A high-end retailer writes: All too often I hear is something like this: They no longer appreciate good music / They’re perfectly happy with MP3 /The younger generation doesn’t care about quality of anything
Frankly from time to time I agree with this, although only temporarily. Returning to my senses I realise that people don’t change, but circumstances do.
I find it interesting when hearing a hand-wringing colleague / competitor opines that buyers aren’t the way they used to be. They’ve changed, they say. However, beneath the surface the buyers (well, most of them anyway) are the same people they’ve always been. Their circumstances have changed and so have the industry – for the most part – in response.
Our daily lives are different than the lives of past generations. We have more choices and information than anyone could have ever imagined just ten years ago and the rate of change is exponential. Of course we’re “different”. The point being that as an industry we should be asking ourselves … how do we fit in? How do we take advantage of this changing landscape?
I'm now moving towards the view that people’s desire to have a great listening experience in the home has never gone away – they just want it instantly and they want it so every member of the family can enjoy it as well.
This means that the days of the ‘no-entry’ man-cave are rapidly going away. A pity because that was my primary target and satisfying that remains my primary income stream.
The days of the high-end available anywhere anyone wants it are upon us.
I'm left wondering to what extent I want to be a part of this change. I don’t need to; I'm close to retirement and I have sufficient customer loyalty to keep plodding along. No knee-jerk reactions here because I'll think this through. Nevertheless despite the title of this article being 'Nostalgia really isn’t going to help', I can’t help felling a bit nostalgic.
Thank you for your attention
Mr. A. Retailer
