Category Archives: Shopping

Off Season Boycott Club

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An online community spends 3 months discussing and eventually voting on which nasty corporation (or country?) is worthy of a boycott.

Members then, individually, by choice, pledge to not use their products or services for the 3 months of the next season of Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. You go off them for a season 😉

If you cannot bear to be without them beyond the 3 months, that is sad, but OK.

The idea is to use the timeliness for publicity – who will be boycotted next? At scale.

To incentivise the boycott, direct competitors can be canvassed, seeing what they might offer to any member who switches allegiance. Such offers need to be above and beyond anything else they otherwise offer others.

Canvassing members first on whether they use particular brands is critical – it means the boycott can be meaningful and measurable.

Imagine the dread faced by corporations who are in the shortlist each quarter!

5figz – Amazon Bestsellers Go Rogue

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Every merchant wants to go off on Amazon. But when they do, Amazon probably makes more profit from the success than they do.

I’m imagining a platform where you can buy the verified hits of Amazon – products that have sold 10K+

  • Amazon hits are rarely rip-offs, the review system (mostly) looks after that.
  • People trust a successful Amazon product
  • Amazon cannot stop you stating a fact about your success on their platform

While Amazon has put superhuman effort into getting products to people quicker, price tends to trump speed. So the 5figz fulfilment system doesn’t need absolute speed. However, the nature of the products – high-volume – lends itself to efficiency.

I figure that the game plan is to out-Amazon Amazon. Run at a loss with their most successful products, until the public learn that 5figz is where to get the best products without Amazon taking a crazy cut of proceeds.

And it scales scarily well. Start with the most expensive products with 10K sales. And as the business grows, fold in lower price items. Obviously selling 10K execycles is better all round than selling 10K hairbands.

Augmented Reality and Supermarkets

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So I came across this image and it got me thinking. I belong to several supermarket loyalty programs, something they are quite good at is remembering products I have bought and telling me (in emails) when they are on sale (on special as we say in Australia).

So, forget about fridge apps, and online ordering. I’m thinking purely of an enhancement to what I already do as an in-person supermarket shopper who uses their loyalty program.

It works best if you only use one supermarket…

  1. Open the loyalty app
  2. Photograph the box or barcode of a product that you had bought and just used
  3. Speak your opinion – Growly likes this dog food

In a multi-person household, or even if you are scatter-brained and single… it means that you have a system that remembers which brands you like, or dislike. Per person.

So not only does your emails about sale items become more enhanced (things you prefer, not just things you bought), your AR experience in the supermarket can be awesome. The AR glasses and show you, like the image above, the products you like and where they are. For example, Oliver’s favourite muesli bars, or Maria’s preferred variety of apple. You could walk down every aisle and let the AR do most of the thinking for you. Faster and fewer mistakes that get you yelled at when you return home.

Rewarding The Greenies, With $$$

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Most of the discussion around Climate Change is about offsetting the inevitable actions of humans.

For every one person not flying, there are perhaps ten who tick a box and pay $2.27 to offset the damage done (yeah, right)

Unless you are self-sufficient and organic and have no cows, all consumption endangers the future of our planet. So the obvious solution is to consume less.

We could start by banning loyalty reward schemes. NO, that would cause riots, I didn’t suggest that!

Governments are paying farmers not to do this or that, like not chopping down trees. Why can’t the same happen for ordinary people? Why can’t I be paid to not buy that handbag or watch from AliExpress?

Everything along that line of thought, I think can be gamed. Pay someone to not buy a handbag incentives them to say they were fully going to buy one.

What does work is lower-consumption alternatives in the market place, subsidised by the state.

That could be via:

A miles tax – products from further away cost more (a logistical and international trade nightmare)

Subsidies – a card that gives you cashback when you buy a lower consumption product – YES!

  • 10% cashback for buying wine in Victoria from a certified Victorian supplier
  • 20% cashback for anything with at least 50% recycled materials
  • 30% cashback on any restaurant meal with one or more serves of veggies
  • 30% cashback for the services actively being used on a phone older than 3 years
  • 50% cashback on used clothes

This is a great opportunity to launch a minimalist state-owned bank, that primarily offers savings accounts, debit cards and owner-occupied home loans. And that card they all use, is a Green Card. Only people with that card get the cashbacks.

Is this the first ever proposal that combines socialism and green in a shared every-day system?
(I should research it…)

*There is a negative to this idea. No regular government is ever going to promote less consumption. That means lower GDP (the god of economic metrics) and lower tax revenue.

So we need a “Green” party that promotes lower consumption and lower government spending – good luck making that happen.

So maybe the solution is non-government???

Anybody in theory can make this happen, but the cashbacks need a lot of funding.

It can start slowly, and build momentum. Even as small as one restaurant and the backing of a charity or corporation.

BUT WAIT! Governments are often keen on carbon credits, and these can be used here. All we need is to put a price on the things listed above. For example, buying a used pair of jeans is worth $5 versus buying new.

Product Participation

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  • We have RFID tracking for products
  • We can track each step of production (origin of ingredients) and distribution
  • We have crowd-funding

What if we crowd-funded ethical ingredients instead of finished products.

Imagine an alliance of certified eco-friendly palm oil. Consumers sponsored their efforts monetarily, or give them a digital blessing.

When you buy a food item at the supermarket, you can scan the RFID chip with your phone to see if any ingredients have been supported by you, and to which degree.

 

 

COVID-19 and Property Values

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The pandemic will cause commercial property values to drop significantly. This will cause property owners to default on mortgage repayments, and then those properties will find new owners at a lower price, who will then offer lower rent.

Offices

The trend has to be away from working in offices.

  • Many businesses now know that they can have work-from-home staff, and any fears they had regarding work actually getting done could have been reduced
  • Co-working spaces were never hugely profitable, and are not likely to be resurrected. Those workers are already working mostly remotely and will shift to home
  •  Reduced staff numbers in existing offices means reduced space utility, which means downward pressure on rent

Restaurants

Restaurants will not have more seated customers than before the pandemic, so the same or less are the only ways it can go. So expect rent to drop, or food prices to increase

  • People have become more used to feeding themselves at home
  • Even if the law allows it, some people will not like being seated so close to others
  • Table service might disappear – the most likely spreader is a waiter who talks to dozens of tables every night
  • Home delivery will be higher than pre-pandemic, as even more people have become used to it

Retail

Retail was already disappearing in the physical world.

  • More people will have discovered and become used to online shopping
  • Some people will have a long-term distaste for being in busy malls purely to shop
  • Malls will continue to pivot towards food and experiences
  • Supermarkets will stay busier

Residential

After being stuck in apartments for months, people will (even if just subconsciously) desire more space at home. Prices for standalone houses will rise much more than apartments.

  • People now working from home will want more space
  • We will have developed more pride of our homes
  • Entertaining friends at home will increase, instead of meeting in public spaces
  • Homes with gardens will be desired

 

360 Degree Digital Mirror

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I’m pretty sure that the only person who only ever sees me straight on, is me, in the mirror.

I have no idea what I look like from the side, or behind.

The technology certainly exists. It has been toyed with by retailers. But you shouldn’t need to be in a retail store to try something on digitally…

This is in the right direction, but cannot be 360 without being digital

Concept:

  • A ring of cameras descend from the bathroom ceiling, and surround you
  • Where the traditional mirror would be, is a video screen
  • Simple buttons, or voice activated, gets the image of you to rotate
  • You can lower it to check you butt and shoes, etc

Get this perfect first time, make it affordable, and it will be in every home.

Add an online component, where you can try on clothing, and because you have the hardware in homes, you dominate.

It also becomes a 3D scanner for body measurements and creating avatars and figurines.

The Fall and Rise of Experience$

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Here are some things I know:

We spend less money on things these days. A microwave is $29. A kettle is $9. An excellent TV (based on my lifetime of watching it) is just a few hundred dollars. Even cars are getting a little bit cheaper.

So instead, futurists tell us, we are spending money on experiences. Especially if you consider fashion an experience, as people spend more on fashion than ever, for less actual quality and far lower counts of wearing each item.

Instead of things, we are paying for contrived gym classes, life coaches, volunteer tourism, escape rooms and adventure sports.

But here’s the thing – we are also spending less on experiences.

Chemists / Pharmacies – not too long ago you would go to a chemist and ask for help. Now, in Australia, traditional chemists are being replaced with chemist supermarkets like Chemist Warehouse.

Restaurants used to be an experience, and typically a shared experience. Home delivery has skyrocketed. Same food, sans experience.

Trams/trains used to have conductors who you could get advice from.

Clothing and electronic stores used to have many more sales people who gave you advice on what to buy.

We used to trust banks and financial advisors.

What Has Changed?

Collectively we have become more cost-efficient and smarter. We self-diagnose, research our travel plans, read product reviews, and have decided that takeout and Netflix is a better experience than eating in a restaurant. We invest our money and receive loans online.

On top of that, it is clear to me that experiences are a fad or fashion. The moment we have young adults whose parents went bungie jumping, that will be less appealing to their generation.

  • We no longer need help
  • We no longer trust “professional” advice
  • Experiences are fashionable.

What Will Prosper?

Travel. The available experiences are only limited by human experience itself. And transportation keeps getting cheaper.

Shopping Experiences for the Rich. People still want to be fussed over, if they can afford it.

Bars, Cinemas and Restaurants. Competition from home delivery and in-home entertainment will continue, but cinemas are still strong despite the rise of TV, and social venues will always be a thing. Mediocre will no longer cut it (see Gold Class cinemas in Australia, and restaurants with degustation menus).

Supermarkets for fresh goods. People still want to judge the quality, and supermarkets will make it more of an experience. The baker will be in front of you, not behind a wall. Supermarkets will be a food court of fresh food artisans and advisors. Eating in-store will be a big trend.

Competitive Sport. Think Ten Pin Bowling, except there is a never-ending number of social sports than could be invented. Men will be dedicated, women will have the occasional fu night out. Just like bowling.

What Will Wither?

Car Sales Yards. You will research online, test drives will come to you. You will order online.

Middle-class Department Stores. Already very obvious. The most expensive department stores, and dollar stores, will continue to do okay.

Multi-brand fashion stores. Think shoe stores. People will go to a Nike store because that is their preferred brand, be dazzled, and order in-store for at-home delivery. Instead of going to a multi-brand shoe store, asking if they have Nike, trying it on, then ordering from home via Amazon.

Amazon. It will be seen as the dollar shop equivalent. Buying direct from the manufacturer will be just as cheap. And non-brand products will lose appeal as people realise they are (generally) inferior.

Supermarkets for dry goods. Staple, repeated purchases will be delivered.

 

AI Squared: AugMe

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Scenario: it is 2am, you are drunk, you are asking Alexa to order the latest microscopic drone.

Without Assistance:

You: Alexa, order me that XYZ Zippy Drone please
Alexa: Sure, no problem. Do you agree to pay $800 plus a $65 expedited delivery fee?
You: Yep

With your own AI Assistance Bot:

You: Alexa, order me that XYZ Zippy Drone please
Alexa: Sure, no problem. Do you agree to pay $800 plus a $65 expedited delivery fee?
Assistance Bot: Rob, you only have $200 in savings, do you really want to go into debt for this? It only has a 3-star rating and has negligible utility value
Rob: I want it, whack it on the card
Assistance Bot: Delivery is free if it takes 3 days, would you like that instead?
Rob: Hell yeah!
Assistance Bot: Alexa, please proceed with the order but with the free delivery option please

This will be the next big thing, around  5 years from now – Augmented Me.

Imagine being at the supermarket, and your AugMe negotiates with the automated checkout:

Assistance Bot: He doesn’t want to redeem points, he is paying with this card, here is his PIN, he doesn’t need a receipt.

 

 

Social First, Secondhand Second

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I think Carousell has something. Used goods x social. eBay hasn’t even attempted this. Facebook has, but cautiously, as a side bet.

Do you know someone who goes to yard sales / garage sales all the time. They probably like similar people. Get them friendly online, and then get them sharing used goods vendors. This will be niche bigly.