How Empowered Consumers are Reshaping Real Estate

Think about how much of your daily routine has been impacted by technology: How many Facebook posts do you comment on while making coffee? How many emails do you respond to while grabbing lunch? What do you buy on Amazon while getting ready for bed?

Information transparency and mobile technology have given us a new way to communicate, manage our lives and make decisions.

Though our ability to consume intelligently based on values, price and convenience is much greater than it was 30 years ago, ironically, it’s actually harder to be a consumer today. Our empowerment means we are busier than ever as we struggle with complex and often competing demands across work, life and everything else.

“Do you get me?”

New technologies and capabilities across industries make it difficult to keep up.  We are “always on” in the face of a relentless flow of information; in fact, six in ten people are actually worried about the pace of innovation.

And where we once sought guidance and support — from our leaders and institutions — there is now a growing sense of distrust. A full 57 percent of people believe the system no longer works for them, and 60 percent believe their peers are more credible than traditional experts.1

In a world of information overload, runaway schedules, daunting innovation and growing distrust, we as consumers are taking matters into our own hands. To cope with the stress and frenzy, we are turning our attention inward — to personal values, simplicity and self-reliance.

Our values are increasingly guiding our spending; over half of consumers actively consider company values when making a purchase. We’re hungry for brands that “get us” and our unique wants, needs and struggles — brands with which we can identify and feel a sense of connection.

Prioritizing convenience over cost

But values are only half of it; we also want brands to empower us, to put us in the driver’s seat for information and engagement.³

Fueling the empowered consumer is now a major business model across industries — from online travel, to financial services, healthcare and, yes, real estate. Dealing with our expectations as empowered consumers has become business-critical for the Fortune 100 and small businesses alike.

We want solutions that give us what we want quickly and make our lives easier, and we’ll often prioritize convenience over cost to get them.

Ridesharing solutions, like Uber and Lyft, while not always the fastest, remove the pain of uncertain arrival times and the friction of payment.

Styling subscription services, like Trunk Club and Stitch Fix, don’t offer bargain prices but do deliver a highly personalized level of service and take the pain out of clothes shopping.

Amazon Prime, while not always the cheapest, provides a consistently dependable experience from online shopping through to delivery. The 64 percent of American households who subscribe to Amazon Prime prove its offering beats browsing ten blue links on Google.⁴

De-stressing the home-shopping experience

All of these trends have inevitably permeated the home-shopping process. So what does that mean for real estate brands and professionals?

First and foremost, it means we need to keep consumers at the center of everything we do. All of us.

At Zillow Group, we recognize that to build a brand people love, we need to understand as much as we can about them: their wants, needs and experiences; what home really means to them; and what’s at stake when they consider a move.

Thanks to our extensive research efforts — including thousands of hours a year on primary research — we are attuned to consumers, housing trends and the broader concept of home better than anyone.

Our data-driven approach has helped us build products that address consumer pain points and make everyone’s lives easier. And it’s helped us in our marketing, allowing us to connect with people on a deep, emotional level.

Secondly, it means we need to de-stress the experience for the people we serve. The process of buying a home is inherently exciting and terrifying, and the further you get down the path, the more there is at stake.

Technology + empathy

Throughout the journey, we need to help buyers with both the emotional aspects of the process — shopping, feeling empowered and envisioning their life in the home — as well as the more rational aspects — evaluating tradeoffs, helping them make good decisions, simplifying the process and providing support and counsel when they need us most.

Finally, it means we need to work together to give buyers and sellers what they want and need throughout the whole of the home-buying and selling journey.

Delivering on this tall order — to empower and simplify; to connect with people in meaningful ways; to destress their lives; and provide support when the stakes are at their very highest — requires technology AND a human connection. Neither can be successful without the other.

So join us, and let’s embrace this new landscape — this new opportunity — together.

Sources: ¹2017 Edelman Trust Barometer. ²2015 U.S. Yankelovich MONITOR. ³2017 Forrester Report: The Values-Based Consumer. ⁴2017 Internet Retailers Conference and Exhibition.