If you don't improve on your products, someone else will, and you will lose the edge. Product life cycles are shorter than ever, so it is important to be the one to come up with the innovation that will replace your current product. Time is a critical factor. As soon as a product is issued, you should be working on its successor. Someone else will come up with an improvement on your product and take your customer base.
Consumers wish to have products that more reflect their individual tastes.
They will become more involved with the production process. People don't want generic products geared towards society in general. Because this is becoming more possible to do, they will be purchasing things that directly reflect their values and desires. With new technology, individuals can custom order many items that were previously only standardized factory models. Chrysler can customize a new car for their customers in only 16 days.