Signalling 'Investment' In The Trainer Category

Michael Jackson’s 1998 Air Jordans - sold for 2.2m at the Sotheby’s Sneaker in April 2023

How do you justify spend in a cost-of-living crisis? You make it an “investment”, of course.
 
Right now, nothing feels better than a product that retains its value and offers a good functional/emotional/financial ‘return’. And if that means consumers taking the initiative to make an object they love “investable” (justifying spend!), they will.

Take trainers. Sales are down but new investment signals are emerging across multiple price points. We’re talking:
 
-      MAINTENANCE at the mass end (check out this round up of crease protectors: https://lnkd.in/g8ddHDCn)
-      REPAIRS X SUSTAINABILITY – Selfridges is offering an in-store, virtual and home collection Repair Concierge service as part of its Project Earth sustainability strategy: https://lnkd.in/g4aYmqpf
-      CUSTOMISATION for premium / luxury consumers (Sneak Geek resets trainers from worn out to “box fresh”: https://lnkd.in/ggdnM_89)
-      RESALE and COLLECTION by connoisseurs and curators ($2.2m Air Jordan XIII’s anyone? https://lnkd.in/gCEdFXUi)
 
Of course, not all products are as covetable as trainers. But that only makes the need to offer a “return” greater.
 
B12 conversations with consumers reveal they are thinking hard about WHAT, WHERE and even WHY they spend. (And we’re not just talking about consumers on a low income).
 
What can you do to turn one-off product spend into a real investment?