Consolidating Consumption

More and more it seems, consumers are trying to get as many diverse benefits out of any given product or service as is possible to provide. The amazing thing is that no matter how advanced we become as human beings, we'll always be subject to the constant of time. There will always be twenty-four hours in a day and, though we can become wealthier and wealthier in other respects, the amount of time we can accumulate will always be the same. So, what happens when we have the same amount of time but increasingly more stuff to cram into it? Consolidation. Consumers are looking for products and services that do everything.

I've noticed a few different examples of this as of late--and there are probably better, more insightful ones that I simply haven't thought of. The first is the increasingly high demand for well-equipped crossover vehicles. There are more and more automobiles on the market that people don't know what to call--cars or SUVs. The answer is that they are both. Consumers in this newly prevalent line of vehicles enjoy a dual convenience of the smooth, compact ride of a car and the powerful, off-road capabilities of an SUV. Even longtime performance-oriented car makers like BMW and Porsche are pushing crossovers. Most of the time, the crossover version of an auto maker's sedan will also have all of the entertainment and technology features that its smaller counterpart has as well. The auto market is increasingly cranking out vehicles that have something for everyone.....and everything for someone.

I've also noticed lately an onslaught of fitness centers opening up. Just in my everyday driving, from work to church to shopping, I've noticed probably seven or eight. Clearly, there must be some sort of demand for gyms in my neighborhood. Why is this market segment exploding so? I would suspect that it is for the very same reason as above: consolidation. Consumers are trying to get more for their time. Exercise can be down without the facilities provided in fitness centers. Yet, in a fitness center, a consumer has a wide range of diverse exercise equipment all in one place whereas they may just have a treadmill or a Billy Blanks DVD at home. Moreover, gyms provide another service to go along with exercise that is easy to neglect in a schedule stretched thinly: it fulfills the need to socialize. Just about everyone I've heard speak about 'going to the gym' has mentioned some other person that they went with or had a conversation with while they were there.

Lastly, and most obvious, is Apple. The IPad, IPhone, and IPod are striving for consolidation more and more. Consumers have a plethora of electronic applications that they use: music, reading, GPS, phone service, web surfing, watching videos, etc. Apple is seeking to do it all. Often the most persuasive draw to an electronic device is its versatility. I don't think there are cell phones in existence anymore that don't have cameras--and most will have email as well as some web browsing option. Amazon's new Kindle, sure, can store up to 3500 books but it also has a batter life of one month and is capable of surfing the Internet via Wifi. We need not even mention the 'Apps' of an IPad or Iphone, which have created an entire industry in and of themselves. In the market of electronic devices, consolidation is without a doubt where things are going.

How consolidated can products and services get? I'm willing to bet we're only on the tip of the iceberg. We already as part of our everyday lives take for granted products and services that provide multiple benefits to us--like those mentioned above. In the future, who knows, maybe there will be fitness centers inside buses with IPads connected to each treadmill for the daily commute to work. A stretch of the imagination? Perhaps, but as both demand and competition for consolidation of benefits becomes more intense, we'll definitely see more and more package deals in the marketplace.