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“Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

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Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#211

Post by StrictDabbler »

nominusllc wrote: post #189
fallingfrog wrote: post #171

I was hoping to see some red meat in the article in terms of who these harbinger households are, what kinds of products they are buying or politicians they support, so that I could either judge them for their poor taste or empathize with their misunderstood genius. Alas, the article seems to lack those kinds of details, except for the examples of Diet Crystal Pepsi and Colgate Kitchen Entrees. Both of those products…

Crystal pepsi was delicious. Clearly you have some parental neglect issues to work through, because most people know this.

Crystal pepsi tasted like normal Pepsi but it didn't stain your teeth brown.

We, as a society, drink intense dyes every day largely because of the legacy of prohibition... weirdly colored sodas were the social camouflage for "medicinal" liquor. Surely this brightly colored froth-tube can't be harmful!

This rolled into the marketing illustrations of the mid-20th century.

On a utilitarian level all sodas should be clear.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#212

Post by smcnally »

evrydayhustling wrote: post #160

Found this link to the paper, since OP's SciHub link has rotted: https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/130136/The%20... This is an interesting finding no matter what, but I think part of the splash comes from the idea that some people might be harbingers _independent of the rest of their identity_. Since it's not obvious that liking crystal pepsi and watermelon oreos are related, we can speculate that the pe…

A corollary to this is when a single brand and formulation become multiple brands and formulations, but the original disappears. e.g. Triscuits, Cheerios, Cranberry Juice. I can find

* Tzatziki Quinoa Basil and Garlic Triscuits, but not Original or Low-Sodium. * Apple Honey Nut Ancho Kobe Beef Cheerios, but not Cheerios. * Mango Chutney Cranberry with Turmeric & Essence of Nightshade juice, but not Cranberry

see also: potato chips, hummus, frozen waffles

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#213

Post by thimkerbell »

nottorp wrote: post #121
hinkley wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shoes are this way for a lot of people, in that some of us can keep a pair of shoes long enough that the next fashion cycle has happened and you can't find anything like that again. I got to the point where if I really liked a pair of shoes, I'd buy a second pair and throw them in the closet for nine months, and cross my fingers that I like the shoes in the second refresh more than I liked the ones in the first one.…

> Shoes are this way for a lot of people, in that some of us can keep a pair of shoes long enough that the next fashion cycle has happened and you can't find anything like that again. Try working from home. It's guaranteed that by the time you need new shoes nothing resembling your current shoes that you know and love is available any more. Same for a lot of other clothing items that you only wear outside.

Can shoes or sandals be 3d printed from the original specifications?

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#214

Post by Cupertino95014 »

dools wrote: post #104
Cupertino95014 wrote: post #22

I remember reading, a long time ago, that some fashion trend-follower said that it was impossible to determine what was cool soon enough to profit from it. By the time you figure it out, it's gone. But it IS possible to figure out who is cool: you can find the people who regularly jump on trends before anyone else, and see what they buy. But this! This is almost as good: you can figure who is NOT cool.

I believe the term is cool hunting. I remember seeing a doco about it a while back

I think what I saw was also a New Yorker article, but it's probably been well-circulated.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#215

Post by notacoward »

I'm a bit like this with restaurants. I know it's a super-tough business with high turnover already, but places I like have seemed especially prone to failure. Three in one location in my home town. At least three in Seattle (which residents will be pleased to know I no longer visit). Almost eerie.

When it comes to consumer products, I've just come to accept that my favorite beers or sodas or cheeses or candies will only be available for a short while, but I don't think that's anything to do with the harbinger phenomenon. I'm just a bit more willing than most to step away from my already-favorite brands and try something new, which means trying lots of things that have an inherently higher chance of not gaining traction in the market.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#216

Post by tomc1985 »

ggm wrote: post #2

This.Happens.To.Me.All.The.Time. All.The.Time. that Amazing Neutrogena conditioner, which was really good and lasted a year? Gone: if it lasts a year, its too good. that original low-sugar chex? gone. we invented three new flavours. that jam? gone. butter? gone. that cut of meat? gone. those pens? I mean pentel pens. How can pentel can an entire line of really good, fine writer ballpens? Gone. Sorry dude, it was you…

I don't think Post will ever get rid of Grape Nuts, it has been this eternal staple of store shelves that my parents would bring out as some sort of breakfast cereal boogieman if I misbehaved. Lord knows who's actually buying the stuff besides you, but someone is.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#217

Post by AlbertCory »

smcnally wrote: post #212
evrydayhustling wrote: post #160

Found this link to the paper, since OP's SciHub link has rotted: https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/130136/The%20... This is an interesting finding no matter what, but I think part of the splash comes from the idea that some people might be harbingers _independent of the rest of their identity_. Since it's not obvious that liking crystal pepsi and watermelon oreos are related, we can speculate that the pe…

A corollary to this is when a single brand and formulation become multiple brands and formulations, but the original disappears. e.g. Triscuits, Cheerios, Cranberry Juice. I can find * Tzatziki Quinoa Basil and Garlic Triscuits, but not Original or Low-Sodium. * Apple Honey Nut Ancho Kobe Beef Cheerios, but not Cheerios. * Mango Chutney Cranberry with Turmeric & Essence of Nightshade juice, but not Cranberry see also…

Funny because I have both Original Triscuits and regular Cheerios in the house right now.

Panic! Maybe I shop at a Harbinger Store [tm].

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#218

Post by tomc1985 »

tempestn wrote: post #39
hinkley wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shoes are this way for a lot of people, in that some of us can keep a pair of shoes long enough that the next fashion cycle has happened and you can't find anything like that again. I got to the point where if I really liked a pair of shoes, I'd buy a second pair and throw them in the closet for nine months, and cross my fingers that I like the shoes in the second refresh more than I liked the ones in the first one.…

The shoes thing is so true. Especially runners, or any kind of athletic shoe really, where they feel the need to update not just the styling but the whole construction of the shoes every year. So when you need a replacement you basically have to start from scratch every time, because there's no guarantee even buying the new shoe in the same line will be a remotely similar experience.

I feel like that's true for most of the consumer, but if you look around the shoe company might have some classics that are seemingly eternal. For example: Adidas Gazelles vs Adidas Sambas. Chuck Taylors might be another one.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#219

Post by ngc248 »

grapeskin wrote: post #94
hinkley wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shoes are this way for a lot of people, in that some of us can keep a pair of shoes long enough that the next fashion cycle has happened and you can't find anything like that again. I got to the point where if I really liked a pair of shoes, I'd buy a second pair and throw them in the closet for nine months, and cross my fingers that I like the shoes in the second refresh more than I liked the ones in the first one.…

I’ve been waiting 18 years for the pre-ripped jeans meme to die. It was ridiculed when I was in middle school, and now as a 30-something boomer, I’m still struggling to find decent looking and fitting jeans that don’t have some stupid tear designed into them.

yep .... they have these ridiculous designs or shapes. Particularly the slim fit tapered jeans. searching for the classic regular fit jeans is almost impossible.

Re: “Harbinger households” consistently buy products that get discontinued (2019)

#220

Post by MrPoush »

jrumbut wrote: post #34
fortran77 wrote: post #26

Original paper here: https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/130136/The%20...

Does it have the zip codes though? That's what we want (besides our continued condiments and shaving creams).

There was some discussion on reddit about this last year, and the consensus is that the zip codes were not published and likely wouldn't be.

One person worked the paper's methodology backwards and came up with a list of potential candidate cities: https://old.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/i3hb3c/til_t...

Kind of shocked me that I'm nowhere near any of those, as I feel like one of those harbingers (and I feel no desire to move to any of those places).

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