Saturday, July 11, 2009

When 2 birds in the bushes is better than 1 in your hand

It is all about choices really, about the fact that people over here really love the idea that they are able to satisfy their own inner desires for something different, based on their own customised choices and selections. And more so with the oxymoronic retail idea of mass customisation that has been pushed through into the masses, this concept does seem to take hold everywhere. From the selection of shoes and clothes, right up to even the wide array of food that we have, and are able to eat everyday. All it seems right now is about choices...we do have a wide variety to choose from. But somehow deep inside me I do notice that it is not, at times, just about the mere having of a wide selection of choice that matters more, but it is also about the IDEA of having a wide choice too for the consumers to choose from.

A case in point: How many times have we been bombarded with information telling us that this particular item or product comes in a variety of colours (the IDEA of having choices), but when we go down to the store and actually want to purchase it, there is already a limit to what's available left on the shelves (sorry Sir/Ma'am, but that colour/size is no longer available, it is out of stock!). So the IDEA is the main draw here! Which leaves me to wonder further, if what we want is no longer available, as in it is out of stock, does that mean that what we desire originally is something that most other people would have already wanted, or worst still (gasp), have already owned before us! So technically and logically, if we would want to be different, we would just stick with those that are still available in the shelves, barring the fact that it is totally out of sync with our wardrobe colours! So logically, shouldn't we not lament about the 2 birds that are in the bushes, and just buy the one that is on the shelves, the one that is (almost) in our hands?

Hmmm, and the debate continues! :)

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