Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how social media and co-creation have radically changed consumer’s shopping culture, shifting from a product-centric to a consumer-centric view. Consumers nowadays don’t want just the final product, but a real purchasing experience that goes beyond a material object, to an emotional feeling. They want to interact with brands and express their desires, starting a real dialogue, through engagement platforms which enable two-sided interactions. Consumers are no longer passive users, but they can produce user-generated content, becoming main players who can influence, with their comments and reviews, other’s people decisions. I will analyze the various aspects of co-creation in the fashion luxury world, taking into consideration the case of two small boutiques which are suffering the pressure of e-commerce: Ivo Milan, in Padova and L’ottico Fabbricatore, in Venice, and the successful case of a big company such as Burberry. The final aim of a brand is to foster loyalty and long-lasting relationships with consumers that eventually turns into brand love. The affective ties and emotional bonds that are created through the co-creation process are becoming a fundamental asset for businesses. Co-creation is the future of marketing and is shaping reality in an irreversible way, leveraging the ideas of consumers to create better products that meet customers’ needs.
