Prosumer concept (Alvin Toffler)

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Prosumer concept (Alvin Toffler)

This concept introduced in 1980 by futurist Alvin Toffler in his book

The Third Wave.

According to Toffler, the future would once again combine production

with consumption. In The Third Wave, Toffler saw a world where interconnected

users would collaboratively ‘ create ’ products. Note that he foresaw this over ten

years before the web was invented!

1.       A consumer who is an amateur in a particular field, but who is knowledgeable enough to require equipment that has some professional features ( ‘ professional ’ _ ‘ consumer ’ ) .

2.       A person who helps to design or  the products they purchase ( ‘ producer ’ _ ‘ consumer ’ ) .

3.       A person who creates goods for their own use and also possibly to sell

(‘ producing’ _ ‘ consumer ’ ) .

4.       A person who takes steps to correct difficulties markets and to anticipate future problems ( ‘ proactive _ ‘ consumer ’ ) .

An example of the prosumer idea is illustrated by BMW, who, prior to the launch

of a new model set up an interactive web site where users could design their

own dream roadster. The information was stored automatically in a database and

as BMW had previously collected data on its most loyal customers, the database

could give a very accurate indication of which combinations were the most sought

after and should therefore be put into production.

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