This year, I’m exploring the future of ‘third place’ through a series of exploratory posts and trend pieces. My goal is to provoke new thinking and spark some unusual conversations about the future of community, connection, and belonging.
This first piece will explore a trend i’m watching closely: ‘America Goes Outside.’ Across the US, outdoor recreation spending is growing tremendously (see Real Personal Consumption Expenditures by Major Type of Product and by Major Function, Bureau of Economic Analysis). My recent review of 2019 consumer spending in the United States paints a rather fascinating picture: by far, the fastest growing segment of consumer spending in the US is outdoor recreation and equipment. Since January 2018, this spending category has grown over 20%, outpacing growth in other categories like communications (11.16%). Household recreation spending as a whole is also on the rise, with over 10.5% growth since January 2018, and the third fastest percentage growth for personal expenditures across all categories. This data begs the question: how can we further harness the power of the outdoors to create new sources of revenue and new value streams for consumers?
Outdoor Recreation Meets Third Place
For centuries, third place has been primarily about an indoors type setting. But what if the next big third place is all about getting outside? What would a 2020s version of ‘outdoor Starbucks’ look and feel like? Where would it be located and what kinds of activities would we do there?
When it comes to what’s new and exciting in the outdoor recreation industry here are three possibilities that have captivated my interest:
Concept 1: Self-driving Tour Bus that Picks up Passengers from Different Cities.
Last year, I almost participated in a Mini Cooper meetup that involved Mini Coopers from around the US traveling cross-country in a sort of caravan. The novelty and fun factor were what appealed most to me; I was excited by the possibility of creating some fun stories to share with friends and family. But I was also hungry to become part of a community of other raving fans of Mini and enjoy the adventure with others. It turns out this sort of well-branded roving caravan is a big thing for specialty car collectors, who do quick-turn rides in the mountains or scenic jaunts along the coast on regular occasion.
This group driving experience got me thinking: what if you could have the thrill of the scenic riding adventure without all the driving? Imagine the joys and adrenaline of well-appointed adventure travel powered by a cross-country bus tour that hit major cities and the scenic spots in between? And imagine all that travel powered self-driving technology!?
It turns out that a company called Roadies is already doing something similar, sans the self-driving aspect. Roadies offers high-end tour bus accommodations for travelers who want to hit the road like a well-paid musician. Its travel packages include overnight stopovers at boutique hotels with perks like pools, spas, and luxury bathrooms. Their ad below gives a glimpse of what might be possible in the not-so-distant future:
With the advent of self-driving vehicles, my idea of a progressive tour bus seems easier than ever before and I can’t wait to see which companies will start experimenting with it in the coming years, especially if those companies turn out to be corporations who offer perks like high speed Wifi internet, free products, or Amazon locker subscriptions as part of a package deal to riders.
Concept 2: ‘Smarthome’ Campgrounds that Match Visitors for Group Activities through a Match.com type app or voice assistant algorithm.
What if the same features that are making our homes smarter could make our campgrounds smarter, too? For those on the smart assistant bandwagon, Alexa is recommending skills left and right. So what if your favorite campground had a built-in app that nudged you to do a paddleboat ride with your next door neighbor who’s a watersports pro, or to host a late afternoon campfire roast with fresh game sourced, cleaned and prepped by a local hunter through an experiential workshop?
The likelihood of such a service existing in the near future doesn’t seem farfetched at all. Airbnb is already building an Experiences business, so what if they bolted on an outdoor travel experiences component to their existing set of services and partnered with campgrounds and an AI/voice assistant provider to pull this off? Or, what if you beat them to the punch and built and launched something similar?
Concept 3: Outdoor Coworking.
If an increasing number of remote employees are taking work on the road, why not bring the workspace to the places they’re wanting to spend time? It turns out, in fact, that some outdoor retailers are already thinking about this idea. Cue LL Bean’s new outdoor coworking concept featured in Apartment Therapy in 2018.
In 2018, LL Bean staged a provocative new outdoor coworking concept in partnership with Industrious called Bean Outsider. The concept launched via an outdoor coworking event in Madison Square Park, followed by activations in Boston and Madison, but the possibilities for such a space go well beyond big cities. Imagine, if you will, a true co-working in the wild type scenario, especially one built for tired entrepreneurs or teams needing fresh ideas?
What could be next? Modular outdoor workspaces that can move rapidly as groups shift from one area to the next? Pop-up cold brew stations in the desert? I can’t wait to see.
Next Up: The Industry-Creating Nature of Third Places
My next installment in this series will explore why third place establishments spin off whole new industries, and develop some hypotheses around the conditions for a truly pivotal new third place.
Want to Become Part of the Conversation?
I will be working to further explore this topic throughout the coming year. If you’d like to be involved with the series, or have ideas on how we might collaborate, please reach out. I’d love to chat with you.
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