COVID-19 and the Rise of the New Experience Economy

This article aims to highlight the new experience economy upsurge amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Undoubtedly, businesses will not be the same post the COVID-19 era, as it brings with itself both a threat and a cautious optimism as far as market offerings are concerned. Making a real difference to the landscape of experiences, therefore, requires a revisit. A ‘Needs-based, Action-oriented and Affiliation-centric’ strategy mix is proposed to be the central plank of any survival design during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, based on the experience economy framework, we present a toolkit that the businesses can use as a blueprint for revival in the long term. The article suggests that the pandemic is here to teach the lesson of building experiences that are robust enough to survive the plunges in the market, personalized enough to retain loyalties, cohesive enough to not get diluted with a change in channel of offering and dramatic enough to keep the engagement alive at all times. Seen in this light, this article is first-of-its-kind attempt to chronicle the potency of the new experience economy measures in navigating through the COVID-19-induced business crisis and envisioning it as a framework pushing for a frugal approach.