The current wedding industry is a fairly new take on the tradition of marriage. It wasn’t until recently in the last 100 years that the industry started. For many years the way of doing business has been focused on labor instead of technology. This strategy has been replicated by millions of wedding vendors and it has shaped the industry overall.
Fast forward to 2020 & the pandemic has wrecked havoc on small businesses. This has caused owners to get creative and rethink their value proposition. Doing so has lead to a surge in e-commerce transaction. For the first time in over 100 years there is a new way to conduct business online without borders. How will this affect the wedding industry moving forward? Let’s cover the way that software technology has forced business to adapt.
History of Weddings
Weddings have been around for millennia they exist to form bonds in society. It was less than 100 years ago that our current wedding industry started gaining momentum. Back in the day weddings were more simple, however if you wanted a tent then you had to buy the tent.
Rental companies were a new idea and they did not exist yet. Someone on the block got smart and realized that if they were to buy the tent, they could rent it out for a fraction of the price. Over a period of time you would get a return on that investment. Boom the wedding industry was born!
Labor & Assets
As time passed more wedding businesses started to offer rental services. These companies would make investments into equipment. For example, let’s say a rental cost $10,000 they would then rent it out for a daily fee of $1,000. This is at a 10% rental cost of their original investment. This is a profitable business model, as the asset is eventually depreciated and all that is left is profit after expenses.
At the end of the day, main cost involved is labor to provide the services. This includes loading, transporting, unloading & rendering services. There has been no innovation in the wedding industry as companies would gain market share by simply leveraging their resources (labor and rentals). You can say that businesses would use technology for marketing and branding but this was not disruptive technology for industry on a larger scale.
The Pandemic & Weddings
Covid-19 was an unprecedented event. It literally put everyones lives on hold. We had to start social distancing. In most cases events were considered illegal based on local guidelines. The pandemic caused businesses to creatively scale back. Another factor is the reduction in the labor pool. This is required for the wedding industry to provide services.
These (2) setbacks has unfortunately forced many wedding businesses to close their doors. Less competition has caused consolidation in the wedding industry. Clients have less vendors to choose from so demand for services on popular dates has increased. As a result, the cost for services has also increased. Businesses have less capabilities and so they need to raise prices to stay profitable. This has caused a disconnect between company deliverables and client expectations.
Technology is Scalable
The presence of global supply chain has forced many wedding professionals to rethink the way they conduct business. Instead of having to meet and talk to every client, they can now harness the power of software and technology to scale their brands.
More vendors are realizing the unlimited potential of e-commerce and pivoting their businesses to offer a new kind of opportunity to their client events. Instead of having to physically provide the services themselves, business owners are providing digital assets through coaching, e-books, online training and video marketing. Some companies like https://shipour.wedding are completely removing the labor from the service and allowing clients to do it themselves through nationwide rentals.
The upside is that technology allows vendors to scale their businesses. Instead of needing a person to render the services it can be multiplied by simply taking it online as a digital platform. This will cause further consolidation in the event industry as more companies embrace technology while some stick to business as usual.
What is the Future of the Wedding Industry
When you think of weddings what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it lavish flowers or a wedding canopy arch? Sometime between buying tents in 1920 and the pandemic of 2020 we have lost our way. We became consumed with the perceived value of labor and lost interest in innovation. The stress from the pandemic has caused vendors to become disruptive and offer services through technology.
In order to thrive as an industry we need to remember what is a wedding. We need provide value for the long term that evolves as love remains. The reason why people get married hasn’t changed. This industry serves one purpose the marriage of 2 people. Our industry only exists for this one simple reason.
What has changed is technology and how it can be used as a tool for business. We as an industry need to innovate and give customers a better experience. More consumers are embracing software and technology to make their lives easier. In the end it will be the consumer that decides the future of the event industry.
