The Data Digest: What Pokémon Go Reveals About Evolving Consumers
Within 24 hours of its launch, Pokémon Go broke app download records and user numbers began multiplying by the minute. It wasn’t long before mysterious names like “Jigglypuff” and “Squirtle” peppered daily conversation, stampedes of mobile-obsessed gamers became commonplace, and augmented reality approached a tipping point.
The future arrives faster than we think.
Our latest research has identified five key factors of change that propel customers to embrace new experiences and introduced a segmentation to help measure how consumers evolve. Forrester’s Consumer Technographics® data shows that Progressive Pioneers, the segment evolving most rapidly along all five dimensions of change, are driving the Pokémon Go craze. With a lust for experimentation and emotional reward, a demand for seamless digital experiences, and savvy social skills, Progressive Pioneers catch ’em all and broaden awareness and acceptance of augmented reality along the way:
The Pokémon Go trend could fizzle out as quickly as it rose: Despite their current fandom, more than half of Progressive Pioneers admit that they get bored with games quickly. However, regardless of the gaming app’s fate, this episode illustrates what happens when augmented reality that is simple, seamless, and emotionally rewarding gets into the hands of consumers. The Pokémon Go phenomenon is not only about adopting technology or using new, cutting-edge features; it is also about designing a sticky experience that is enabled by the ways customers are changing.
In her recent report, my colleague Julie Ask says, “Digital business professionals must ensure that the services their customer uses are simple and contextually relevant.” Julie notes that using augmented reality to connect with consumers in the long term will be successful “as long as the experience drives the immediacy, simplicity, and context that consumers need.” Business leaders must track how their customers’ attitudes, demands, and desires evolve in order to innovate with appropriate speed, engage customers in context, and win consumers’ hearts faster than they can say “Pikachu.”
To learn more about the Progressive Pioneers segment, the key forces of customer evolution, or how this research can be tailored to your customers, please contact us at data@forrester.com.