Andy
Honorary Member
I've been thinking back to experiences this last year, & at a time when sales hype is at it's highest, I just thought I'd soap box a little on this age old but often forgotten subject, & pose some questions for consideration.
To me, "price" is just one element of "cost". Everyone understands price, but not everyone places it in the context of overall cost. At it's most simple, it can be a pair of sticks online at £10 + £3 shipping vs. in the local store at £12, but it's often much deeper than that, especially when you factor in overall quality of product & service.
We're in an age of chasing the lowest price, the deepest discount, mostly because ease of online comparison facilitates that, but what are the consequences - what's really happening behind the scenes?
I feel this goes way beyond the dedicated bricks & mortar store vs. online retailer discussion. People buy from people - that has real value, but it's also possible to have that 1-1 relationship online too.
Chipping that price down at consumer level promotes a ripple affect all the way to product designer & back again. Be in no doubt that the products you buy today, are designed around what the marketing department says are the most important things to you, not necessarily what is actually important to you or the product's real world performance. The machine then places pressure on every element of production, & that drives quality decisions / compromises. In turn, those decisions eventually drive expectations based on the vernacular. The circle, or rather "spiral", is complete.
I can think of many personal product / service quality stories from this year alone, but I'll leave it here for now, in the hope that responses will widen the conversation.
To me, "price" is just one element of "cost". Everyone understands price, but not everyone places it in the context of overall cost. At it's most simple, it can be a pair of sticks online at £10 + £3 shipping vs. in the local store at £12, but it's often much deeper than that, especially when you factor in overall quality of product & service.
We're in an age of chasing the lowest price, the deepest discount, mostly because ease of online comparison facilitates that, but what are the consequences - what's really happening behind the scenes?
I feel this goes way beyond the dedicated bricks & mortar store vs. online retailer discussion. People buy from people - that has real value, but it's also possible to have that 1-1 relationship online too.
Chipping that price down at consumer level promotes a ripple affect all the way to product designer & back again. Be in no doubt that the products you buy today, are designed around what the marketing department says are the most important things to you, not necessarily what is actually important to you or the product's real world performance. The machine then places pressure on every element of production, & that drives quality decisions / compromises. In turn, those decisions eventually drive expectations based on the vernacular. The circle, or rather "spiral", is complete.
I can think of many personal product / service quality stories from this year alone, but I'll leave it here for now, in the hope that responses will widen the conversation.