THE END OF THE MASS MARKET AND THE AGE OF SEGMENTATION

Abstract

The globalized market cannot be considered to be a single homogeneous aggregate when,
in reality, it is strongly segmented. This segmentation was theorized in the 1950s
by Wendell
Smith and it reflects the profound changes in economies and societies that have occurred in
modern industrialized countries. In the second half of the 20th century, these changes include
the progressive improvements in consumers’ quality of life as well as the improved level of
education and changes in the labor market.
At the same time, companies have also played a leading role in constantly adapting and
adopting a variety of strategies that focus on mass production and mass “personalization”.
Flexible production, in its various forms, appears as the productive response to the evolution
of markets that are becoming increasingly segmented over time. Firms developed marketing
and advertising strategies that have played a key role in both launching new products and
creating a seductive image of "modernity" with a language onto itself. Multiple changes have
accompanied the transformation of the characteristics and qualities of their products in order
to appeal to different consumers. As a result of these changes, a less anonymous consumer
has emerged who is faced with an ever-greater number of choices and who is increasingly
willing to play an active part in the new globalized goods market.