http://www.psfk.com Your Go-To Source For New Ideas And Inspiration Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:40:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.psfk.com/2012/02/consumers-hard-wired-deals-headlines.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:30:00 +0000 New science suggests that shoppers have innate tendency to fall for bargains. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2012/02/is-digital-bookmarking-curbing-real-world-consumption-headlines.html Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:30:16 +0000 Pintrest and Svpply, two web organizing sites, are helping some users reduce waste. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/12/infographic-of-how-americans-spend-during-the-holidays-headlines.html Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:00:23 +0000 'Tis the season to spend on gifts for loved ones. How have Americans parted with their cash in the past?]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/apple-blamed-for-ego-centric-culture-headlines.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:46:33 +0000 Chief Rabbi in the UK meant no criticism, but warns of the dangers of consumerism, which he says divide and make people unhappy.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/how-stores-trick-you-into-buying-more-headlines.html Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:16:03 +0000 Architectural tricks induce shoppers into buying up to 60% more than intended.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/retail-sales-in-china-up-17-2-headlines.html Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:12:44 +0000 According to NBS, Chinese consumer spending was up to $262.6 billion as of October.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/detailed-study-reveals-that-consumers-are-dissatisfied-headlines.html Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:22:53 +0000 44% feel worse off in 2011 than they did in 2010, and many are changing food and beverage habits to make ends meet, among other conclusions.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/11/rapid-growth-of-consumerism-and-changing-consumer-identity-in-china-headlines.html Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:00:38 +0000 Within the increasing number of people purchasing goods, brand awareness is rising, but loyalty to particular brands is not.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/10/13-of-consumers-will-spend-more-online-than-in-store-this-year-headlines.html Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:36:28 +0000 The threat of fraud is not great enough to deter people from doing more and more of their shopping on the web. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/10/frog-nurturing-the-desire-to-keep.html Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:38:59 +0000 Is it worth it for companies to charge more for a higher quality product that lasts longer?]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/08/china-shopping-like-its-not-maos-business-headlines.html Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:36:24 +0000 Middle class Chinese are working hard but also shopping like never before and it's playing a significant part in strengthening China's economy.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/06/as-consumers-earn-retail-rises-infographic.html Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:07:02 +0000 As incomes rise, so does consumerism - a look at how this translates to the retail world. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/04/consumer-confidence-on-the-rise-infographic.html Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:51:42 +0000 According to research from the Conference Board, Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.4 in February 2011, reaching the highest level since February 2008. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/03/constant-change-means-its-time-to-recognize-technologys-half-life.html Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:24:11 +0000 Barry Ritzholtz provides food for thought as to when your favorite technology will expire.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2011/03/throw-away-culture-slows-down.html Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:31:10 +0000 Post recession hoarding is having an impact on purchase patterns as customers hang onto products for longer, squeezing every last drop of functionality from them.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/09/artists-tea-kettle-designed-to-be-obsolete.html Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:47:52 +0000 Artist explores the death of the 100W light bulb in France through a tea kettle that heats water through wasted energy.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/08/this-week-in-brand-strategy-advertising-9.html Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:53:33 +0000 PSFK curates some of the brand strategy, digital and creative advertising news and ideas that caught our attention this past week.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/08/blogging-awa-unwanted-things.html Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:43:37 +0000 Obsessed with the idea of living without excess belongings, Sydney-based musician Christopher Kelaart has set up a blog to give away all the things he owns but no longer needs.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/05/advertising-awareness-video-game-encourages-critical-thinking-for-kids.html Mon, 17 May 2010 10:28:36 +0000 An innovative campaign has been launched to educate kids on the realities of advertising.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/03/story-of-stuff-book-adds-to-the-vision-of-decreased-consumption.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:51:36 +0000 The Story Of Stuff book continues where the popular video left off, and is filled with examples of hope, and ways people could get involved and do things differently. ]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/01/pics-our-technological-remains-modern-fossils.html Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:40:25 +0000 What is the legacy our culture will leave behind?]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/09/help-john-grant-edit-his-new-book-%e2%80%9cco-opportunity%e2%80%9d-part-3.html Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:00:19 +0000 This is an extract from the draft John Grant’s new book Co-opportunity, contracted for publication with John Wiley & Sons Limited, January 2010. This extract section 3 of the book – Information and Ethical Consumerism.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/08/the-uks-secret-plot-to-encourage-consumers-to-go-green.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:08:11 +0000 Back in July we came across the results of a study on consumer behavior as it related to “going green”. The research concluded that people are more motivated to make eco-friendly purchases based on perceptions about status - i.e. installing these solar panels are sure to make my neighbors envious - than they are by other factors, like cost-savings or more surprisingly perhaps, actually benefitting the environment.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/08/next-stop-on-barbies-50-year-long-journey-twilight.html Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:07:53 +0000 A vampire rendition of Barbie will be used to market an already popular movie adaptation of the Twilight series. The launch of the two doll set will coincide with the opening of its second film this November. This isn’t the first blockbuster that Barbie is sporting, she most recently suited up for Star Trek. Barbie has come a long way since its creation half a century ago. It has tread murky waters during controversial eras in American socio-cultural history, becoming an object of commentary on three big isms: racism, sexism, and consumerism. Several versions of Barbie have stirred up debateRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/06/post-consumerism-emerging-needs-and-market-opportunities.html Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:02:44 +0000 In the first part of my article on Post Consumerism, I touched on the drivers of the “Citizen Renaissance,” as Jules Peck coins it. My hypothesis is that there are emerging citizen values, and a shift away from consumerism towards citizens who are actively engaged in behaviors of business, the decisions of government and of involved in communities of interest. In this second part, I attempt to outline the market need and opportunity, and some examples that attempt to address post consumerism. The insight, indicators and market needs of the post consumer era are outlined: The challenge for markets, andRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/06/post-consumerism-from-an-era-of-spend-to-emerging-citizen-values.html Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:28:11 +0000 It was recently suggested by Barack Obama that we should borrow and spend less and save more, not rebuilding the economy on the same sand but instead lay a new foundation for prosperity. It’s not the message consumers, this country, or the rest of the world is used to, particularly in a recession.  For instance, after World War II, amidst the depression, retailing analyst Victor Lebow suggested that “Our enormously productive economy … demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, ourRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/04/talking-trash-the-scavengers-manifesto.html Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:30:04 +0000 Salon recently spent a day with authors Anneli Lawson and Kristan Rufus who have taken the spirit of DIY culture and combined it with their unique perspective on consumerism in their book The Scavengers’ Manifesto, a guide for all those intrigued by notions of reduce, reuse and recycle, but don’t necessarily want to lose out on the best that life has to offer. For the two authors, this book represents a way of life and an opportunity to take their point of view into the mainstream. This guide isn’t just about extreme activities like dumpster diving either, instead it presents aRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/03/how-will-we-spend-once-the-economy-bounces-back.html Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:44:34 +0000 Anthropologist and author Grant McCracken looks at the state of our economy and asks the question “What will the current downturn mean to consumers?” He then offers up various models to explain the possible lasting impacts this trip through the recession looking glass might have on our spending habits. While the prevailing theory seems to be that once the economy bounces back, we’ll all return to our previous patterns of purchasing, what if we don’t, what will things look like then? As we’ve written about before, the brain’s response to the decision of whether or not to buy already functions muchRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/03/artist-simon-evans-envisioning-everything-i-have.html Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:33:36 +0000 Artist Simon Evans has created this stunning meditation on consumerism and his own personal consumption as part of his current exhibition “Island Time,” on display at the James Cohan Gallery in NYC now through April 4th. An excerpt from the show’s press release explains the scope of Evans’ work: Simon Evans’ delicate text-based works are collaged and assembled from prosaic materials including found paper, scotch tape, pencil shavings, colored pencil and white out. They describe a world poised between two poles of earnestness and irony. With his anxieties laid bare and his wry brand of melancholy, Evans presents us withRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/02/filmmaker-gary-hustwit-behind-objectified.html Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:00:46 +0000 As an update to our post from last week on Gary Hustwit’s newest documentary Objectified, the folks at Dwell Magazine directed us to an interview they conducted with the filmmaker for their latest issue. We thought the most telling exchanges centered around Hustwit’s relationship to thoughtful design and consumerism. How has making this film changed the way you look at everyday objects? I really think about what I buy now: (A) Do I really need this? (B) What if this is the last of this object that I ever buy? I don’t want to buy chairs I’ll be sick ofRead more...]]>