our unique consumer data, CACI can assess the type of property, mode of commute, consumption behaviour and more to estimate the carbon footprint of a household. Businesses can use his information to target the right households and areas with focused messaging to help reduce global carbon emissions.

Carbon Footprint of vehicles

CACI’s route optimisation software, Pin Routes, allows businesses to create routes for visits, deliveries or collections, ultimately reducing logistics costs and improving sustainability by reducing unnecessary driving. It now also allows businesses to understand the carbon emissions or carbon footprints associated with logistics operations. This in turn can be used to make informed decisions that can help with the move towards electric vehicles.

Carbon Footprint of marketing

There is a carbon cost for all marketing activity– even an email takes up space on servers and has a sunk carbon cost. CACI quantify the carbon impact of various channels, allowing our clients to undertake a full carbon impact assessment on all of their marketing activity and identify optimum channel mix to best balance campaign efficacy with carbon impact.

Social Impact Assessment

The provision of services across the UK is not equal, with some areas having much better access to civil services (e.g. healthcare, education or leisure centres) than others. CACI has quantified the accessibility to these services at postcode level and has identified areas that require additional support. The goal of impact assessment is to bring about a more ecologically, socio culturally and economically sustainable and equitable environment. By improving an area’s social provision, businesses can promote community development and empowerment, social cohesion, build capacity, and develop social capital (social networks and trust).

To learn more about how CACI can help your business improve its carbon and social impact, contact us today.

Sources:

1. UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law
2. Three-quarters of adults in Great Britain worry about climate change
3. UK consumers embracing more sustainable behaviour

How does a challenging economy affect consumer choices and priorities that shape the UK market for elderly care?

It’s no surprise that the cost of living squeeze is having an impact on elderly care operators. Private residential and domestic care cost money: consumers are looking for ways to economise. Older people want and need comfort and care as much as ever, but they and their families are tightening their belts. Inevitably, they’re considering the cost of different care settings and options.

What does this mean for residential and domiciliary care providers? It’s early days, but as for every other consumer sector, you need to be prepared for the market to change. A proactive approach to understanding current and future customers and modelling potential demand in your locations can uncover opportunities to maintain occupancy and optimise your services to match evolving priorities and needs.

If you don’t have a crystal ball to hand, that may sound like a tall order. But knowing and anticipating market demand in your locations doesn’t depend on magic or guesswork. Consumer and location data together provide reliable evidence that can help you identify ways to stay relevant, accessible and financially stable.

Not all groups are impacted to the same extent by the rising costs of living. The majority of Acorn Groups still have a sizeable disposable income despite the recent 5% average fall.

Source: CACI Paycheck Disposable Income 2022 v2

Despite the bleak headlines, the economic impact varies considerably for different household types and in different areas. Many older consumers still have savings, disposable income or assets that allow them to choose the care they want. If you can understand the profile of your current and future customers in detail, it’s easier to identify and reach out to local prospects.

Location intelligence data is a well-established source of insight for care home operators and domestic care providers that are considering expansion or new sites. Mapping the age and affluence of the local population in a potential catchment helps to indicate where there’s likely demand for elderly care services.

But alongside age and income, there’s a lot of more subtle data that can help you market your existing services, confirm or reshape your propositions, benchmark your pricing and adjust the range and type of services you offer. This type of insight is extremely useful in a fast-changing market.

CACI data insights can answer crucial questions about your customers and market:

• What are the characteristics of your local and target customers? Acorn profiling groups UK consumers by affluence, life stage and priorities
• What are your current and potential customers thinking, feeling and intending to do differently Quarterly Consumer insight surveys of the UK population
• How has customer spending on different outgoings changed? Transactional spending data shows the split of spend with different brands and operators
• Whose disposable income is affected? Postcode model of income in different locations, showing how it’s being spent.
• What’s around the corner? Dynamic modelling forecasts what could happen to consumer spending if inflation, fuel and other costs rise in a range of different ways

CACI’s current disposable income model reflects the changes we’ve observed in the last few months. Although all households are affected by rising costs, the majority of our Acorn consumer profile groups still have a significant disposable income. It’s groups like Student Life and City Sophisticates that have seen the largest decline, driven by property costs.

There has been major growth in spend on private healthcare, with a wide range of demographics prioritising health over other non-essential spending.

Source: CACI Transactional Spend, June 2022

For elderly care operators, it’s encouraging to note that Comfortable Seniors, Countryside Communities and Successful Suburbs, who are likely to form far more of the target market, have some of the highest levels of disposable income, reflecting smaller or non-existent mortgages, good pensions and comfortable savings accrued over previous years.

Spending on private healthcare has increased in the past year. The Covid-19 pandemic and concerns about NHS waiting lists are driving this change in priorities for households across most Acorn groups. Despite rising essential costs, many consumers now regard healthcare expenditure as a necessity, not a luxury. This could have a positive impact on perceptions of value in elderly care.

These are just the headlines from our latest national data. Every elderly care provider has a different operating model and works in unique locations. CACI’s health and social care team can select data and build customised reports that directly reflect the opportunities and changes happening in your catchment areas today and tomorrow. For mid-sized operators, it’s vital decision-making information to inform strategy and tactical decisions that will help your business compete and thrive in a challenging economy.

We can help you:

• Continuously analyse, monitor and adapt – stay ahead of policy and new competitors when finding new customers and recruits
• Tailor marketing engagement and recruitment key messages to reflect the requirements of local potential pools of customers and staff
• Understand your staff and customer base and how its segments are impacted by different cost of living challenges, to identify risk and opportunity
• Tailor your offer to changing consumer and staff requirements

CACI’s specialist elderly care and senior living team work with clients in the UK and internationally to help them improve operational and financial performance with access to vital insights into their customers, employees and locations.

To find out more, contact us.

Over the last three years, we have seen a more significant shift in consumer habits than we could have imagined. Currently challenged by the rising cost of living and an economy in recession, the post-pandemic spending bubble was cut much shorter than initially anticipated by economists.

Like everyone in January, CACI reflected on the last few years, and as part of this, we revisited predictions that we made during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumer behaviour changed significantly in the space of several days, triggered by widespread temporary store closures during the lockdowns. Some stores were never able to reopen; whilst online platforms boomed, in light of these significant behavioural shifts, CACI rebuilt predictions to reflect this new normal.

How close were CACI’s consumer online spending predictions to actual results?

Mirroring our spend predictions, a phrase we maintained at CACI at the time was that “online spend jumped forwards five years in one month”. What we have come to realise was that three years on, these spend predictions, shown in the below chart, highlighting a return to in-store, were very close to the true picture.

How can CACI track consumer online spend behaviour?

CACI can unpick these new trends in spend behaviour using our new and exciting tool kit of Spend Dimensions and Brand Dimensions, which tracks over 200 shopping centres and 300 brands across the UK.

What we can see demonstrated in the above chart is a post-pandemic slump in online spend as a proportion of total spend. In 2023, online spend falls to 38%, before gradually rising again in the preceding years.

Whilst the current split in online and offline engagement provides us with an overall national average, it is important not to expect all shoppers to follow suit. We have seen asset type, product category, brand, region and demographics all play a big part in the extent to which a shopper might engage online.

Who is most likely to shop online?

Demographically, the split between those engaging in-store and online has become less distinct, highlighting the closing of the digital gap between young and old, with the difference between online market share across all groups dropping from 10% to 5% over the last year.

However, the big picture doesn’t change. Key online shoppers continue to be younger shoppers across the affluence spectrum as well as more affluent shoppers, likely driven by greater access to e-commerce platforms and the ability to afford delivery costs.

How does this vary by product category?

The recent shift back towards in-store engagement isn’t clear-cut and does vary by product category. CACI expectations were that the drivers of the overall return to the store would be clothing and footwear, household and health & wellness brands. This has been the general spend trend that we’ve been seeing across the UK since 2020.

The variation by category gets further exacerbated by the time of year. For example, comparing the months of October to December 2021 and 2022 in the chart below, there was a clear shift for household and kids’ goods spend to in-store, likely driven by the desire to experience before purchasing. Whereas, General Retail painted an interesting picture within the final quarter of 2022. Both in 2020 and 2021, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday taking place in November, Christmas hit online earlier than in-store, boosting online’s share of the market temporarily. In December, our Christmas survey reiterated this sentiment, with over half of those shopping online citing a main drive of this being concern with the rising cost of living and saving money, whereas over half of those shopping in-store did so for the experience. The experience-focused, in-store shoppers drove the resurgence year-on-year of in-store spend in December.

What does the return to in-store mean for retailers?

Across the 300 brands we tracked, many pure online brands are experiencing a decline in market share, in-store brands have typically performed well, and those blended brands have seen a shift towards a greater in-store market share. The power of the store can be seen through brands such as Decathlon, Nespresso, Build-A-Bear and Denby, who have all shifted to greater reliance on the store over the last quarter. In comparison, online disrupter brands such as Vinted and Shein which thrived through the year began to see a drop off.

What does the future of consumer online spending behaviours look like?

Whilst 2022 did represent a return to bricks and mortar, we are still at least a year ahead of where we would have been if the pandemic hadn’t happened. We expect to see continued growth in both on and offline retail spend, although proportionally online spend will increase.

However, it is undoubtedly true that we are currently, and will continue to, experience unexpected macroeconomic challenges which will impact different brands and destinations in different ways. Brands can no longer rely on their name as we have seen with the casualties of too many well-known landlords and retailers. Therefore, making informed decisions through the use of CACI data will help retain a competitive advantage and stand out from the market.

To learn more about how CACI can help your brand navigate changing consumer spending habits, get in touch with us here.

“Garbage In, Garbage Out” (GIGO) is a well-known adage that holds true across various industries, including sports nutrition, education, wine making, data science, and, most notably, customer experience.

Poor-quality data can undermine confidence in reports and impede the implementation of personalisation and other data-driven initiatives.

At CACI, we are dedicated to harnessing the power of data to deliver remarkable results.

High-quality customer data is critical to this mission. Data that is accurate, consistent, and free from duplicates will enable us to optimise customer loyalty, personalisation, AI/ML, conversion optimization, and regulatory compliance.

To ensure that our data is of the highest quality, we adhere to the following criteria:

• Demographically rich: The data provides insights into the customer’s identity and lifestyle.
• Standardized: The data is consistent across systems, allowing for quick and efficient processing.
• Veracity: The data adheres to your standards for validity and consistency.
• Free of duplicates: The data is resolved at the individual level to avoid double counting and over-communication.
• Consistent identifier: The customer is identified consistently, regardless of the source.
• Predictive: The data contains variables that enable modelling and prediction of customer interests and needs.
• Compliant: The data adheres to relevant consent and permissions standards.
• Understood within the organization: The data is accessible and understandable to stakeholders.

To address these challenges, CACI has developed DataHub, a solution that solves data quality issues faced by brands. DataHub was built on the experience of working with leading brands in retail, publishing, financial services, gaming, and utilities.

It processes and enriches data in real-time using a scale on demand cloud native architecture, engineered to work with your data, wherever it is stored. For CACI clients already using Acorn, Ocean, and Fresco, DataHub provides dynamic, real-time enrichment of data, enabling real-time personalization and optimization of the digital or call center experience.

To learn more about DataHub and its flexible integration options for all use cases and enterprise architecture needs, download our short brochure or reach out to us for more information.

Let’s work towards a future where data quality is no longer a concern.

Change within the financial services sector is complex. There are multiple stakeholders, regulatory needs, and often a base of legacy data and technology to unpick.  

From our work with major brands, we know that the change is achievable and worthwhile. Investing in customer centricity will pay dividends in the long-term by reducing competitive threats, winning new customers, and ensuring retention of base customers. 

To succeed in an increasingly competitive market, financial services brands need to establish change that encompasses: 

1. A coherent data-driven strategy – where customer data is of a high quality and securely democratised to enable meaningful messaging to the individual 
2. Establishing the right business targets and success measures – moving from short-term outcomes to long-term value for the customer and the organisation 
3. A focus on your customers and the market context – understanding the needs and behaviours of both customers and prospects to better engage them 
4. Maximising data and tech ROI – having the right tools to deliver the outcomes the business needs and then sweating the technology assets to deliver long-term ROI 
5. Measure and optimise what matters – ensuring accurate reporting is fed through the business and that teams are empowered to act on those insights to optimise performance 

Our challenge to leaders within financial services is to create a vision and become an agent of change. We want to work with brands who care about their customers and are making changes to show it. Therefore, our catalogue of services is developed to do amazing things with data and connect your brand with the individual. 

At CACI, we can improve marketing ROI through detailed attribution modelling. Our customer demographics and bespoke segmentations provide a more accurate profile of customer needs, market size, and even financial vulnerability. Technical decisions around investment in AI, decisioning or identity resolution are made by defining clear use cases for technology and designing future technical architectures. 

This work led to CACI developing a framework for customer personalisation at scale. Working with leading vendors Tealium, Braze and Snowflake, we created a technology blueprint that can achieve full integration between enterprise data and the omnichannel experience. 

To find out more about the CACI Customer Personalisation Platform or to discuss issues related to customer transformation, please get in touch. 

You may also be interested in downloading this report which uncovers a surprising disconnect between what banks think and how customers feel about the customer experience, with statistics and insight gathered from 1,500 marketing leaders and 5,000 consumers. 

You can also check out the previous parts of this blog series below: 

Blog 1 – How the banking and financial services sector can lean into a changing market

Blog 2 – Creating human banking experiences through data-led marketing

Blog 3 – Three ways to stand out in a crowded insurance market

Blog 4 – Combining data and technology to deliver effective customer journeys in the financial services industry

For many banks and building societies, legacy systems are a barrier for real-time, personalised customer engagement. Migrating experience platforms to a scalable, cloud-based platform, coupled with well-engineered decisioning, will enable banks and building societies to establish trust with consumers and subsequently maintain it. 

The need for robust and reliable customer data 

Banks and building societies are bound by financial services regulations to know the identity of their customers. Proper customer identification seeks to prevent criminal behaviour such as fraud, money laundering, or tax evasion. It is also a requirement for credit checks. 

Having well-managed customer data enables lenders to identify the next best action for the customer, and create a customer strategy and journey tailored to each individual customer. 

Inbound and outbound digital channels should be the ideal place to deliver these messages. But the use of digital technology is hampered by unfit processes and operating models that are combined with unscalable technology and batch processing.  

With the right efforts to unlock the wealth of data held, the promise of real-time personalised messages that cut through the noise is very attainable for lenders. 

Covid-19: a catalyst of change 

The financial services sector responded quickly and earnestly to the challenges created by Covid-19. Payment holidays were offered, and staff were quickly relocated to home working setups to continue providing a good service. 

The catalyst of change we all lived with created new levels of trust and empathy. This needs to be maintained by showing customers that the financial institutions really do care about them as individuals, especially in the current climate.

Mass mailings that push irrelevant products or services will erode that relationship. It shows a lack of care for the customer and a view of them as being a source of revenue and profit. 

Making technology change last 

To move forward, financial services marketers need to set a vision for the type of relationship they want to have with their customers.  

This vision will determine the way that data is used, it will be at the heart of all campaigns and communications, it will alter working processes so that the organisation becomes more empathetic. 

Through a clear and uniting vision, marketing technology will really be able to prove its value. Not just in delivering a better campaign, but by shaping the very experience and interaction an individual has with a brand. It will be about two-way interaction.  

For useful input from over 200 financial services brands, 1,500 marketing leaders in the financial services industry and 5,000 financial services consumers, on how you should be evolving your customer marketing strategy to meet the needs of a changing consumer, download this recent report from CACI and Braze.  

Check out the previous parts of this blog series below: 

Blog 1 – How the banking and financial services sector can lean into a changing market

Blog 2 – Creating human banking experiences through data-led marketing

Blog 3 – Three ways to stand out in a crowded insurance market