Page 5 - Decoding Decisions ~ Making sense of the messy middle

5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCING THE MESSY MIDDLE

There’s a lot happening here on internet street. Because it’s all so easy, you
might wind up making several visits before you get around to actually buying
anything, moving in and out of multiple stores, going back for a second and
then a third look, making full use of everything internet street has to offer.

That’s the reality of shopping on the internet today, but it hasn’t always been
like this. Before the internet, we shopped on a physical street, where we had
less choice and less information. What we ended up buying was restricted by
availability and proximity, and we relied on brands to reassure us that we were

making the right decisions. We even had to carry our own shopping baskets.

Our behaviour has fundamentally changed, but for the most part we revel in
it, as instincts formed by thousands of years of scarcity are supercharged
with a sudden wealth of options and opportunity. So much choice, so many
shops to visit and products to view. So much complexity that we’ve turned to
a range of coping mechanisms – mental shortcuts and techniques that help
us cut through to what matters.

Marketing has also evolved and developed new ways of cutting through.
Marketers have embraced new platforms, new technology, new data, and
new formats. And lately, innovations like machine learning and artificial
intelligence are pushing all of this further and faster into the future.

Most of these developments have been good things. The expansive reach
of digital marketing has allowed new businesses to emerge and grow.

But while this is ultimately a report about marketing, it is not a report about
that side of the equation.

Instincts formed by thousands of years of

scarcity are supercharged with a sudden

wealth of options and opportunity.