UsableMarkets

The Attention Economy

From Wikipedia
‘Across consumer markets, attention is becoming the scarcest – and so most strategically vital – resource in the value chain. Attention scarcity is fundamentally reshaping the economics of most industries it touches; beginning with the media industry.’

‘Attention economics” today is primarily concerned with the problem of getting consumers to consume advertising.’

The Experience Economy

From Wikipedia
‘Businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers … and that memory itself becomes the product – the “experience.”‘

The Expectation Economy

From Trend Watching
‘The EXPECTATION ECONOMY is an economy inhabited by experienced, well-informed consumers from Canada to South Korea who have a long list of high expectations that they apply to each and every good, service and experience on offer.

‘Their expectations are based on years of self-training in hyperconsumption, and on the biblical flood of new-style, readily available information sources, curators and BS filters. Which all help them track down and expect not just basic standards of quality, but the “best of the best”.’

The Leisure Economy

From the book
‘The Leisure Economy offers a provocative and insightful look at the coming sea change in the North American economy. As millions of baby boomers begin to retire, the U.S. and Canadian economies will be flooded with people who literally have time on their hands. And in the workforce, the boomers will be replaced by generations with very different attitudes from the boomers. Gen X and Gen Y understand the worth of leisure time-and when they’re in charge, they just might demand some.

‘As Linda Nazareth explains, the shift away from an intense focus on work towards leisure will make for some profound shocks to our lives, industries and institutions. Lost in the day-to-day frenzy of the time-crunch economy, many have yet to consider what lies ahead and what these changes really mean. For businesses, the shock will be the rudest, but whether you are an investor, a consumer, a business owner or a worker, you need to stay ahead of the curve. ‘

The Surprise Economy

From Springwise

‘Taking the surprise economy to another level, Singapore beverage company Out of the Box caters to consumers who respond to “What would you like to drink?” with a non-committal “anything” or “whatever”. Two weeks ago, the company launched two complementary brands: Anything and Whatever. Anything is fizzy and comes in six flavours (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer) and Whatever is non-carbonated (Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea).

‘The surprise part? Consumers don’t know which flavour they’re getting until they take a sip. Cans are simply labelled Anything and Whatever, and the list of ingredients is limited to generic wording: carbonated water, sugar, permitted flavouring, permitted colouring, preservative, tea extract, fruit juice concentrate. Judging from the buzz on Singapore forums, teens immediately got the concept and are loving it.’

Am I missing any others? (And is it just me, or do these concepts just seem like new ways for consultants to sell their services to companies that fear for their market share because of commodification of their goods, the global labor arbitrage, or the economics of the information goods market place?)

Surprise! Your economy will eat you now.

As always, thanks for listening.
~alex