Recently read an article from The Starbiz on every Saturday with regards to how the economic crises changed the consumers’ purchasing pattern. The in-depth analysis of transformation of consumerism during the previous economic crisis is indeed giving our marketers to think about the new marketing mix in own industry.
This article emphasized on the new service economy is all about human interaction more than individualistic consumption. I still remembered the time I was backpacking in Japan and I had experienced the services totally different than Malaysia. Ironically, the small boutique fashion shop in Japan may have a better service than the luxury brand located in the heart of central capital. The fierce competition comes into my mind initially to explain that why Japanese needs to be so exclusive for servicing the customer beyond their personal pride. After reviewing this article, it has changed my thought that the real reason is actually far beyond my understanding.
Over the course of a new decade, major city centres across the world began to resemble each other much more closely, with the same brands, designs and lifestyles. Consumption or, more precisely, consumerism, appeared to be globalised. With the mushrooming number of shopping malls in Malaysia, consumers are able to access the global brand easily while the products also appeared to be globalised as well. Then, what will replace the age of consumerism?
Quote from The Star “Consumerism depended on a radical notion of individualism. We are convinced that our utility schedule is more important than someone else’s. the empirical study of happiness has produced evidence that the satisfaction from buying objects is short–lived and depends on continued repetition. That is socially, morally, and environmentally wasteful. On the other hand. The consumption of experiences produces a more sustained satisfaction.”
The conclusion is emphasizing the new service economy is the core pillar to become the fundamental factor for every brand. Emulation is widely expanded. To win the battler from massive globalization, extending the ‘tangible’ experiences from consuming the product or services is the only way!
Footnote:
The consumer age was the product of two previous crises. The Great Depression of the 1930s was interpreted as the result of inadequate consumption, of poverty in the midst of plenty. Governments tool on the responsibility of stabilizing and organizing consumption on a wider level.
A second major global crisis, in the 1970s, shook the heavy-industrial basis of manufacturing and with it the idea that governments should manage the economy. The 1970s produced a new model of sustaining consumption through individualized desire.
