When a product first comes out, it has the potential of getting a lot of sales right away. Consumers see the new product, and they want to be the first of their friends to have that product. There’s a commercial about a giveaway for the Playstation 4 that would be awarded to a lucky winner before it came out. If you have heard, “Play the future first” before, then you have probably seen this commercial.
Consumers who get the new product first get to show off the product to everyone they know. The consumer doesn’t have to shout, “Hey! Look at what I got!” Simply seeing that Playstation 4 in someone’s room does the trick. As long as the new product is on display in some way or fashion, friends are going to notice.
The Playstation 4 is going to get old. Friends who once saw the Playstation 4 being displayed are now going to have their own Playstation 4’s. Then Sony will come out with the Playstation 5 or something like that. Then, people will get the Playstation 5, friends will see it on display, and the cycle will continue.
By buying new products, we get to show off what we have. Millions of consumers bought the iPhone 5C and 5S. Those consumers are going to show off their new iPhones to their friends. The conversation might go like this, “Is that an iPhone 4S? Well, I have the 5S.”
Both the iPhone 5C and 5S are going to get old. The people who were boasting about their iPhone 5C’s and 5S’s will have to find something else to show off. By then, the iPhone 6 will have come out, and a new line of consumers will have something to talk about.
Remember when the iPhone 4S was the big thing? You can now get that for free on Apple’s official site. It would only be able to hold 8 GB, but if you want a free iPhone, the 4S is the phone for you. It used to cost a lot. It used to be the one featured in commercials. That no longer happens since it’s become old. Now everyone has an iPhone 4S or a more updated version of the iPhone.
Has it come down to bragging rights? It is a factor, but getting the enhanced product is also a factor. The iPhone 4S came with Siri which made it a big enhancement from the other iPhone devices. The usefulness of Siri can be argued, but Siri was an enhancement. People want something that is going to be better than what they already have. If we didn’t believe in enhancing what we have, we’d be stuck with those big computers that are incredibly slow.
Things do break, and they need to be fixed. That’s another reason why people make changes. However, most of the people who make this kind of change can’t help but say, “Look at what I have.”
When it comes to innovation, making enhancements and fixing what is broken plays a part. However, the reasons for buying a new product go back to bragging rights. If people can brag about your product when they get it, that product will sell. When more people have the same product, less people get to brag about it. That’s when you need to come up with a new product.
