Some products are simply used, while others are elevated to the realm of ritual.

The difference comes once a product moves from simple practical function into being attached to a particular moment, sequence or meaning.

The first coffee of the day, pouring a drink on Friday, watching an episode of a beloved show with your partner after dinner, following a particular skincare routine before bed.

The subtle difference between function and ritual is important to businesses looking to capitalise on repetitive use and attached meaning. When a product becomes embedded within a ritual, the relationship is no longer just I need this product, but transforms to this is what I do.

This is important for brands as there is evidence that ritual can change the value we attach to products. In one experiment, consumers asked to perform a simple ritual before eating chocolate were willing to pay 73% more for it than those who simply ate the chocolate. Those participants also spent almost 50% longer savouring it.

Ritual, it seems, can transform not only how we consume a product, but how much value we place on it.

Square Holes own recent research (drawn from a small pool of participants), indicated that 63% feel that rituals are extremely to very important in helping life feel meaningful.

In the same study, the three recurring types of ritual that participants undertook included:

Morning routines: Starting the day with coffee or tea, often combined with checking emails/news, puzzles, breakfast or planning the day.
Family and social connection: shared meals, birthdays, celebrations, time with partners or children, weekly catch-ups and family traditions frequently form the basis of most rituals.
Exercise, walking and wellbeing: regular walks, dog walking, gym, yoga, meditation and other activities that provide exercise, relaxation or thinking time appeared repeatedly.

When asked about why these rituals matter to them, participants singled out the structure and consistency rituals provide, comfort and emotional regulation, and connection and belonging as the key reasons.

Some brands have built ritual into their marketing or use, such as the iconic two-part Guinness pour, or the twist and split Oreo sequence.

Those additional actions create anticipation, participation and meaning. For businesses, there can be value in considering whether the experience around a product can be made more deliberate. Opening it, preparing it, serving it, consuming it, sharing it or putting it away can all become part of the experience.

In our study, 38% of participants said that brands, products, services or places sometimes become a part of their rituals, while 23% said they often did.

In their long-form responses, participants noted food and drink brands like Farmers Union, Vegemite and Nescafé as part of their morning rituals, while familiar brands like Coles and Bunnings also featured. Entertainment brands such as Netflix, YouTube and Spotify were also mentioned as key ritual-forming brands.

What this data shows is that products become powerful when they find a place within an existing ritual rather than trying to manufacture one. Across these responses, brands are woven into moments of waking up, shopping, socialising, relaxing, exercising and celebrating. Repetition builds familiarity; familiarity builds meaning; and over time an ordinary product or place can become difficult to separate from the ritual itself.

There can be a temptation for brands to try to manufacture rituals. Sometimes that works. More often, the stronger opportunity is to identify behaviours that already exist.

Look closely enough at how people use almost any product and small rituals start to appear.

For brands, the question becomes: What rituals are our customers already performing, and how might we make those rituals easier, richer or more meaningful?

Square Holes is a cultural insight studio.

We design mixed method explorations of people and culture beyond the category,  uncovering the patterns, tensions and shifts shaping behaviour to inform strategy, inspire innovation and enable confident decisions. Our studio model brings together the right mix of thinkers, researchers and specialists for each exploration. If you’re navigating change, entering a new market, or seeking deeper understanding of people and culture, let’s start a conversation >