For contemporary and emerging businesses, the Pareto principle is taking a backseat to other more current ideas of serving customers. The Long Tail theory of Chris Anderson outlines the emerging trend of serving niche markets, cultivating unique consumer experiences and bizarre products. Cold drip coffee, Eating food in the dark, Fidget Spinners, outrageous fashion and face tattoos and listening to alternative music types. These are only naming a few, so why did these trends or fads become cultural phenomenons?
The quest for individuality amongst the everyday person is becoming increasingly difficult. The social pressures and influence we are confronted with on an hourly basis via social media is unwavering and deadly. Everybody is trying to out-do the next person and tell another 5 people about it. With reference to the Facebook Segmentation Matrix (Hodis, 2015) I believe we are all subconsciously ‘Attention Seekers’ with the end goal of creating an external perception of being unique or dancing to the beat of our own drum, not that it always works.
The wave of social media which has eternally entrenched itself into the worlds society has dictated that individuality can easily be expressed through materialistic goods or experiences. Businesses have tapped into this cultural perspective too, and can now charge premium price points for such things –
Smashed Avocado on Toast with an Acai smoothie – $36
“Yeah, no worries”
But is it really individuality if we all succumb to these well-marketed products and throw them on our body or into our stomachs? They are niche fads and products with the promise of standing out from the crowd, but the last time I checked, the Adidas Stan Smith’s were as common as having real eyebrows. Which I suppose can create comfort for some of the consumers of these shoes as they are ‘fitting in’.
This trend of seeking the niche or whats unique is not something that will deteriorate. Individuality is idealised by many and serviced by marketers in a variety of ways, through a variety of products. In This sense the Pareto Principle is still alive. 80% desire it, 20% achieve it.
Jake Herman
Jake's Perspective 
Hey Jake,
I must admit I have had similar encounters with smashed avos on toast costing ridiculous amounts, almost as expensive as a house in this economy. I think individuality has been playing a huge role in today’s market as of late, however. The amount of ‘indie’ or ‘alternative’ style restaurants/cafes/bars that I have been to in the past year is incredibly high. Each of these places have something different that separates it from the last- whether it be funky drinks, funky interior design, funky outfits- everything seems to get funkier! I think these places were previously a large passing fad, but to everyone’s surprise (well, mine at least) these fads are sticking around, and I don’t see them leaving anytime soon, but who knows, maybe Pareto will die sooner than I think!
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