STRATEGIZING by Emanuele Sacerdote. Essentialism was a transversal philosophical current according to which knowledge must be based on the search for essence and substance: Plato, Aristotle, Galileo and Popper are among the major thinkers supporting this current. Nowadays, due to the situation we are experiencing, but also due to the pre-covid excess of consumerism, an evident market segment could emerge in which essentialism will gain more strength and vigor in different social strata mainly of the old continent. There are two obvious needs: on the one hand, the pressing need for greater authenticity and, on the other, the need to demonstrate this authenticity: to quote Erich Fromm, there could be a new relationship between having (in the sense of possession and property) and being (in the sense of identity and reality) for the benefit of the latter. This new essentialism is based on a new anthropocentric demand for social consciousness strongly oriented towards responsibility and complexity. Today certainties are increasingly circumscribed and limited: we are certain that complexity is growing; we are sure that the competition will be more aggressive; we are confident that the level of hyper-communication will grow; we are sure that an important new political, social and industrial revolution and transformation is taking place. It follows that this market demand could have a significant impact on consumer orientations and consumerism. Anthropocentrism becomes the way to demonstrate the centrality of the customer. Recyclable products and recycling systems take over. Intelligent materials and authentically sustainable solutions are winners and a good portion of consumers are willing to pay a premium price. Certification of origin, provenance and production are a duty and an integral part of the narrative. New brands with new identities respond better to this segment. o Brands are increasingly merging their physical and digital identities. Fast fashion and fast design are enriched with solutions and reconditioned second-hand products.o The propensity to buy fewer products, but of higher quality and durability, prevails in a search for functional and spatial efficiency. The super-normal and trans-seasonal style becomes a conscious aesthetic choice and not a compromise for excess of sobriety. The immaculate and honest customer service is rewarded with greater loyalty. o Cultural and experiential (physical and virtual) consumption is privileged. Emotional dividends weigh on purchasing choices. In part it is already happening, but still to a limited extent and soon some of these behaviors could become predominant: in this way essentialism differs greatly from austerity due to its component of awareness of consumption choices. Conversely, essentialism could coexist with a new phase of explosion of hedonistic consumption and unbridled luxury – shopping revenge – typical of the eighties and nineties. “If you want to be a true seeker of truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as much as possible, all things.” Descartes, Discourses on Method.
All the Best!
