Connection is the goal. Few today buy products for sheer vanity. People rather consume the story than signal their absorption into the status quo.
More and more people are embracing the weird and rejecting the standardization of tastes. Weird makes people feel happy.
Independence and beauty are what keeps happiness alive.
The flame of content runs locally. The industrialization mindset bursts from the cities, ricocheting off the siren song of bland mores.
Niches emerged as a result of intelligence — the ambition to stand out and make better. Thank the internet’s long-tail.
Prices also confuse human psychology. The suck of Amazon and Walmart are reduced prices. Pay a little extra elsewhere, and you get something different. And different is attractive.
Unique is an experience, and it lives top of mind, neither done nor dusted. No one remembers the same.
Off-the-beaten-path, the stuff that sticks changes perception. Interesting promises more variable batches.