Subject areaChannels and tools
Also known asconvenience
The convenience economy is the market in which customers choose whoever makes buying easier, faster and free of friction, often before they even compare prices.
In everyday language people simply say convenience: the ease, speed, intuitiveness and absence of obstacles a person expects along the customer journey (the path they follow with a company). When it is missing we speak of inconvenience, and the typical result is an abandoned cart.
The idea was put at the centre by Shep Hyken, an American customer service expert, in his book «The Convenience Revolution» (Sound Wisdom, 2018). Hyken identifies six principles a company can use to make the relationship more convenient for customers: reduce friction, offer self-service, use technology, propose a subscription, deliver where the customer is, be accessible when needed. His argument is that convenience, when competitors offer it and you do not, becomes a sufficient reason to switch supplier.
Source: Shep Hyken, «The Convenience Revolution», Sound Wisdom, 2018.
An example
A customer tries to complete an order in an online shop, but the address auto-complete fails and the order cannot be displayed afterwards: the lack of convenience does not only waste her time, it makes her leave the brand.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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