Trend #3. Flight to the Physical

Digitalisation has recently reshaped entire industries, including music, photography and publishing. It is also creating a ‘new normal’ in society generally. Thanks to digitalisation we are now constantly connected and expect to get whatever we want whenever we want it, which is usually now. And we expect to personalise everything too. But there are some significant downsides emerging. One issue is that of overall experience. No virtual experience can possibly match its physical equivalent and people are slowly starting to realise this. For example, it was widely predicted that DVD stores would eventually go out of business — replaced by instant downloads or next day delivery in the mail. Similarly, people forecast that going to the cinema would soon die out because it would be cheaper and more convenient to rent a film for the night. Perhaps you could even have a film delivered by motorcycle and have your dinner picked up at the same time.

But all this rather misses the point. Browsing thousands of movie titles online is all very well but spending half an hour in a well-run video store is somehow more satisfying. Accidental encounters with other customers, or serendipitous conversations with passionate staff, are both richer experiences than sitting in front of a PC or fiddling with a mobile phone. The same is true with public libraries. The prediction that libraries will one day disappear due to a combination of Google + e-books misses one rather vital point. Physical libraries contain books but that’s not the only reason people visit. Libraries are an experience that is the sum of the physical space (usually quiet and safe) + books + information + people + trust + events.

Another example of the flight to the physical is the survival of vinyl. In Australia, vinyl records — and record shops — are making a comeback. In Japan sales of fountain pens are doing well. So too are sales of ‘wet film’ for 35mm photography. Part of all this is undoubtedly to do with nostalgia — or being seen to be ‘different’ – but there is something much deeper going on here too. Humans are inherently social. We crave interaction with other people and we desire sensation, especially interaction with aesthetically pleasing physical objects. Perhaps this is why we are starting to see a reaction against the soullessness of digital products and services.

Implications? The more that everyday life becomes digital and virtual the more you can expect some people (tactilists perhaps?) to crave the opposite. Moreover, if people continue to be anxious about the future there will be a continued interest in holding physical assets that can be touched. Think of real estate and physical gold as two examples.