What defines luxury for you? To me, it says premium, expensive, tailored, refined, tasteful and beyond necessity 💸 Which I find curious as all these attributes could be said for some of the less utilitarian tech gadgets we all now use and even wear, like our mobile phones. Earlier today I was watching 4 different YouTubers unbox the new Samsung Galaxy Fold. At $1980 (USD) it’d have to be the most expensive mainstream consumer phone on the market and given its hefty price tag at the top end of the affordability scale, I wondered how would an average (non-early adopter) customer justify the expense internally? Then it dawned on me. It wasn’t just in the phone itself - which sure, is the first of its kind - it was also in the packaging and the inclusions that came with the phone. It was an experience. Unboxing the phone built up anticipation, giving them all the happy feels inside with finesse, awe, entertainment and delay to reveal Samsung’s flagship device. 🍏 Apple does the same with their own packaging as they too offer a sensory experience to reveal the owners’ new device. The air-tight delay of lifting the top shell of the box was originally designed to take 6-7 seconds, made to heighten the experience and is said to create something known as a gestalt. A whole experience that is greater than the sum of its parts for the user. It’s probably why many women, like my wife, keep their little blue box from Tiffany’s. For her, it holds a memorable experience of receiving it and opening it, that went beyond the item that was contained inside. So in a time where the typical stereotype of luxury becomes further out of reach for the average person, do you also believe brands are tailoring their customer experience with delight, excitement, anticipation and satisfaction in forms like packaging or in store service, simply to generate a new form of attainable luxury? If we’re offering experiences that create greater perceived value in our customers' minds, helping them to affirm their buying decision, that’s got to be a good thing, right? 💁🏻♂️
Comments