Matthias Helble's paper sparked a lively debate about the nature and extent of economic changes brought about by a “customer-centered” economy. Chalongphob Sussangkarn argued that the author should think about the extent to which products can become bespoke. For example, although customers of London's Saville Row may pay US$ 5,000 for a pair of shoes, he doubted that Saville Row's bespoke services will be replaced though the channels described in the paper. In contrast, Sussangkarn agreed completely with the notion that a smartphone is a bespoke product because of the customer's ability to tailor their device to their individual preferences through their choice of apps for download.
Bhanupong Nidhiprabha was skeptical whether the new economics of production truly represent a new “customer-centered” economy. Instead, he argued that firms are simply continuing to differentiate their products to reduce the price elasticity of their products. This is akin to Michael Porter's notion...