By Amanda Bourlier
Across many goods and service sectors, what makes something premium or luxurious is evolving. No longer is price the sole determinant. Time is key and the promise of time saving is a driver of innovation and disruption, leading to new products and services. Technology has enabled companies to share more information. Consumers have the same capacity to process information as before, but now contend with much more information to process.
We see brands leveraging the Catch Me in Seconds trend to capture attention. Through “drops,” brands are making their merchandise available exclusively for a short period of time. Here, the product is only accessible to those with not just the money, but also the time to make the purchase. For more widely available products, people are willing to pay a premium price to have quicker access.
Social media is changing, permitting people to access content with shorter live stories and videos. Some platforms offer people ways to consume more content in the same amount of time. For example, they can select faster playback speeds on YouTube and certain podcast platforms. Consumers are taking in more information but expect to spend the same amount of time.
The Catch Me in Seconds trend has evolved and become stronger as technology, both accessibility and usage, has made it possible to deliver instant information and functionality to users. Consumers expect brands to make their information, product or service as accessible as possible in a short timeframe to compete with other demands.
The Writer is Consultant Euromonitor International
