As the global pandemic abates, the remote-only or hybrid model of work will continue to rise with a large portion of the workforce planning to permanently work remotely at least part of the time. 

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows more than 40 percent of employed people are now working from home. At the same time, the spend for online retail shopping in Australia has soared to around $3.5 billion per month, from $1.6 billion per month pre-pandemic. 

The hybrid and remote workforce have changed their shopping behaviours and businesses must be ready to adapt to their ever-evolving behaviours and needs as a result. 

Here’s how remote work has changed consumer behaviour and what your business should do to capture its growth opportunities. 

1.    Employees are prioritising a work/life balance 

Since getting a glimpse into the work from home lifestyle during the global pandemic, employees are now reprioritising aspects of their lives, particularly how they manage work/life balance. Studies have found six in ten global employees are prioritising enjoyment above their desire to achieve career progression. 

For businesses to reach and support their consumers during this shift, it is essential to develop beneficial content. Create blog articles and social media content which speaks to your consumers as they face challenges whilst offering a solution through your goods or service. Such content may include (but is not limited) to: 

• Setting a home office routine 
• Holiday and leisure tips 
• Balancing a home office with family 
• Keeping fit and eating healthy 

2.    Traditional working hours have reformed

With remote work, comes the flexibility of starting your workday earlier or later. For example, employees with parental obligations may find themselves taking a break in the afternoon to tend to their kids and returning to work later in the evening. 

According to data from Microsoft Teams, time spent working after traditional hours has grown 28 percent since March 2020, with 30% of workers logging in late at night. Additionally, weekend work has increased by 14 percent. 

As a result, your business’s social media posting schedule may no longer be adjusted for optimal engagement. Take this opportunity for your business to experiment with different times and days. Utilise your analytics to discover what schedule works best for your target audience and adjust your schedule accordingly. It may be that times such as the morning and evening commute or lunch breaks may no longer be returning the same results. 

3.    Social interactions have decreased 

A challenge which many have faced since transitioning to remote work is the lack of social interaction. In person meetings and conversations have transitioned to digital interactions via meeting platforms such as Zoom or Slack. 

The increase in digital consumption has led to screen-time fatigue, as 67 percent of employees have stated they feel physically tired and stressed by technology use as a result of working from home. 

It is important for your business to sustain and increase engagement with your consumers who work remotely through adapting your content type. Ensure you create content which is bite-sized, fun, interactive and tells a story. This can be achieved through games, contests, audio and video content. Avoid wordy and lengthy content as your audience will be too digitally strained to engage with such content. 

By maintaining a close eye on your customers’ online purchasing behaviours it’s possible to recognise which of their behaviours may become more permanent, which should give you more surety around your marketing strategies. However, it’s important to be flexible and ready to change, as consumer habits continue to evolve.