New Innovations Can Change Old Habits

This week I read/listened to:
- The next chapter from Business Model Generation
- Business Models on the Web
- Taking Eyewear to the Web
- Bonobos: From Clicks to Bricks blurb
- The article about Warby from the editor of the Economist
- Hoiter a new way to shop
(I did not read the Dollar Shave Club piece because it would not load on the NYT page for me)

If I have to choose a theme or lesson for this week’s reading it would be: Get used to it. The readings were all informative, but since there is a lot of content to choose from I want to focus on the main points that resonated with me and seem to exemplify the points we have learned so far in this course. The readings, though talking about different companies or models, all point to the fact there is a new niche need out there that these online venders are finding a solution for. While the idea of “click to brick” is definitely unique, I think it will quickly become the norm. Currently, the opposite is true. One goes online to see what clothes or goods are available, reads reviews to make their purchasing decision, then goes to the physical store to buy the good. The new model flips this on its head- and it has been wildly successful with this new model with potential to significantly expand.

Three questions kept buzzing around my head as I read these pieces:

-          Why does this new model work so well?

-          Why is there no significant push back from customers who are not willing to change such a  fundamental shopping habit?

-          Why are investors willing to take such risk in a market that is so new?

I gave this some thought and realized the answer is quite simple. This revolution of sorts could not have happened 15 or perhaps even 10 years ago. The reason these different stores, from Warby Parker (which, by the way, my 62 year old father who lives in Roswell GA bought his glasses from that company and he loves his glasses and the entire concept, so the demographic appeal is quite wide) to Bonobos to The Hoiter, succeed is because they aren’t forcing customers to change their shopping habits. The target demographic for these companies are the people who already feel very comfortable making online purchases and who feel more comfortable using technology in these decisions than not. There is no pushback because the customers were looking for these solutions, even before the need was truly articulated.

Risk takers, like Shouraboura who invested 5 million dollars of her own money in The Hoiter, are taking a calculated risk, perhaps with the understanding that this is a novel concept now but it can ultimately become the norm. These investors have seen a market opportunity that is brimming with potential and their innovations may become more of the rule than the exception.

So, the lesson to learn is worth repeating- we better get used to it. Though in this case, I honestly believe this shopping concept is something a lot of people, including myself, would happily get used to.