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Don Tapscott’s very first presentation on his new book didn’t disappoint. In the second keynote session of the day, Tapscott took us through a lively overview of the proposition he outlines in Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Retail and Marketing.
In both his presentation and his book, Tapscott sets out to convince us that there is a powerful force emerging that is impacting the retail industry. This force stems from a group of people – the first generation that has grown up bathed in technology. This generation, born between 1978 and 1998, has no fear of technology. Tapscott says it perfectly – to this generation “technology is like the air.” Technology has been a constant to this generation throughout its formative years and this has greatly influenced the net generation’s world view.
His argument is clear, convincing and oftentimes amusing. A member of the net generation myself, I particularly appreciate the humor and colorful anecdotes that he peppered throughout his presentation. As Tapscott remarks, the net generation is happiest and most engaged when there’s a sense of fun about what we’re doing – even if it’s work-related.
According to Tapscott, the fact that the net generation has grown up with the internet has had a profound effect on this group’s norms. Unlike previous generations, this generation is characterized by a deep appreciation of freedom, customization, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed and innovation. This shift is in turn changing the world on various levels – our civic interactions, the educational system, the structure of families and – most importantly for this audience – the worlds of retail and marketing.
Tapscott concludes with a revamped marketing model that today’s retailers can apply to their cross channel marketing efforts. In it, the 4Ps of yesterday’s marketing model are transformed into the ABCDEs of today’s model:
- Today, it’s all about the consumer’s experience – not the product alone
- Rather than focusing on a specific place – now there’s an understanding that business can take place ANY place
- In today’s world, retailers must recognize “discovery mechanisms for price,” such as eBay, rather than assuming that they alone have a say in setting a product’s price
- Simple promotion of products and services is no longer as relevant as engaging customers
- Finally, the brand is becoming a “more complicated construct.” Instead of being primarily shaped by the company, the brand is now a product of a consumer’s relationship with the brand.
Don Tapscott has convinced me that the net generation is reshaping the online retail and marketing landscape. What about you?
3 Comments
This sounds so interesting! Sorry I missed it. I completely agree that the net generation is reshaping online retailing, particularly in the luxury goods space – the points on price discovery mechanisms and brand complication really hit home here (and I think the blogger did a really good job of synthesizing Trapscott’s ideas)
I’ve believed for a while that online retail is creating a new generation of savvier bargain hunters that are actively “trading up” to higher-end goods but are doing so with knowledge of a variety of price / retailer / channel alternatives. The result of this “treasure hunting”, so to speak, is the drastic squeezing of retailer margins and the mitigation of the scarcity that is so critical to the branding of luxury products.
Anyone out there have any more thoughts on how the new generation is shaping online retail for luxury goods?
We serve this generation every day. Every verison of our web site includes insights we have gleaned from ideas found in many of Tapscott’s books.
This net generation is defined and understandable ..return to his early books Growing up Digital , individuals of this generation combine with each other easily- almost a first instinct , see the observations in his “WikI book” .
A chain of values matters as much to these folks as the economic benefits of a value chain. This generation can find out what workers in the plants that feeds our stores had for breakfast if they think they need to know ….read his book Transparency.
sorry i missed his presentation
CBT
http://www.campusbookstore.com
We have experiencing this very thing in our retail establishment.
A company called allEtronic approaches us because they developed what they call a “digital receipt”. Their service will allow us to send a customer a receipt in a digital format as opposed to printing it on paper.
It’s a great concept and really proves that Don Tapscott knows what he’s talking about. I say this because the 3 founders of the company are all less than 30 years old.