The Experience Economy Booms as Consumers Favor Experiences over Things
Summary: “The experience economy is booming as we move on from COVID-19 lockdowns whilst some companies look to help develop the sector.”
A study by Momentum Worldwide highlighted 76% of global consumers studied would rather spend on experiences over material items.
Trend forecaster, James Wallman, and author of, Stuffocation: Living More with Less, was quoted in the Guardian as saying, “The big change to what I call experientialism is more about finding happiness and status in experiences instead.” Lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have likely fueled the desire for consumers to escape their homes to explore more and create those picturesque instagrammable moments.
The Harvard Business Review states, “experiences have emerged as the next step in what we call the progression of economic value.” Estimates have been placed on the size of the tourism market – the activities and tours industry at $150bn globally, the experiences sector encompasses much more including leisure activities, courses and classes, making the sector likely much bigger. Clearly, Venture Capital firms are seeing this underdeveloped market as the next big opportunity in ecommerce, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the sector.
Oliver Hammond at Fuel Ventures, one of the UK’s most active early stage investors states, “The experience economy is huge and growing – we envisage there will be a multitude of unicorn businesses in this space in years to come”.
Oscar White, the CEO of Beyonk, the ‘Experiences Booking Platform’ which processes millions in monthly experience bookings states “despite phenomenal demand, the sector is still 10 years behind where the accommodation and travel tourism sectors are in terms of fragmentation and technology – that’s what we aim to change.”
“The experiences sector is plagued with over-complicated and clunky business management tools, a lack of connectivity and online visibility and expensive routes to sell tickets through third-party platforms that don’t take into account the fact that the margins in the experiences sector are often tighter than the accommodation & travel industries due to the activities and tours requiring human delivery.”
Whilst searching for experiences and things to do, just a few google searches will show the fragmented nature of the industry where you can go through hundreds of websites to try and find and book the activity you want.
White states, “Beyonk is tackling the industry challenges head on through providing modern, simple & powerful software to experience providers and cheaper routes to sell tickets through third-party platforms. By partnering with major tourism authorities, travel and accommodation platforms, who want to enable their visitors to make the most of their time, we’re able to work collectively to support local businesses at affordable rates.”
With all the pressures in the world, we could all do with focusing on what makes us happier and it’s great to see the sector developing.
Media Contact:
Company: Jennie Byrne PR
Person: Jennie Byrne
Phone: 0800 980 4517
Email: jennielouisebyrne1@live.co.uk
Website: https://beyonk.com/
SOURCE: Beyonk
