In the fall of 2008, Context-Based Research Group conducted a cultural study on the impact of the economic crisis and what it might bring for the future of consumerism. As consumer anthropologists our goal was to document this critical juncture for our culture. As marketers, our goal was to illustrate how this cultural shift will impact our behavior as consumers. What Context saw during this research was a culture swept up in the early stages of a traumatic event. Clearly the American Dream was crumbling, but just as clearly, we saw a new dream beginning to take shape. Context has been tracking this new dream, documenting a five-step process that consumers are currently undergoing as they say goodbye to Homo economicus and emerge with a new consumer identity we are calling the Grounded Consumer.
