experience economy
n. Goods and services that offer consumers unique and memorable experiences.
Examples
2000
What captivates us now is special stuff, stuff that only a few of us can get, stuff that stands for something or symbolizes something. And, more compelling than stuff, are experiences — events, trips, places, sights, sounds, tastes that are out of the ordinary, memorable in their own right, precious in their uniqueness and fulfilling in a way that seems to make us more than we were…

Some describe this phenomenon as 'the experience economy.' "
—Richard G. Barlow, “The Net upends tenets of loyalty marketing,” Advertising Age, April 17, 2000
2000
Joe Pine, co-author of "The Experience Economy," came to town last week with this neat idea that we have changed as consumers and any business that ignores this is courting trouble in the new millennium.

In a word, it's experience that we now seek as shoppers and consumers of all kinds, even as purchasing agents for businesses, Pine told a gathering of executives at the Carter Center. …

Other companies who understand the "experience economy," Pine said, are America Online, ESPN Zone clubs, Starbucks coffee shops.
—Ernest Holsendolph, “Author cautions marketers to understand new consumer,” The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, April 02, 2000
1994 (earliest)
Experience industries, sometimes called leisure industries, demand consumer time. As the consumers' leisure time increases so will the number of new experience industries. …

Closely linked to the experience economy are the new cultural industries — museums, art treasures, concerts, festivals, gardens, religions.
—Stephen Forman Unwin, “Jobless will power new planetary industries,” The Herald (Glasgow), March 08, 1994
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