Can we put a ban on the analysis of consumer behavior?
And can we stop measuring the growth/success of the economy by how many redundant items are bought?
And can we stop measuring the growth/success of the economy by how many redundant items are bought?
Then again, the fact that anyone had to do a study to figure this out is indicative of a bigger disconnect between business people and their customers than I expected.
I'd caution you against assuming that business people don't know this. This article is just a marketing post for Oliver Wyman (a management consulting firm).
Most stores seem to redesign their clothing ranges for both women and men annually, and then make a big deal of it.
There are a few exceptions, like branded jeans with stable styles, and no-brand generic staples like tees and polos.
But generally when you find an article you like, it disappears within a few months.
It's astounding that clothing retail has been around for centuries, but hardly anyone has considered that at least some customers might prefer a stable product range.
One way to do that is to change the fashion regularly in order to apply social pressure to not wearing older clothing.
Another way appears to be making clothes very thin so they wear out quicker.
Of something is good, but not great, you'll but from that brand again -- and I bet sooner.
We need people to mindlessly buy stuff they don't want want/need in order to grow our <strike>house of cards</strike> economy.
The latter - measuring growth/success of an economy by redundant items bought, is a direct consequence of applying the same principle for individuals. This phenomenon, at the micro level, could, with the appropriate disclaimers, be considered the root cause for the general maladies you point out.
Do you believe individuals could be trained/convinced/taught to not measure their success in those terms?
If yes, would they still get to measure their successes? If so, in terms of what? What would you consider a better universal metric for personal success?