Digital development drives “craft consumption” and DIY (Do It Yourself), especially when we have a deep interest and when it has to do with people we love.
Hi blog reader! I wish you a wonderful holiday season and all the best for next year
All the best!
/Mikael
Hi again, the above lines of text are a little seasonal digital greeting in HTML. A couple of days ago we were discussing at home how many Christmas cards we should send this year and to whom. And I am not talking about updating my Facebook status wishing everyone in my network a happy holiday season. I am talking about physical cards (and not even mass-produced bought once), home-crafted, handwritten and with a personal message. This Christmas card discussion led to some reflections on how cards tie into the wider digital transformation of the holiday season.
- The number of physical post cards/letters sent per capita is declining in most countries.
- The number of digital greetings in all digital channels has exploded.
- Physical stores are challenged by digital sales.
- Ordering Christmas gifts online is growing tremendously, which means busy days for delivery companies like UPS and DB Schenker.
These four bullets more or less summarize what’s happening globally in the area of consumption. As we gain access to more mass-produced goods, experiences and automated and frictionless processes, it becomes so easy to just click on a ready-made digital Christmas greeting cards, and then you have sent your best wishes to everyone in the world. Or just pick up the ready-made or prefab food in the supermarket and your Christmas dinner is ready. Or order everything online, and the presents are ready. This is what many (I would claim most of us) do today. The automated consumption experience. And we make these choices in areas of our lives that we are not very engaged in.
On the other hand, this development drives another phenomenon “craft consumption” and DIY (Do It Yourself), especially in categories we have a deep interest in and that have to do with people we love. This is about crafting the personal Christmas card, choosing the ink and the paper, using the glue and the scissors. It’s about going to the local market and handpicking the vegetables from the local farmer. Or buying meat from the butcher, mincing it and making your own sausages. Or going to a physical shop to get personal and professional advice from the expert salespeople there. So, while digital is growing tremendously, it also drives at the same time very physical experiences, craft consumption and DIY
Digital development drives “craft consumption” and DIY (Do It Yourself), especially when we have a deep interest and when it has to do with people we love.
This post was published
Mon, 21 Dec 2015 06:00:02 +0000 at https://www.ericsson.com/thinkingahead/the-networked-society-blog/?p=8683
Mikael Eriksson Björling 
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