The world has changed! With our evolving economies, that grow and grow on and on, we find ourselves being the generation of people that live the most secured life ever. For most newborns in the Western World their expected age of death will be more than 80 years. This same group of people are blessed with an education that allows them to grow within their society and they earn more then enough money to stay a live, really more then enough. These kids have no worries, expect how to achieve happiness with their blessed lives. From this generation comes the new trend: Transumers. Trendwachting.com comes with a clear article about this group and defines them as: “consumers driven by experiences instead of the ‘fixed’, by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions. The fixed is replaced by an obsession with the here and now, an ever shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible. Hey, the past is, well, over, and the future is uncertain, so all that remains is the present, living for the ‘now’.”

It is the right here, right now (fatboy slim) generation that will boost this trend. Delivering something just a bit too late makes it so yesterday (hilary duff). So where should you be keen on as a company?
Well transumers have some characteristics to be used by entrepreneurs:
- transumers will try to avoid hassle, the more they own the more they have to worry about. Transumers are there to adopt the leasing-lifestyle, which takes care of problems like: product repairs, getting out-of-style, theft and so on.
- transumers will determine you to deliver fast and good. They want the latest the greatest. Watch out Mrs. Hilton, because there are millions of people on their way to do things before you have done them.
- transumers will not stick to the same, they want multiple experiences. Good is not good enough anymore. Delivering the best is not a guarantee of future success. Transumers will do everything to make maximal use of their ‘limited’ budgets.
- transumers are sensitive to status. Status kills for them. Their goal in life is not to earn money, but earn respect by status, with or without the money.

At the moment there are already a hand full of companies, mostly (partly) online. They allow customers to share products, so they can possess and get rid of them whenever they want to. It’s like the one-sided marriage. (WARNING potential million dollar idea: www.thewifeofmylife.com, a company that possess a database of 10.000 women that will be send out to pretend to be somebody’s wife, whenever he likes to. This makes the women able of being independent and the boys keep all their pleasures.)

However the just mentioned example is just a slip-of-mind, but there are many, profitable, companies out there. For example check Bag Borrow or Steal which you can join for only $5,- a month. It will enable you to change bags a much as you want to. Other examples are Borrowed Bling and RK Jewellery Hire. And if you keep on searching on the web you’ll find companies that offer you clothing, cars or even planes. Yes even airplanes!!! This ain’t a trick, you’ll not be blessed with a remote control plane, no, you’ll be partly-owner of a real jet. One example defines all new standards. If you’re able of missing $25.000 a year, you’ll never have to worry which car or boat you’ll take as transportation to one of your houses. It are the Aussies of Limited Edition who found a huge gap in the market. Well and it ain’t such a stupid idea. Ever wondered if the rich guys who own 30 exclusive cars, couldn’t miss a Bentley for just one day. Now they do… Together you’re stronger and richer than alone might be the motto. But it’s oh so true.

As an entrepreneur you’ll have to surprise your consumers or else they won’t even see you. You have to be out there, surprise them, seduce them and make them follow you before they’ll actually buy your stuff. It’s about the whole experience. If only one step fails, you can start all over again.

There is one thing all companies that serve transumers have in common: they are able to getting them what they want immediately and for a good price. Now you might say, OKAY this ain’t new, this is what all companies are about. But it’s not about giving them what they want tomorrow, no they want it NOW!!!! These companies find ways to be flexible to consumers’ preferences and are able of fulfilling their needs at the moment the consumer needs it.

Now it’s up to you to design new products or services that satisfy consumers need at the moment they occur. Try to find ways to keep you and your products up-to-date. The leasing options are good examples, however they are just a beginning. Feed your consumers with what they want and they come back. You can think of delivering them with specific products, but you could also help them to find what they want.
More and more consumers will face 1001 options to fulfil their dreams, but which one will totally comply with their desires? Therefore you could develop a so-called Virtual Guarding Angel (VGA). The VGA is there to help customers with making their decisions. As a consequence of transumers desire, tons of companies will offer products that fit to consumers’ desire. However he/she can only choose one. We are going to a new level of luxury-problems. A problem that now only occurs as the i-dont-know-what-to-wear-while-ive-got-a-closet-full-of-new-clothes-problem. In the future we’ll get problems like i-dont-know-where-to-go-on-holiday-this-year-because-the-sun-shines-everywhere-and-all-
the-hotels-have-5-stars or the i-dont-know-which-car-drives-best-on-monday-
mornings-during-the-winter-traffic-jams. The VGA is there to help people make their optimal decisions. The VGA will sort out all the information for all interested people and help them in making a better choice.

More information about transumers can be found in trendwatching.com’s trendbase. Of course as you’re used to studio469 will be you’re VGA on all design matters.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 at 9:22 and is filed under Trend Briefing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.