Three concerns to be addressed and that can be approached from an inevitable practice such as consumption.
1. Saving money … The price of a product is one of the most relevant variables for the consumer. But there are other relevant factors that affect the quantity of goods consumed. Buyers are looking for ways to optimise their expenses by getting the best possible product; especially the generations Y and Z (consumers who have had to face the consequences of a major economic crisis). While his parents were able to buy a house, car and maintain a good standard of living in their 20s, Millennials have had to find other options to meet the same needs.
2. Saving time … Purchasing decisions can be made in seconds, being these more impulsive ones, or can be thought for months, depending on the commitment and price that this acquisition demands. Being able to simplify a decision by minimising the risk or the consequences of being wrong and reducing the commitment generated, can be an important leverage to influence the consumption.
How is it possible to simplify these decisions? A starting point may be to generate more services that respond to the need rather than promoting the purchase of the product. This generates the existence of a point of service instead of a point of sales (POS). Renting a car instead of buying it, is a service that solves the “problem” at the right time without representing major commitments or great investment of time. An even greater and more advanced solution is the entire car sharing industry.
Saving time refers not only to the purchase decision, it is also indispensable to refer to the time it takes to go to a store, collect all the necessary information, make the purchase and return home. Fortunately, in the era of e-commerce, all this investment of time can be significantly reduced because there is information on the internet, including evaluations from previous buyers that can make shorten this task. In addition to this, it exists the option of making online purchases that can be despatched to the most convenient address for the customer.
3. Saving relationships… After decades where many people were immersed in consumerism, they realised that spending their money and time on products made them sad and isolated. Spending long hours working to earn a promotion, increase the salary and thus be able to buy more goods, became a vicious circle where there was no time left to share with family and friends, not even to take vacations. This led to an isolation in which each “successful” executive was trapped in his bubble.
With this context, the emergence of the sharing economy can be understood as a response to a need of saving time, money and reconnect people.
Diana Calderhead 