Commerce: A Community Thing?

I believe there’s an opportunity to make commerce more communal. In a digital, mobile world that perpetuates individualism and isolation, I believe there’s hunger out there for a sense of community. A hunger to live in relation, to share our thoughts, hopes and dreams. And I believe there’s even a desire to be in community when it comes to our wants, needs, and victories in shopping. And that spells opportunity.

I believe there’s a group of shoppers who still crave meaningful interaction in commerce. And as good designers and marketers, we should strive to intertwine community and commerce in the right contexts. With an increased focus in automation, we tend to forget that word-of-mouth recommendations, a little good ‘ol fashioned customer service, and thoughtful expertise can be refreshing and welcomed. A little more Farmers’ Market and a little less Craigslist.

Think about it – when was the last time you received service that made you feel like you were important, like a dear friend? When was the last time you had a shopping experience that was even memorable…in a good way? I’d venture to guess it was at a local shop, one that was small and maybe even family run. And that’s the point, technology has created a distancing effect, which in many cases, can be really good and make shoppers’ lives easier, but are we beginning to swing it too far? The right human or “human” interaction can be powerful.

I don’t mean that we need to throw a bunch of customer service reps back into the shopping experience, although that might be the right thing to do in some contexts. What I am saying is that when we design new experiences, even those that are technology-based, we need to be keenly mindful of keeping it human and creating community through the journey, not just making the experience more efficient. This might mean letting shoppers discover something on their own, rather than have a bunch of products shoved in our (digital) faces. Creating joy and serendipity in browsing again. Or, maybe it means facilitating community creation in a Harley-Davidson or Mini Cooper-like way. Perhaps it’s creating community via social good, like Toms does. It might also just mean facilitating trial like the Farmers’ Market free samples, to just start the conversation with the expert. Technology companies can do this as well. Companies like NextDoor (a neighborhood social network) and NeighborGoods (a digital service to share and borrow goods from others) are thriving because we desire relationship.

Creating community through shopping begets invitation. Perhaps it’s “look what I did; you should try this too,” or perhaps it’s just simple product advocacy from a trusted friend. Community also begets community. An inclusive shopping experience could facilitate family shopping or shopping with friends. An invitation to share the experience. And that means more brand loyalty and more at the register.

Our desire for community is why the Farmers’ Market is alive and well across the country. It serves that intrinsic need to do life together, that it isn’t all about faster, faster, faster. After all, we are all in this thing together. Even when we shop.