Is it Leather writes on LinkedIn: With fingers crossed it looks like we may begin to emerge from this most backward era in consumerism ever, where retailers, governments and activists have been dictating to consumers what they want and need…instead of listening and letting customers define it for themselves.

More and more we see corporations beginning to backtrack from decisions made in a vacuum from what their target market wants and needs and begin to steer the ship back toward the actual wants and desires of their customers.

Whether it’s companies like Ford, Harley Davison, Lowes, John Deere, Tractor Supply or Jack Daniel’s publicly stepping away from DEI initiatives. Or whether it’s General Motors, Mercedes, VW, Ford, and Jaguar switching the course on their push toward “all electric,” there is definitely a shift back to consumer-focused marketing going on.

This is not a debate on the pros and cons of DEI or Electric Vehicles – as there are important and positive elements to each of these topics. The point is these plans were put into place without consumer input, without regard to consumer want and need – which as a retailer should be the holy grail.

This shift is even starting to occur with leather – as we see GM now adding leather back into EV’s because customers want it. We see and hear leather being added back in to models across the automotive spectrum – while not at the pace the leather industry is hoping for, it’s an awesome start to a shift that we hope continues to grow. And why shouldn’t it…as studies show more than 80% of automotive consumers in the U.S. and China not only want real leather but are willing to pay additional for it!

Hello? Satisfying your customers’ wants and needs while increasing your revenue sounds like a no-brainer. Congratulations to the corporate world for re-establishing customer is king…and realizing where the real power of purchase lies.