Shared Experiences or Solo Experiences? No Matter the Preference, a Quality Experience Should be the Outcome

Recent research reveals consumers frequently prioritize shared experiences with loved ones over the quality of the experience, often leading to dissatisfaction. Notably, a study of reviews left on the interactive play Sleep No More found that despite its design for a solo experience, 25% of attendees who stayed with companions reported lower satisfaction, underscoring the challenges and opportunities for marketers to address this consumer tendency.

Despite its design for a solo experience, 25% of attendees who stayed with companions reported lower satisfaction, underscoring the challenges and opportunities for marketers to address this consumer tendency.

How can businesses restructure their offerings to balance consumers' preference for togetherness with the quality of experience? Can businesses develop tiered experiences that allow for shared and solo elements to satisfy varying consumer preferences? Elizabeth Bland, DBA, an Assistant Professor of Management at Mount St. Joseph University, suggests industries can tailor their services to cater to group and solo patrons.

"I would say from a management perspective, train your employees to create maybe like a scavenger hunt or a competition so that people that come together can do something where they have to go out on their own and find answers… to engage the customer more and to make them kind of force them into doing things alone,” Bland said.

Train your employees to create maybe like a scavenger hunt or a competition so that people that come together can do something where they have to go out on their own and find answers to engage the customer more and to make them kind of force them into doing things alone.
— Elizabeth Bland, DBA, Assistant Professor of Management at Mount St. Joseph University

Elizabeth Bland, DBA, is an Assistant Professor of Management at Mount St. Joseph University.