Three milestones to better experiences.

Some of today’s fastest growing companies are taking on mature markets by simply changing the way people shop. Uber, Airbnb, Rent the Runway, Birchbox, and the Dollar Shave Club all have one thing in common.

Experience is fuelling a new age. The strategy of depending solely on your products to gain a competitive advantage is rapidly becoming obsolete. Copycat manufacturing is now so fast and cheap that innovators capture less than 3 percent of the economic surplus they create.

Price and selection are not guaranteed advantages in light of “everything stores” like Amazon and Alibaba. Consumers today face a new and daunting prospect: infinite choice. When everything is available all the time, at any price, experience is the remaining true differentiator.