As technology progresses we have created a list of new necessities that we see as absolutely fundamental to living in a way that we see as fitting. In past decades, such as the 50s and 60s, these ‘things’ were fewer in number and many of them were focused around the domestic scene, such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dishwashers. Some of these were only available to wealthier people, whereas today, a refrigerator is present in almost every home in the developed world.
Today, we have moved on to the latest gadgets and services. The need for Wi-Fi, not just in the home, but everywhere we go, is just one of the new necessities. The mobile phone is another one, and younger generations can’t believe that people managed to survive without one. The smartphone has raised the game in mobile telecoms and now, if you don’t have an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, you are seen as being out of step with society.
What people want
I was looking at a recent survey of the luxuries that people couldn’t do without and was quite surprised to read what people considered vital and what could easily be discarded. Pets, a clothes dryer and a good mattress were classed as ‘must haves’ alongside Wi-Fi and a smartphone. It is a rather eclectic list. Buying lunch and eating out was also prioritised over going to the gym in the health and wellness category, which is also slightly odd, and such is the hold of coffee on today’s population that it was chosen as the ‘must have’ beverage.
Interestingly, grocery delivery isn’t as popular as the Amazon Prime service, and a music streaming service like Spotify is less popular than Netflix. Beauty products are almost a ‘must have’ but not quite, and in fact the whole Health and Beauty sector scored very poorly in terms of necessities, which strikes me as curious given the amount of marketing that goes into this sector.
A personal trainer is at the bottom of the health list, followed by massages and manicures, the latter scoring about the same as a grocery delivery service. Salon haircuts and attending a gym are on a level with Amazon Prime and organic produce, while the beauty products are on a par with having a dishwasher. But, nothing in Health and Beauty makes it onto the ‘must have it’ list.
Huge potential for the mobile industry
What we can conclude from this piece of research is that communication tools are the things we value most. Of course things like Amazon Prime don’t work without Internet, so many of the services that are further down the list are dependent on those two items at the top – Wi-Fi and a smartphone. Both these give us access to a world, at a new speed. And this is why the mobile telecoms industry is such an exciting one, because it is an important part of people’s new necessities.