Good news for ‘convenience tech‘. Convenience is one of the four core motivations for going online according to a new international ATKearney report that includes a survey of 10,000 consumers in United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Nigeria.
- Convenience
- Self-expression
- Exploration
- Interpersonal Connection
Whilst not a huge fan of survey research, it’s interesting to see the continuing rise of the new C word in digital – Convenience. People go online to buy time and save effort. Sure they might consume your content – but only if the mode of consumption helps them buy time and save effort. Interestingly in the world of traditional retail, the C word is disrupting retail models – Goldman Sachs yesterday came out with a damning report on traditional retail saying that 1 in 5 big supermarkets need to close (in the UK), as consumers switch to more convenient shopping – convenience stores and online stores.
This trend to convenience all makes sense if you see the ultimate value of digital as a force for market rationalisation. Time and effort are two of the three costs associated with any transaction – they other being money, and convenience tech – whether it’s to research, shop, use, enjoy or service – reduces time and effort costs. And it does so without squeezing margin – indeed people will pay more for convenience. Whether it’s Uber, Nest or ApplePay, the new black in digital in convenience.
Content is so 2014, and convenience is shaping up to be king in 2015. How are you going to help your audience buy time and save effort?
