Current trends see a downsizing of private property in favor of the temporary and shared use of objects, places and experiences. A new reality that also grows in the business world.
In recent years the world has changed in very different ways, but a trend that has greatly strengthened, and which will continue in the future, is the one that sees the transition from ownership to temporary use. In the business field, this trend is known as "servitization" and refers to the proposal by a company to the market of a product combined with a service, sometimes sold as such and other times offered on the basis of a regular fee or by usage quota (or pay per use). A recent book entitled, precisely, Servitization, with the subtitle From product to service. For a sustainable future without limits to growth, by Roberto Siagri (Guerini Editore).
An interesting and complete article by Giuliana Coccia in Future Network, by title "From possession to simple use: do consumer preferences change?", which underlines how our country too had developed in the past the economy of ownership: to use a good, people could only buy it (car, DVD cassettes, books, musical instruments, tools, etc.). Furthermore, possession is sometimes linked to the ostentation of luxurious objects, behaviors included and largely accepted by society as a visible expression of social position, pursuing the "maximization of prestige" rather than "the maximization of utility". At the same time, these choices have stimulated emulative behaviors of the less well-off classes, who also aspire to the same "showy" goods, to simulate an opulent external social status superior to the real one, which brings them closer to the dominant economic classes.
Today, however, many things are changing. For example, a private car remains unused for more than 90 % of its life time and many of the things we have at home are used only occasionally. It was calculated as a car in instead car sharing can be used up to the 40% of its lifetime. We must therefore learn to identify and satisfy our true needs, rather than aiming to possess indiscriminately. We need to abandon the idea that owning possessions is a symbol of social status and recognize that our true worth lies in our actions and relationships, Coccia says.
The future promises new forms of consumption which, although not yet widespread, will radically change the concept of possession and the behavior of individuals: we are witnessing the birth of the light citizen, a new type of consumer who seeks to use goods as a service, rather than own them. In fact, service tends more and more to replace possession. Walter Stahel already in the 80s had hypothesized the idea of replacing the possession of a product with its use as a service, theorizing an economy in which people and companies rather than buying products, use them thanks to lease contracts, pay per use or pay-for-performance, collective ownership, sharing platforms.
The concept of Product-as-Service (PaaS), or "servitization", indicates a growing business model based on subscriptions that allow the use and consumption of goods and services. Users obtain access to and service of these objects, with rental, lease or sharing agreements that also include maintenance, delivery and collection services. This has changed the way goods are used which, from proprietary products, are used in the form of services, changing the habits of people who prefer to enjoy goods on-demand, only for the time of the subscription. Consumers thus enjoy mobility, air conditioning, washing cycles, but they are not the car owners of air conditioners or washing machines. With the advantage of having a huge catalog of renewable services depending on the changing needs.
Coccia's article also analyzes who and how individuals are oriented towards these new consumption models, reporting the existence of five distinct groups of consumers, according to the generations and the most relevant common characteristics.
We start from the over 55 generation of baby boomers, which represents 24.3% of the Italian population and includes those born between 1946 and 1964, before the massive diffusion of digital technologies. These people who still struggle with new tools and communicate mainly by telephone are the biggest consumers of traditional media such as television, radio, magazines and newspapers. As far as property is concerned, the over 55s are among the main owners of a medium-sized car and a private house. Therefore, they have a low penetration of mobility services – only the 22% uses this type of service. They have good spending power and, especially men, tend to be more responsible in purchasing decisions for new categories of goods and services than traditional ones.
Next comes Generation X, 23.6% of the population, made up of those born between 1965 and 1979. Called Digital Adopters, they are in fact the last "non-digital" generation, because the formative years took place before birth of the web, have experienced the global moment of globalization. They mainly use emails, surf the Internet a lot and enjoy a lot of online content. They are independent people, with a propensity for innovation and with remarkable communication skills. Conscious consumers pay attention to health and sustainability.
They are the Millennials, they represent 17.3% of the population and they are those born between 1980 and 1994. Also called Digital Natives, they were born and raised with technological tools, they mainly use cell phones, are always connected and communicate via instant messages. Sharing is their watchword: they share houses, means of transport and their lives on social networks. Also professionally they are very collaborative and focused on the common good, as well as being experts in technology and the digital world. Millenials prefer to access services in real time and when needed, such as car sharing or food delivery services.
Finally, Gen Z, i.e. those born between 1995 and 2010, who are the remaining 15% of the Italian population. We talk about Digital Innates, for whom technology is an innate and natural "language" from an early age. Growing up in the midst of the Internet boom, they believe that technology can actively contribute to a better world. They prefer social media as a form of communication, even at work, and technology is a fundamental part of their lives. They spend part of their time streaming and sharing music. Due to their age, they still depend on their parents: they move around with their car and live in their house, they don't shop online as they have reduced spending power. Generation Z is characterized by the ability to multitask and, professionally speaking, by better performance in mixed workgroups. It is a generation accustomed to the bombardment of social media and digital information, impatient not to miss out on opportunities. They don't want to own assets, they prefer to have access to a value-creating service (video streaming, car-riding services). Products become services and services connect consumers.
According to Coccia's article, Millennials and Generation Z are also trying to make more informed purchases. In addition to means of transport, the sharing economy also enters the closet of the house: three out of ten young people declare that they are willing to share shoes, bags, jewelery and clothing with others. Gen Z will make up half of global consumers in the future, a not insignificant circumstance, with a potential population that will grow the peer-to-peer economy, which devalues private property in favor of sharing objects, places and experiences among equals . The Niccolò Cusano University has estimated a growth for 2025 of transactions of up to 300 billion euros and the greatest potential for expansion will concern services related to tourism.
The change in consumer behavior has not only affected individual citizens but also companies. The first examples in this area were the rental and leasing services of company cars. Subsequently, the long-term rental of mobile phones and computers spread, which guarantees not only to use the asset, but also to have continuous technical assistance.
The spread of the Internet, and the use of big data, have made it easier to match supply and demand through online platforms or smartphone apps. In Italy, the diffusion of the sharing economy is still far from the levels it has reached in other EU countries or in the USA, but it is rapidly developing. In the major Italian cities it is possible to purchase services for the use of goods, among which products for children (strollers, clothing, toys, etc.) are becoming increasingly popular. However, the Italian territory is characterized by the presence of very small municipalities in which there is still no availability of a good internet connection and where it is difficult to satisfy these new consumption models. The concern concerns the risk of an increase in territorial inequalities also from this point of view, with the lack of diffusion of new types of consumption of individuals who are unable to access new services, with the consequent exclusion from a new innovative, convenient and sustainable.
