What is an experience economy? It’s the economy that’s built uber, lyft & airbnb, vrbo.
Even people treat many dating and social meeting apps as an experience tool, rather than a method to find love. It’s a concept that is slowly getting hardwired into how we function. It’s a concept that needs to grow in sophistication for humanity in many ways. There is a level of sustainability built into having an ‘experience’ based around something, it’s reusable, and almost a form of recycling something in a way. It’s not necessarily a new concept, it’s just being applied to different things.
Like the app Turo is also an example, it allows you to rent other people’s cars, for however long you want without needing to worry about going to a car rental company. You just rent from other people on the app. Lots of people are into this trend, but it’s not for everyone. I for one personally prefer to stay in hotels over an airbnb. But I still own and operate an airbnb, because I see the value in the experience. Airbnb has several other experience options attached into its company structure as well. I think shifting to a more sustainable business practice other than just production & consumption is a very healthy shift in society, however, it will be reassessing values, changing corporate structures and changing why/how business is conducted. This is where the experience economy is actually becoming a global thing.
My company AndeAndrea (@andeandrea.shop) is based in this conceptual mold, it’s there for others to have a continual digital wardrobe, at their demand & giving them access to a lot of designer items that either are no longer made, have only been made once, or are more expensive or hard to find. Even though we are barely 2 months old, and technically in beta launch still as the store is still being filled up with the product. I believe this concept will be helpful to so many people in the future, it will add variety and the option of ‘looking expensive’ for an event, not from buying fake items mimicking the expensive ones but by renting the real thing. It’s providing quality to your wardrobe when you maybe can’t always afford it.
The experience economy is only to grow… so I hope we all embrace these sustainable changes.