RGE Design

16/01/2025

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skills, tradition and heritage, what are you willing to pay for it?

Craig gave an insightful lecture challenging the idea of how much we are willing to pay and the impact of skill and labour affects the cost of products.

Over the course of the lecture it became very clear to me that a number of different attributes contribute to the amount people are willing to pay from a product. These attributes include longevity, quality, perception and environmental impact amongst others.

Perception

Perception of a brand or company can influence how consumers interact with a product or service. It dictates how much consumers will pay and whether they would even consider buying a product.

Manolo Blahnik became a household name as a result of his associations, leading to him being regarded as one of the true geniuses in footwear design.

These associations have shaped people perception of his designs allowing for his shoes to sell for upwards of £795. They’ve become collectables more than they are shoe for wearing.

Environmental impact

With climate change being a big issue, more and more people are being conscious of the impact they and their purchases are having on the environment. This has resulted in more people spending more for novel ideas such as Vollebak and their Plant and Algae T-shirt.

A T-shirt which is made pulped eucalyptus and beech and algae. Marketed as a solution to clothes ending up in landfill and maintaining a more sustainable product lifecycle as its bio-degradable, however, this gimmick has a price point of £85 which is outside most people’s price point for a T-shirt and therefore isn’t a an alternative to fast fashion.

Longevity

People often want products that will last, products which are often more expensive as a result. This comes from people not wanting to frequently replace items and them also wanting to have a better impact on the environment.

Quality

Quality often comes hand in hand with Longevity. A product made from high quality materials, which has been designed for purpose will often last a lifetime. Quality materials are often evaluated in terms of how fit for purpose it is, for example, Tricker’s use natural materials which are durable and hard wearing.

Tricker’s have cemented their place in the market with their long lasting shoes and excellent customer service. They have intelligently created shoes which are designed to be deconstructed so they can be easily fixed and are made using traditional methods to make the shoes. It isn’t difficult to understand why people pay upwards of £300 for a pair. Tricker’s make shoes that will last you a lifetime as long as you take care of them.

TRUST

Success boils down to trust, trust in the product, trust in the brand, trust in the materials and trust in the team that created the product. Without the trust of the consumer then products wouldn’t sell and customers wouldn’t keep returning to companies.