Aspiration Drives Shopping
The Vibe® System is built on the theory that aspirations drive the vast majority of retail purchase decisions. Take for example the many little girls you see at the mall… high tops, low bottoms, bare mid-drifts a-la Paris Hilton – many with the muffin tops of their larger-than-Paris waistlines flopping over their beltlines. Is it that they think they are Paris? Or rather that they aspire to be like Paris? We submit it’s more typically the latter. Alternatively, consider the old adage, “dress for success.” It too reveals shopping as a forward-looking self-improvement strategy. Thus, we believe that mapping a shopper’s aspirations is the path to defining relevant product recommendations.
Mapping Aspiration
In order to map aspirations, we went back to the work of world-renowned personality theorist Dr. Carl Jung who forwarded ground breaking personality theories in the early 1920’s. Through Jung’s concepts on personality, we isolated a methodology that generates a mathematical profile of one’s aspirations which by extension maps one’s desired brand, personal style and self-improvement goals.
Why Do Vibe® Metrics Work?
Vibe® Metrics measure what shapes or “causes” one’s personal brand rather than searching for mere correlations among interests. It’s the age-old debate in research – finding the true underlying source (such as isolating a virus) vs. recognizing mere correlations (like observing a runny nose and fever). Of course it’s much better to isolate the virus that causes both the runny nose and fever rather than believe that a runny nose causes or is always experienced in conjunction with a fever. So, unlike recommendation systems that use keywords and buying histories to second-guess customer interest, Vibe tracks the true drivers that shape personal identity and style.
VIBE® Personality Archtypes
The Vibe® System divides shoppers into 4 general personality arch-types: Visionary, Inventor, Builder and Explorer (hence the acronym “VIBE”). While Vibe® Matching Algorithms are much more complicated than simply dropping people and products into four buckets, such archtype “labels” provide an easy way for shoppers to understand their generalized profiles and for retailers to utilize the Vibe® System to create fun and approachable promotional campaigns.
For more, see Technology, How It Works, Theory, Efficacy, Benefits, FAQs.