The secret behind the cutting edge

A fortnight ago I visited the Philippines and during the stay went to some of the prominent malls to soak in the local shopping and food cultures. The entire trip can be encapsulated in one word — Discovery.

As a first time visitor I was inundated with new sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. Given all the jokes that people make about finicky eaters visiting the Far East, I had told myself that I would eat everything that was placed in front of me.

I won't go into all the details, but the highlight was eating a delicacy called Balut. A boiled duck egg with a partially developed embryo inside. Let's just say that you feel absolutely every texture that you can imagine: beak, feathers, feet, etc. It was indescribable! This profound experience brought me to reflect on consumer's comfort zones when shopping. I have often heard consumers within the Middle East say that they are bored with the current offerings.

They crave something new, edgy, even avant garde. Having said that, the actual tastes of consumers seem to change at a rather snail's pace.

This phenomenon is particularly evident in the fragrance industry. Almost all buyers ask sales associates to show them ‘new' and ‘different' fragrances.

Niche labels

Nevertheless every month, eight out of ten of the top selling fragrances around the globe include the classics. While only about 20 per cent of that list include the more adventurous or niche names such as Angel Schlesser, Annick Goutal, Jo Malone or Lalique.

While window shopping in the Green Belt Mall in Makati, I stumbled into the usual suspects such as La Senza, Converse and so on. Interestingly I noticed that the familiar brands instantly made me feel safe.

However as I became more comfortable, I also began to yawn at consecutively shorter intervals. I then visited the ‘SM City Clark' mall, which are present in most cities throughout the Philippines. This was my chance to become acquainted with some brand names I had never heard of; such as Comicopia, Folded & Hung, Gingersnaps, Kashieca, Mang Inasal, National Bookstore, Pan de Manila, Rayes BBQ and Shapes.

What surprised me was my own strange reluctance toward entering the many new shops I came across. I became very cognisant of the fact that East Asian sizing is often smaller than the fit of Western clothing and shuddered at the prospect of being made to feel like a giant while trying on the various garments.

Discarding the idea of buying clothing, I then wondered if the sales staff spoke English and imagined the humiliating possibilities of having to act out what I wanted. While my mind processed these emotional hurdles, as if on autopilot I gravitated only towards the jewellery stalls, souvenir shops and electronic stores.

One has to be completely at peace with oneself to step outside of their comfort zones. Truth be told, it is human nature to be unnerved, intrigued and even bashful about the unknown. This instinctive reaction is also evident in buying patterns.

Consumers want small changes or improvements at a given time. Brands that often release new products into the market with small changes are generally labelled ‘cutting edge.'

Perhaps the best example of this is Apple Inc. It released the first-generation iPod in 2001, an unbelievably beautiful mp3 Player that also doubled as a storage device. In 2003, iTunes was launched.

The nature of consumption today has to consider the natural rigidity that is innately human. Consumers like to feel knowledgeable, informed and safe.

The writer is a Dubai-based entrepreneur.