Some of the best non-financial products and services I have seen recently have simplicity at their heart. They don’t offer bells and whistles because their customers do not want them or need them. Instead, they focus on being very good at the things they do.

At the same time, there is growing demand for very specialist products and services. Taking the tea analogy a step further, I’m a big fan of rooibos (redbush) tea. After spending some time in South Africa, it’s all I drink these days and I go to great lengths to seek out the best blends.

Chris Anderson describes The Long Tail in his book of the same name. Technology makes it easier to cater for a longer tail of demand for more specialist products and services. It will be interesting to see how retail financial services copes with the twin demands of simpler products and lots of niche products.