prosumer
noun [c] UK //prəˈsjuːmər/an experienced customer who buys high quality technical products or equipment. Formed from the words ‘professional’ and ‘consumer’, the prosumer wants the best. e.g. Cameras, Kitchens, Sporting Goods
Your customer is better informed than ever. With a set of searches from their phone or desktop, they can educate themselves to a level and avail themselves of the knowledge of experts in an instant. But the prosumer is not necessarily a new concept.
Brands like Sassoon offered consumers a “professional” product in the supermarket, challenging the way that traditional channels worked, but now the lines are blurring between professional and consumer in many segments.
Categories where the prosumer is being identified as an increasing customer segment include Cameras and Audio Visual equipment, Kitchens and Chef tools e.g. stoves, knives, and many sporting goods e.g. Golf clubs and bikes.
Professional-level equipment and skills have been attributed to the following market forces.
- high disposable income, and the rise of customer segments such as HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals)
- falling prices relative to sophistication. eg. increase in power of computer chips and miniaturisation.
- an increase of availability of education and media e.g. Food Network devoted to professional chefs sharing their ‘secrets’.
- Specialist media including blogs and YouTube.
- Channel strategy changing at Brand level to allow ‘professional’ products to be sold to ‘consumers’.
- Globalisation of sales channels, allowing consumers to source products that were unavailable in their market.
- Changes in the way stock is held by online e-commerce stores leading to a much wider range being advertised.
Do you have prosumer customers? Are you tailoring your customer experience to their expectations?
No Comments