Amidst the daily push towards the future and the latest technology and new products, consumers are increasingly looking back with nostalgia at the past era, memories of which they hold dear in their hearts.
We’ve seen a couple of consumer products which aim to bring back those nostalgic memories. Entrepreneurs worldwide would do good to have a look at these business ideas and learn how to exploit the wave of nostalgia among consumers:
- This old-style suitcase from Couverture (pictured above) is a lovely piece of old-school luggage and it even has stickers of the old days of steamer travel and world cruises plastered across it. It’s the exact same thing people used to carry many years ago; it’s even built to the same old-fashioned and robust standards.
- Bally Technologies is introducing a video slot machine based on Atari’s 1972 table tennis-based game Pong. They know that consumers are nostalgic for the days of old-school games, and retro arcade games are likely to attract such gamblers.
- Designers are paying attention too: British company Smeg is offering these old-fashioned refrigerators with a large selection of retro colors and designs. They have one with the Union Jack plastered all over the refrigerator.
- Telstar Electronics reproduces the Predictas television which was cult-like popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Based on the original Predicta designs, Telstar’s retro TV sets have funky shapes and stained-wood finishes reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s but they still have modern electronics and color screens for today’s broadcasts.
Can you think of a new business idea to serve the nostalgic consumer?
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This New Business Ideas Report is compiled specially for Small Business Trends from the editors of CoolBusinessIdeas.com.
Amanda
I too have noticed this trend towards nostalgia. I am surprised how many toy companies are bringing back things I haven’t seen in years. Seeing these toys does bring back happy memories.
A couple months ago, I heard something about a hotel that was designed to replicate life in the 1950s (although I might be off by a decade). Everything from interior design to the smallest accessories mimics life in another era… This is definitely an interesting theme in business that allows the owners to get creative with their products/services.
Chris
This has been a hot topic for several years now. I sell on eBay and I’m always on the lookout for items that retain a nostalgic quality. Particularly items from the 60’s and 70’s era. Toys, vintage T’s, advertising, kitchen collectibles, Christmas collectibles. . .it’s all sought after.
I like the suitcase that’s been pictured here – that’s a great idea. Clocks and radios are also products that are being currently being reproduced from era’s gone by.