Like most human experiences or endeavours they live in a state of flux. They evolve. I’ve been thinking alot lately about the concept of luxury. And while luxury is a relative concept based on location, wealth, opportunity and many other factors, it seems to me as though technology is the most influential factor in its evolution. Most luxuries are temporal and may exit the fray based on technological advances or shifts in social behaviour.
The industrial revolution introduced a lot of luxuries, and invented a particularly well off middle class. Innovations which made life more comfortable would arrive and make their way down the social and economic ladder as civilization forged ahead. But as you’ll see, most luxuries have a limited lifespan with such a status. While some non-luxuries become luxuries as we evolve in other areas.
A non exhaustive list of the evolution of luxury:
- Settlement: Becoming masters of our domain to the point where we didn’t need to be a species of nomads.
- Excess food: Learning how to grow plants, trap & breed animals.
- Agriculture: New efficient farming methods allowed people to exit food preparation as a way of life.
- Piece labour: Getting paid by how efficient we became. The factory and the industrial revolution.
- Industrialised homes: Heating, cooling, indoor kitchens, plumbing, refrigeration, washing machines.
- Annual leave: 40 hour work weeks, salaries and paid leave from work, weekends.
- Cars: Private motorised travel.
- Air travel & holidays: Still being further democratised to this day.
- Conspicuous consumption: Hello 1980’s, competing with the Joneses.
- Fashion: Clothing beyond both needs, and functionality.
- Premium food & widgets: Imported artisinal gelato and $100 electric toothbrushes.
- Information: Anyone with access to the web today has more information on hand than the US President just 10 years ago.
- Time: A core luxury today, due to humans inability to admonish the superfluous.
- Privacy: An emerging luxury as we allow government infiltration and lack the presence of mind to think before we publish.
Of course you can think of luxuries which belong on this list, you can see how non luxuries have become luxuries as technology changes lifestyle. We can also guess some which might appear on the list in the coming years. So why am I telling you this?
It’s a realy clue into what might be important for entrepreneurs. Within the new luxury realms (physical or social) lie a number of startup ideas which will change the world and make people rich (for lack of a better word) in the process. The only question is, what might be tomorrows luxury in your community and how can you deliver it to them to make their life better? Or even better widen the distribution of something only the fortunate few currently have access to.