We live in an individualistic era. A mere hundred years ago, when our grandparents were youths, most people didn’t have access to the perfect music to match their personality and mood. They couldn’t pull up any newspaper in the world within seconds, as we can online. In this way, the 20th century saw a tremendous shift toward individualization. Technological innovations have brought a world of information and entertainment to our fingertips. And yet, most firms’ marketing strategies have not kept pace with modern technological capabilities. A few online retailers, such as Amazon, are indeed altering product offerings, sales, and even website appearance according to the individual consumer’s preferences and purchasing history. But this sort of approach is hard to find offline.

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