Mar 27
So we know all about the fractional ownership trend: sites such as Bag Borrow or Steal enable fashionistas to rent out the bag of season for a fraction of the retail cost. There are similar services for yachts, holiday homes etc etc. With our trends analyst hat on, we’d say that this trend is as much about entitlement as it is about instant gratification. Like credit cards, fractional ownership allows consumers to buy into a lifestyle which they believe is rightfully theirs despite being technically unable to afford it. It’s the ‘because I’m worth it’ impulse.
The latest guilt and responsibility free indulgence comes courtesy of the Calico cat cafe in Toyko which allows shoppers to rent some time petting a … um pet. For just ¥800 an hour (about $8), you can hang out with one of 19 “staff” kitties. Located in the Kichijoji district of western Tokyo, Calico has been so successful in the pet-starved city that reservations are recommended on weekends and holidays.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am and is filed under Cats, Innovation, Luxury, Trends, Zeitgeist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, trackback from your own site or share this post
One Comment to “Fractional Life”
I’ve recently introduced dog sharing on the yours2share website and this is also generating much interest.
There is guidance on how to arrange this as well as ads from people who wish to share a dog.