Whoever is falls under the “wise consumer’ seems more likely to buy experiences. They seem inclined to spend money on activities or trips that will help them grow and/or spend time with the people they love. The idea of fulfillment is one I found prevalent throughout the article and with experiences you can get a sense of satisfaction from learning a new skill with a pottery class or the pleasure of memories you can look back on of your trip to cape cod.
Of course, they still have the needs/desires for tangible goods that most consumers do, but when they do buy a physical good, I’d say they keep the emotional fulfillment aspect of their decision-making process in mind. In the article, Dale talked about not liking to make purchases he regrets, ones that will later bring about negative emotions either due to it being an inadequate good or not being. To avoid this a ‘wise consumer’ would be more like to invest a long-lasting, multi-purposeful good; whether it be a quality bike or a quality electric toothbrush with replaceable bristle.
Design Principles for “Wise Consumer”
- Environmentally Friendly/ Ethically Made – impact on their local and global surroundings seems like a common concern for “wise customers” so it’s important that the products have a minimal or positive impact on their local or global environment. This way they can feel good about making an ethical purchase and avoid the guilt that is sometimes a result of the regular consumerism culture.
- Ability to be repurposed/fixed – an important product feature would be its ability to have a second life. Whether that’s through repair and it fulfills the same purpose or its ability to do something else once its original service is rendered.
- Long-lasting/of quality – people want to be able to repair things and stretch the lifespan of a product, but it should work and fulfill its purpose well and for a long time before it requires repair. The product must be of a quality that it deserves the monetary investment.