I once watched Levi’s jeans being made by hand on a factory floor. Today the company is gearing up to run its global operations with an AI super-agent. Years ago I toured the old Levi’s factory near where I live now, and I can still picture it vividly in my mind. Huge stacks of denim being sliced clean through with industrial cutters. Rows of workers hand-stitching the famous arcuate seams. The famous jeans made right there, start to finish. That factory closed in 2004. So did every other...
4 days ago • 1 min read
The future of tangible products isn’t one-and-done. It’s ongoing. A new Juniper Research report projects the subscription-commerce market will pass US $700 billion, combining physical goods and services. At IFA 2025, hardware brands followed suit. Devices weren’t sold as finished objects but as platforms… modular, updatable, alive. And that’s where small product makers can win. Think of your core product as the entry point, not the end. Buy the base; subscribe to attachments, updates, or...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Buyers get excited when they picture outcomes. A 2024 Journal of Retailing study found that when products are categorized by benefits rather than attributes, people imagine themselves using them more vividly. That mental imagery directly increases perceived value and purchase intent. In I Need That, I call this the Coveted Condition: the customer’s desired future state. It’s the transformation your product enables long after the first use. So don’t lead with “3000 RPM motor.” Lead with “Saves...
6 days ago • 1 min read
More buyers are replacing what broke than upgrading what works. And that changes how you should position your product. Recent data from Hardware Retailing shows a shift in home-improvement and consumer durables: People aren’t shopping for themselves because they want nicer things right now. They’re shopping because something broke, is about to break, or can’t be repaired cheaply enough. That’s a fundamentally different buying psychology. Upgrade purchases invite comparison, hesitation … and...
6 days ago • 1 min read
No matter how much money someone has, they still need to feel they’re getting a great deal. You.Me.The wealthiest lady in town. We’re all careful with money … just for different reasons. When cash is tight, we protect what we have. When cash is abundant, it’s usually because we’ve protected it for a real long time. That’s why selling is never a matter of “convincing people to spend.” It’s showing that what you offer is a great deal that can’t be matched anywhere else. Buyers need to feel the...
8 days ago • 1 min read
A little uncertainty makes people more likely to buy. A study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that when shoppers feel low control (like when choices are overwhelming) mystery increases interest. That’s why “what’s inside?” boxes, hidden features, or unlockable functions work so well in crowded categories. But when buyers need control (think industrial gear, pro tools, or safety products) mystery backfires fast. So, you gotta match mystery to customer mindset. If your audience...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Customers are favoring brands whose parts are easy to upgrade and replace. An EE Times report highlights an intriguing shift in consumer electronics: brands that design for repairability and modular upgrades are seeing stronger loyalty and longer product lifespans. Intriguing because it’s the opposite of the old playbook. Stuff like glued-in batteries, proprietary screws, sealed housings, and software that mysteriously drains performance over time. That approach creates churn, not trust, for...
10 days ago • 1 min read
More retailers are discovering that the best product feedback happens before the sale, not after. Heading into 2026, retail-hardware trends, physical stores have been shifting from “places to buy” to places to co-create. Some U.S. chains now run “try and tweak” zones where shoppers test prototypes, customize hardware in real time, and give direct input to the brand. It’s retail as a live, buyer-centric R&D environment. And it works because customers love feeling like insiders. When someone...
11 days ago • 1 min read
People pay to keep what they feel is theirs more readily than to gain something new. A Journal of Consumer Psychology study found that when users feel even symbolic ownership of an option, they’re far more likely to stick with it, pay more for it, and resist switching. It’s the engine behind the “keep vs. get” effect. If a feature is framed as something you keep, commitment shoots up. If it’s framed as something you get, commitment falls. This matters for physical products, and it’s even more...
12 days ago • 1 min read
