The other day, I went into a Wal-Mart store to make a purchase. Why do I go there? Because it’s cheap!
“I wonder how you ever overcome this model,” I thought. “This and franchising have to be the end-all of innovation! The crescendo! It will overcome eeeeverrrryyything (insert wicked laugh)!”
As I looked around, I was observing the loads and loads of useless crap lining the isle ways. You know… the six colors of dumb stuffed animals, trinkets, and things… the kind of stuff no one would ever buy if they didn’t see it.
While observing, the thought came to me, “I wonder how much of this junk is never purchased?” Then I thought what a massive amount of waste must occur. Then the shift: THIS CAN’T BE SUSTAINABLE!
As I pondered this thought, thinking about human behavior and inserting the innovations and public discussions that have transpired over the last few years, I started to see a picture of a very different world—a world that is not overrun with franchises and big box stores. It is the next revolution: One-demand production.
Could you imagine the retail footprint disappearing? It’s a hard picture to imagine when a big part of our life is fighting traffic to go to the store.
Picture this: the new consumer purchasing model begins online. You order what you need and want (no more cheap garbage and no more waste). State of the art facilities, located all over the world, each specializing in specific products produces your items. Then a revolutionary distribution model rapidly distributes every order over night.
Here are some things that have begun to happen that illustrate this change: 1) The saturation of Internet search and ordering; 2) the advent of digital delivery and on-demand book printing; and 3) the awareness, limited supply of, and frustration with fossil fuels and its effect on environment and health. I even saw a company that can deliver on-demand vitamins based on your specific needs (mass customization).
What would we do with all that new free time? If our focus was shifted off of consumption, what would we do? Would we focus on Greater Causes and Higher Purposes? I don’t know. Maybe it would cause more wars with all the bored people standing around! In either case, the change will come. Maybe not in my lifetime, but it will come.
Great post Rod. We’re working on a different way to shop for home essentials that avoids a trip to the store in a new and unique way. Great to see you asking some of the same questions we did at Alice.com!
Agreed. One other problem with the WalMart model is that it doesn’t leverage it’s workers very well. WalMart just sees itself as a huge “restocking” institution. If they could leverage the talents and ideas of its employees what ever they may be they could innovate better.
That being said the “on-demand” model is the way of the future. What will be interesting is to see if our instant buy attitude changes or we get more efficient in storing and distributing these products and services.
Thanks for the post!
Oooh, interesting idea!
The other day I watched a video about businesses hired by banks to clean out foreclosed homes that are “trashed” by previous owner’s left-behind things: furniture, food, toys, appliances, computers, etc. The order is to simply throw the things out as quickly as possible, no sorting. I was sick watching both the perfectly good items that could be serviceable to another family and the useless crap/knick-knackery go into a dumpster headed for a landfill. That’s not sustainable!
Which comes first, the conscious consumer or the conscious supplier? If companies become more conscious in their stocking, will customers be more conscious in their purchasing? Or is it the other way around?
Great point! The conscious consumer comes first. Industry is driven by demand. The problem is that changing the consumer mindset on a local, national and global scale is a massive, nearly impossible task. Too many people are unconscious and don’t care. The problem would be more easily addressed from the supplier; however, committing to do so would mean that prices would go up and sales would radically drop. Therefore, it will be the long and arduous process of changing the consumer mindset fueled by small, caring suppliers who cater to the emerging niche. The niche provides must become proficient at educating and fueling the movement and building and maintaining a following. There have been several that have tried this, but they are too independent and dispersed to create real power. They need to unify under the direction of a clear and concise leader who can keep many points of light pointing the same direction.