The Experience Economy

The Experience Economy

The term Experience Economy was first described in an article published in 1998 by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, titled "The Experience Economy". In it they described the experience economy as the next economy following the agrarian economy, the industrial economy, and the most recent service economy. This concept had been previously researched by many other authors (see History of the Concept).

Pine and Gilmore argue that businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product - the "experience". More advanced experience businesses can begin charging for the value of the "transformation" that an experience offers, e.g., as education offerings might do if they were able to participate in the value that is created by the educated individual. This, they argue, is a natural progression in the value added by the business over and above its inputs.

Although the concept of the Experience Economy was born in the business field, it has crossed its frontiers to tourism, architecture, nursing, urban planners and other fields.

The Experience Economy is also considered to be the main underpinning for customer experience management.

Within the hospitality management academic programs in the US and Europe, Experience Economy is often shortened to Exponomy and is of increasing focus.