How Lower Accessibility Can Translate to Higher Product Value
There are at least 3 main UX dimensions that we have to pay attention to when creating a product, which are Usefulness, Ease-of-use, and Accessibility. I believe most of us agree that the more useful and user-friendly a product is, the more desirable it is in the eye of the market (if you don’t agree, I’d love to hear your opinion on this). It doesn’t always seem to be true for Accessibility aspect.
When we’re talking about Accessibility, it refers to how easy it is for different types of users to have access to our product, service, and/or information about it. It can mean geographical access to a brick-and-mortar outlet, product availability on the shelves, internet connectivity if we’re talking about digital products, and also supporting facilities for people with disabilities so that they have equal access.
It seems intuitive for businesses to make their products as accessible as possible. Let’s build branches so people can purchase the product at the nearby store! Is the coverage not wide enough? Let’s consign to other stores! They’re too lazy to come out of their house? Let’s create an e-commerce platform and deliver it to their house! This is a typical full blast move to make sure our products are within the reach of our customers. But does higher accessibility always translate to higher product value?
There are some cases that having the product a tad bit isolated can actually make it more desirable.
Low accessibility can lead to exclusive trends.
It might be unexpected for us that one of the most hyped sneakers was once released by a German supermarket. In 2021, Lidl launched limited edition €12.99 ($16) sneakers. Only 7,500 pairs were put on sale in 1,500 stores, which amounted to 50 pairs each store.
It was reported that shoppers queued for hours to get a pair, but at exactly 8 AM everyone ran to the shelves which were emptied in less than 10 seconds. The madness didn’t stop there, I just found it on eBay that it was sold 3,800% higher than the normal price. The highest price was at $6,000 during the peak of the trend.
So, what happened? This is called scarcity marketing, one of the most commonly found marketing strategies, and there’s a high probability both you and I have got caught in one of these tactics. The product is made to be exclusively accessible only for a certain period of time. The brand is playing with the customer’s fear of missing out by telling us that this is the only chance we can get the product and overwriting our capability in making rationale whether we need the product. The scarcity marketing is not just about the product itself, it’s also about building the impression that the brand is in-demand.
There are other forms of exclusivity, it doesn’t only have to be based on time variables. The product or service can also be made accessible for certain demographics, such as an exclusive area inside a bar that only customers who hold a VIP access can enter. Those who gained the privilege might feel they are more valued than the others, increasing the chance for them to be loyal to the brand. They might post their experience on social media, persuading others to attain that level of exclusivity.
Low accessibility can help users to control impulsive behavior.
Years ago, I was baffled by my friend who opened up a bank account in a small bank. To give more context on how small this bank was, they only had a few branches, and their ATM was so difficult to find at that time.
“Wouldn’t it be difficult for you to withdraw your money?”
“THAT’S THE POINT! I need to keep my money safe, away from my impulsive spending!”
The most feared enemy of her financial security is herself. My uni friend had just worked for no more than 1 year and it seemed there was little money left in her account to save, at least for her pension. Putting all of her salary in 1 bank account made it prone for impulsive shopping. What made it even more tempting, the bank offered discounts on lots of retail stores. Worrying that the problem will snowball into a bigger problem in the future, she decided to open a savings account that could isolate her salary from within her reach.
As weird as it sounded, I actually learned something from her. I followed her steps, but instead of banks, it’s a saving option. Every time I receive my salary, I deposit a portion of it into this savings option. Even though the financial institution provides an app, it required 3–5 days to withdraw my money. I found out the tactic was so effective to save my money from the risk of mindless spending. Turns out, this behavior is actually quite common among my social circle. It’s just difficult for us to save money with all of the temptations around us. The ease of transacting with just 1 swipe of a card doesn’t help to build the trust in ourselves to manage our own money.
This product “feature” might be unintentional from the service provider. At least I learned that it was more of a government regulation issue that makes it impossible to withdraw my savings in a real time manner. However, putting barriers between us and our money, turned into a smart saving hack.
Low accessibility can translate into tranquility.
We just found out that the hotel that we impulsively booked 2 days ago was in the middle of the woods. We watched our signal bar slowly depleted as our hotel shuttle got closer to our destination. To add to our surprise, the Wi-Fi connection was only stable enough to send text messages via WhatsApp, once in a while.
* In the defense of our impulsive behavior, that week was so eventful and we concluded that weekend getaway was a necessity.
“It’s a blessing in disguise!” said my partner. Being in his role, completely escaped from work calls and messages can be difficult even on his time off. Being in nowhere and having no connectivity making it impossible for his colleagues to reach out to him. So it was truly a blessing in disguise. The entire weekend was filled with us chatting, playing in the pool, and walking through a ridge.
Apparently, there’s a trend of holiday accommodations that provide the benefit of… no connectivity. Let’s see Getaway as one of the examples. Spread across the US, the accommodation provides cozy cabins in the woods, and they only provide the essentials in which Wi-Fi is not considered as one. They even have a cell phone lockbox to keep our phone away.
“Digital detox” is a trending term in this increasingly hyper-connected world. Just taking normal paid time off doesn’t always permit us to have the time for ourselves. It might be coming from our internal anxiety that the work will pile up after we’re done with our camping retreat, or it’s our boss / colleague contacting us asking for a spreadsheet formula. These businesses see the rising need to unplug and decompress, and they’re turning what might seem to be disadvantages of a space into an opportunity: low geographical access and minimum connectivity.
As human’s needs get more complex, how we look at dimensions of UX might not be so linear anymore. Just like the accessibility aspect, there might be various ways of how we can play with other UX dimensions. Do you see there are any cases where a product is still desirable anyway by fulfilling the UX dimension in a funny way?
