17th
How Much Is Too Much Convenience?
Is there too much convenience in our world today? To find new ways to make money, companies naturally try to make it easier to buy and use their products and services – and they put a lot of energy into this. But as they make things easier for consumers, are they making consumers lives more difficult? We may be approaching the edge of having too much convenience.
As we travel and interview people, some of the stories that we hear shed light on this. People tell us about the things they’re doing to make it harder – not easier – for them to do things like spend
ing money or eating food. Can you imagine someone putting a credit card in water and freezing it to help them stop and think before they spend? It’s happening. But on the other side, the New York Times reported that at least one 401k provider is issuing debit cards to allow consumers to effortlessly borrow from their retirement savings.
There’s been a lot of innovation energy (and marketing energy) put around bringing consumers’ impulses and decisions closer together. As we approach the possibility of too much convenience, a new growth opportunity lies in helping people push them apart instead.
Hi Rajesh
This is a great artcile, something I have been pondering on for quite some time. Where does design stop making us just consumers and start to “really” improve our lives? It is our duty to help people make the right decisions, not just the ones which get someone money.
Thought provoking
Mehek
India
Hi Rajesh
This is a great article, something I have been pondering on for quite some time. Where does design stop making us just consumers and start to “really” improve our lives? It is our duty to help people make the right decisions, not just the ones which get someone money.
Thought provoking
Mehek
India
Rajesh, great article, I think you raise some good points about the growing expanse between what is “good for us” and what “we’re comfortable with”.
In response as well as counterpoint to Mehek’s comment, I’d be really interested in hearing yours and DC’s approach to creating some market-sustainable ideas or solutions around growth opportunities based on ‘inconvenience’. Everyone may believe that taking the stairs instead of an elevator is better for your health, but it’s another task entirely to convince people to do it, and to capitalize off that affirmation.
I think pairing “convenience” with negatives is a start, but pairing “inconvenience” with positives is a harder challenge. Like losing weight, the benefits aren’t always apparent. Luckily, weight loss is a billion-dollar business, and there are champions to promote ‘inconvenient weight-loss’. But for the other things that dominate our lives besides food – media, transportation, education – there aren’t many champions for ‘an inconvenient truth’.
As a side note, interesting statistic related to ‘convenience as a vice’: http://abcnews.go.com/primetime/story?id=132376&page=1
74% of American students admit to cheating in some form. I’d love to collaborate with a team of designers to create ways to encourage honest learning, while promoting the idea that while something may be more convenient, the more challenging road is much more rewarding and entertaining.
Cal
California
[...] There is no stopping them. Too many choices? They complain about it. Too much freedom? They whine. Too much convenience? That’s worth bitching about too. Too much information? Too much technology? Too much [...]