The Impact Of Shift In Consumer Power

Shift in Consumer Power as a result of technology
The way we get our information has seen a paradigm shift. It is no doubt that consumers today are more empowered with information from the net. They now have the same, and sometimes even more power than the marketer as they are more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent.

A notable research by (Esche, 2013) has put forth a theoretical framework of distinct consumer power sources. Individual based power sources such as demand- and information-based power as well as networked-based powers. The last power source was only ignited with the increasing usage of social media, while other aspects of power have also increased significantly

The first power source, demand-based power, resides

In the past, it was often a passive relaying of information from the marketer to the consumer. Consumers mostly accepted whatever they were told, hence being easily convinced and persuaded to purchase their product. However, the current Web 2.0 saw the creation of user-generated content. Consumers now have access to various sources of information to check for reliability. Product reviews, comparative product specifications and prices are only a click away and allow consumers to match their preferences with the respective products, reducing the unequal distribution of knowledge between marketers and

Consumers hold large amounts of demand-based power through their choices of purchase and more often than not, especially today, they want their suggestions to be heard by corporations. A research conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value shows that 61% of consumers are more willing to spend more money with retailers that implement their suggestions. As such, corporations have to meet their growing demands in order to maintain consumer loyalty. For instance, in 2007, Dell Inc. received a heightened consumer demand for more environmentally friendly products. Their initial decision to ignore such demands caused a backlash, with its market share dropping tremendously, losing out to competitors like Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo. As a result of increasing demand-based power from consumers, Dell Inc. decided to employ their suggestions of being more environmentally friendly. A ReGeneration Graffiti Contest with the intention of rebranding was launched on Facebook which encouraged users to submit artwork based on the theme “What does green mean to you”. The top few winners won Dell notebooks and their artwork were used in online advertisements. On top of that, Dell proceeded to source for more environmentally-friendly materials for their products, showing how they were daring enough to venture into green technology. Hence, this contest