New report reveals 86% of Brits want brands to help solve the mental health crisis in the UK

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Creative communications agency Full Fat shows where consumer experiences are headed post pandemic – with insight from age 18-55 year olds.

Covering wellbeing, sustainability, hybrid events and more. Some insight includes:
● Over 4/5 aged 18-55 (89%) would purchase a ticket for an event if it aided their personal mental health
● More than half (60%) of those aged 18-41 will attend digital events post pandemic
● 3/5 of Generation Z (60%) would be up for seeing what an event was like via a digital platform before committing to it in real life
● Over 3/4 (77%) said sustainability was an important decider when choosing to engage with at home brand or experience.

Under its insight division, Full Fat Source, two trend reports have been released today on the future of the Experience Economy, and the future of At Home Experiences as restrictions prepare to completely ease. Gathering insights from leading industry voices and a diverse mix of consumers who are Generation Z (18-24), Millennials (26-40) and Generation X (41-55). The new reports lift the lid on what has changed, what is to come and what is needed in the land of ‘experience’, both at home and physical live events.

The pandemic has affected the events industry more than any other, with nearly 10,000 licensed premises including clubs, pubs and restaurants closing in 2020 and 72% of hospitality businesses facing closure in 2021. Yet before March 2020, it was the experience economy bringing millions of pounds into the UK economy every year.

The 2021 Full Fat trends report in partnership with The Indytute provides guidance on how experience economy providers can navigate a changing future, taking into consideration the new importance of at home experiences for consumers. Looking at lifestyle changes, wellbeing and more, the report provides answers as to whether consumers want to be going out and about to live events or continuing to spend more time experiencing events from home.

1. Mental health & wellbeing

In March 2021, 62% of the UK population were struggling with the stress of the pandemic causing depression and anxiety.

At home
38% of people would rather attend an event from home if it supported their mental health vs 61% of people would rather have an ‘in person’ experience.

Live
68% of consumers say they are more likely to attend a future event if it supports their wellbeing. 89% of people would purchase a ticket for an event if it aided their personal mental health

2. Sustainability and community trends

At home
77% of our audience sighted sustainability as a very important decider when choosing to engage with at home brand or experience.

Live
Sustainability solutions at live events would be a deciding factor for Generation z when purchasing a ticket. 50% of all consumers would rather stay local for an event in 2021 and 2022.

3. New experiences and experimentation

At home
Like on demand entertainment, audiences are expecting products, experiences, food & beverages and even state services to fit into their lives, not the other way around. 52.97% of people have said that convenience and ease is the no.1 deciding factor when purchasing an at home experience.

Live
77% of Generation z are feeling very experimental and are likely to push the boundaries when considering what events to attend in 2022 onwards, while Millennials are slightly more nostalgic, with only 57.20% are keen to try new experimental events post pandemic in 2022.

4. Hybrid events

At home
45% say they will likely continue to attend digital experiences in 2022. 62% of consumers say they would purchase a ticket for IRL events, if they had the option to experience it from the comfort of their own home too.

Live
Millennials would be likely to purchase a digital version of the event if restrictions limited them from attending, but Generation Z is less likely to purchase a digital ticket as an alternative to the real thing. Hybrid events are a tool for audience engagement, not an alternative to live experience.

The report also lifts the lid on the role of nostalgia and loyalty and the role of lockdown savings and includes further stats, consumer quotes and quotes from leading industry experts.

Megan Morass, Co-Founder, Full Fat says “At Full Fat we’re driven by ‘Why’. We like to know what the point is and what impact our campaigns are going to have, because of this we created a division that looks at just that, the Why. Our reports this year focus on giving guidance to an otherwise neglected (by the government) entertainment industry. We wanted to be able to help them know what to expect over the coming months and where to focus, or not. Some of the insights have been really interesting, showing that the current nostalgia trend is just that, a trend. A digital event will never take the place of a live one, millennials will be the most thrifty when it comes to spending on experiences in the future and arts & crafts will continue to rise in popularity, plus much more.

Calypso Rose, Founder of The Indytute, comments further, “I started the Indytute when I realised that my friends wanted brilliant experiences that were unique to London, those that were off the beaten track and provided by individuals with a passion for their craft or sport. The focus remains the same. The report is a fantastic insight tool that looks in depth at where we should be heading with experiences. It is clear that our young Millennial and Gen Z customers want to support independent businesses. Unique experiences are prized over ordinary gifts and this is set to grow exponentially in 2022.”

You can download the full report here.

[Jordan Hallpike, Fayola Douglas, Sarah Coward, Calypso Rose – Credit: Jay Morris]

Full Fat hosted the launch of the reports with a live streamed panel with industry experts – Sarah Coward, CEO of Forever Holdings Ltd, Jordan Hallpike Director of music, talent and programming at Ibiza Rocks Group, Calypso Rose Founder of The Indytute and host, Fayola Douglas Senior Writer at Campaign Magazine. They discussed The Future of The Experience Economy, covering insights on technological advancement, the future of bookings and consumer desires post pandemic.

Play back the Experience panel here

Adam Parry
Author: Adam Parry

Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.

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