It is often written that younger consumers value experiences more than actual products. A lot that is written about ‘millennials’ is often lazy stereotyping, but there is something about their desire for experiences that rings true.
In a world of mass production and mass consumption, there is something attractive about the personal, individual, customisable and non-repeatable. Everyone can own a band’s album, but not everyone saw them at that festival. Everyone can buy a game or a book, but not everyone has the limited-edition version, or the book signed by the author.
“The sad demise of Thomas Cook is the inevitable result of trying to sell standardised products in a personalised world”
This week has seen our desire for the ‘individual experience’ claim a massive corporate casualty. Once upon a time, we bought one of a selection of package holidays, choosing based on destination and price point but otherwise having the same experience as everyone else on the trip.
In the new economy (what I call the ’new normal’ in Reinventing Retail) many of us book flights, hotels, guides and excursions online from a huge choice, informed by the reviews and recommendations by thousands of other customers but, in the end, creating a holiday bespoke rather than off the shelf.
Bespoke retail
The sad demise of Thomas Cook and the corporate pain being experienced by much of the rest of the travel sector is the inevitable result of trying to sell standardised products in a personalised world.
But is it inevitable? The world of online bookings and TripAdvisor reviews is still a complex one leaving many customers in need of advice, a curated set of choices and the comfort of knowing an expert is on hand. A new generation of travel businesses is springing up responsive to that need. Starting at the luxury end where margins are highest, it will be fascinating to see whether the travel sector can reinvent itself based on this creation of more individual and personal experiences.
And what does that mean for other retail sectors? If the consumer trend in travel is from ‘off the shelf’ to ‘bespoke’, might that be true elsewhere too?
There certainly seems to be value in creating more individual experiences in stores. Often today, however, that is personalisation of the sales experience rather than the product itself. The fun a group of teens have throwing bath bombs into sinks in a Lush, guided by and entertained by a great sales colleague, is something they will talk about later on social media, to the great benefit of the brand.
“In this era of incredibly fast supply chains, AI analysis of customer data and automation of product manufacturing, why do I have to buy clothes in distinct sizes that someone else decided?”
It is often harder, though, to personalise the product itself. But does that have to be the case? In this era of incredibly fast supply chains, AI analysis of customer data and automation of product manufacturing, why do I have to buy clothes in distinct sizes that someone else decided, rather than measured to fit me? I can mix my own paint colours, but why does the furniture I buy have to be a given size rather than made to fit my house?
A world where every product you sell is tailored to the individual customer as a unique one-off might sound complicated and expensive, but how close can you get in your sector? Getting to know your customers well enough to tailor products for them is a great way to turn occasional purchases into lasting and valuable relationships.
And we may have no choice. Personalisation might be what your customers demand from you, and as we know from the last two decades of retail history, if customers want it, online competitors will spring up to fill the demand. Unless we get there first.
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