Accenture has released the results of a survey of more than 25,000 consumers in Ireland and 21 other countries.

The headline result highlighted by the firm was that half of those surveyed are changing their behaviours and values as consumers as a result of the pandemic.

The research analysed over 80 factors across 14 industries and found that five distinct areas are increasingly driving consumers’ purchasing decisions.

The five factors which are increasingly salient are health and safety, service and personal care, ease and convenience, product origin, and trust and reputation.

Service and personal care means that companies should make it easy to do business with them, for instance by avoiding long wait times or an abundance of paperwork or online forms, or by providing human-based customer service rather than a digital self-service tool.

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At the same time, the survey showed that seven out of ten Irish consumers interacted with brands through online customer service portals in the last 12 months, which are increasingly valued by consumers for ease and convenience purposes.

Consumers also increasingly value sustainability and corporate social responsibility, with 60% of Irish consumers saying they are attracted to brands with ethical sourcing policies.

This result is closely related to the trend of consumers wanting to trust brands to do the right thing. 51% of Irish consumers consider it important for a brand they shop with to actively support values such as diversity and social justice.

Hugh-John O’Reilly (pictured) of Accenture commented: “Customer demands have fundamentally changed and it’s time for Irish businesses to respond by revisiting their strategies and setting new standards for the services they offer.

“Irish consumers are embracing new experiences and forming new habits, but this comes with high expectations. They value convenience and transparency, and expect companies to not only understand their needs, but deliver on them seamlessly across all channels.

“There’s a huge opportunity for businesses to build customer loyalty by refocusing their customer engagement strategy and create personalised experiences with the right mix of digital and in-person interaction.”