Smart Consumption - a new generation of savers

Is your cart empty? Not if your an American.

Americans don't know how to spend or maybe they know too well; and it's about time for our behavior to change. Here's the problem, we're tempted to spend every chance we get which has resulted in a large portion of us living from pay check to pay check. We are a nation of instant gratification because it's tough to delay what we can have now. The good thing is we've realized it. We're going through the process of figuring out how we can ween ourselves off our addiction to buying. For the purposes of qualifying this I've broken purchasing behaviors into four categories:

1. Impulsive consumption - I got this b/c it was a good deal, or it would make for a hilarious gift for someone.
2. Excessive consumption - I bought a third pair of sunglasses to match my back up purse.
3. Consumption for perceived happiness - This flatscreen is going to be so much more aesthetically pleasing in my living room, plus I watch so much TV this is actually a great investment.
4. Shopping as a hobby - My mom is coming to visit. We'll spend Saturday shopping and then hit the Moma or see a movie on Sunday if we're not making returns.

Ironically, I think this is a great idea for a brand campaign. In fact it's a plan that might even catch the attention of Elizabeth Anne Moore. Why? Because it aims to fundamentally change the way we sell and purchase goods. If the paradox of temptation tells us we shouldn't simply eliminate behavior with undesired results then we should take an approach that embraces what we'd like to change. Businesses are branding themselves as good for the environment, well what if they brand themselves as good for the long term economy.

The premise could be the root of a campaign for a tourism board or luxury good; "We're in a recession dummy, we're gonna be here for a while, you probably shouldn't be booking a trip to Austrailia right now..." More importantly the campaign would focus on smart shopping. Explaining how or if the product falls in line with an established budget, even encouraging the creation of one. Maybe they even facilitate the use of a phone application that enables consumers to prioritize purchases based on need and the consumers finances. This approach has the ability for a brand to transcend normal perceptions: "We're a brand that seeks to make your life better, whether it helps our bottom line or not." Ultimately we have to correct our habit of over-spending and under-saving and it seems advantageous if brands can align themselves with this philosophy.

Do you have a budget? If you do email it to me. I'd love to see what people think is a budget and how they think they should consume (and save.)

planned / perceived obsolescence

We live in a consumer world and as much as I'm annoyed by it I have to admit I'm caught up in it. I'm over the phase of disposing every possession I own like Chris McCandless from Into the Wild, but I still think that our culture needs to do some re-evaluation. Michael Moore is pretty famous for saying media breeds fear and leads us to security through consumerism. The US loves shopping and watching TV, in fact the story of stuff video describes how US culture is defined by the "work, watch, shop treadmill." What's most interesting about their video is how business has designed products for planned obsolescence.

Innovation fatigue plagues our culture. In fact the streets of San Francisco are riddled with discarded technology; TV's, computers and fax machines line our curbs. We're buying new products so quickly we don't know what to do with the old ones. Don't get me wrong, the problem here isn't innovation, in fact I'm proud to be at the forefront and like being an influencer. The problem is that companies design products for obsolescence. The film makes a great point, a vast majority of products are designed for disposal when it's very possible to swap out parts instead of discarding an entire item. Cuba's Yank Tank industry is a great example of being resourceful in an effort to conserve materials.

I think we need to rethink how we design products to expand their lifestyle and create a more sustainable and responsible way to be consumers. I have an elementary school science teacher who is convinced that automotive companies purchased the patents for materials that would make cars extremely safe and nearly industructable. He claims that insurance companies wouldn't have a purpose if the technology was used and I think the same applies to the consumer goods industry. What if we made computers that allowed us to swap out old motherboards or appliances made replacement parts readily accessible?

Realistic Approach to Conservation

Some of the world's problems seem unconquerable these days. Take the energy crisis for example; we could probably sell our SUV, ride our bikes more often or turn in our empties to redeem the CRV, but what's the impact? The problem is that for some reason this doesn't feel like enough; we can't see any impact so we don't change our habits.

Well, what if there was a way to see how our actions impact society? Relight NY is a good start. It's an interactive site that lets you do good and see the tangible results. It lets you adopt a building in NYC and tasks you with converting all it's lighting to CFL. The objective is to get organizations or schools to help make NYC more efficient and help the city conserve massive amounts of energy. Most importantly, it provides a way to see the progress and encourage action to accomplish a goal that will positively benefit the community.

For a while now there have been a lot of good ways to conserve energy, like recycling, eating local food or giving up your car, but the difficult thing seems to be finding a way to get people on board. What if we find more ways to involve everyone, to change habits? Nike Plus allows people to track their workout behavior, compare their progress with other in the community and compete with their athletic friends.

Well now there's a way for you to show off how green you. Wattson is the Nike Plus of energy. They have a transmitter that connects to your electric lines between your fuse box and electric meter that sends data to an alarm clock looking device that you can set up in your house. Holmes is the software this device pairs with that allows you to analyze your power usage and determine ways to become more efficient.

I think this is a great idea because often we forget how much money we are spending by leaving the lights on or the computer running. If we're constantly reminded that we're racking up the bill maybe we'll be more likely to conserve?

Questioning Identity

Doesn't everyone go through a phase at some point in their life where they question their identity? It's a pivotal experience, enabling you to define who you are. This has been a topic of mind recently and one possible idea I'm theorizing is centered on the benefits of having many of these moments where we question our identity. Each new experience allows us to evolve and grow. I'm drawing on a few experience that have all helped me reach this conclusion. A few of them are fasting, watching American Beauty, The End of Suburbia and most recently Into the Wild, taking a few buddhist meditation classes, reading Dawkins' The God Delusion and having some good discussions on the topic. Paraphrasing a quote from Into the Wild, "the 21st century man is defined by the perception of the 20th century career man." Profession and consumption too often become intertwined possessions become part of identity.

Deliberate Living: Conscious attention to the basics of life, and a constant attention to your immediate environment and its concerns, example-> A job, a task, a book; anything requiring efficient concentration (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you).

--McCandless