This is what is happening in the world right now: we are moving from the age of buying things to buying experiences for those below 25 years. For these young people, they do not like to buy just things; they want to have experiences in the shopping process. It is a big change in habits. Your design must capture that if you are in fintech, retail or associated sectors.
With digital systems and smartphones, people like to pre-shop. That process is an experience and your product must be positioned for that. Yes, even before the product is in their hands, they have started the experience process.
Now, as soon as they buy, they want to tell the world that they have bought something. That is another element which has emerged. Think of Venmo; its main innovation, excluding the splitting of bills, is that you can share on social media what you have bought.
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You have bought a ticket to a concert. Sharing that experience of buying the ticket adds another layer to the gratification. That is an experience which the ticket alone cannot give you. Also, when you are in that concert, the fun is not necessarily the concert, but the very fact that you can share on social media images from the concert.
As you build some products, ask yourself if you are building Things or Experiences. PayPal is a thing but Venmo is an experience. Yes, I paid for my haircut with PayPal; no one knows. But I paid for my haircut and shared that on Facebook. That is an experience especially if I add the haircut photo. I may not personally do that but most young people think that way. You need to capture that expectation in your design process for products geared for young people.
Your customers are evolving; you need to build for them. They are not just buying things; they are buying experiences. Help them broadcast themselves with your products – that is the world for under 25 these days.
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