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Consumer needs change over time – this can be the result of technological improvements or of changes in people’s knowledge and priorities, such as new information about eating healthily. This means a business must adapt its marketing mix to continue to be effective at meeting its customers’ needs. For example, companies may announce they are reducing the amount of plastic in their packaging to show they are thinking about their impact on the planet. Another example is the increase in popularity of vegan diets and cruelty-free products.

One common trend is the need for convenience. Businesses have had to alter their marketing mix by developing or adapting new or existing products to suit this consumer need. An example of convenience is a restaurant chain offering ready-made versions of its meals in supermarkets, allowing consumers to eat the food they enjoy, but at home.

Some ways businesses adapt to changing consumer needs are:

• introducing new products, eg releasing smoothies to replace the need for people to eat individual pieces of fruit
• by changing the selling price of products or bringing out budget products to match the state of the economy - eg during a recession, customers will spend less money and businesses may need to reduce their prices or develop a budget range to encourage customers to continue to purchase
• opening new retail outlets to provide greater convenience to customers
• introducing m-commerce and e-commerce to the business to meet customer expectations