The young versus their older counterparts is a tale as old as time. But the balance is changing with a Boomer generation practicing wellness and experiencing longevity (the pandemic notwithstanding). So, who are the real market drivers today? Next-gens were the driving force before Covid. But now, as Gen Z and millennials race to find new career paths, mature consumers with money in the bank are undergoing a renaissance as a market power. Population Explosion Before millennials were born, their Boomer parents, had the largest population …
DIY Is Back in a Big Way, With a Few New Spins
Consumers are still trapped at home and they’re picking up some new hobbies. The DIY market is booming, and Euromonitor predicts that DIY sales will grow by 6.1 percent globally in the new year. However, when researching the category, one quickly notices an interesting discrepancy: there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes DIY. I was amused to see Statista break DIY sales down into three sectors –– home centers, lumberyards and hardware stores –– when that’s obviously not the full extent of the vertical. How We Define …
2021 Forecast: Next Gens in a Brand-New World
Gen Z is in dire straits. They’re facing the second major economic recession of their lifetimes. They’re spending a year of their formative teens trapped at home. They’re staring down the barrel at climate change, so their future isn’t looking much brighter than their present. But these kids are nothing if not adaptable. Only Change Endures Next-gens born after 1997 grew up in a time of uncertainty. It took a toll on their mental health, but it also made them savvy, strategic consumers. Glossy marketing didn’t resonate with next gens even …
The Great Retail Simplification
Remember when everyone was talking about the great retail “bifurcation?” The gap between discount and luxury retail was the trending topic up until a year ago, when Covid-19 threw all of the old rules out the window. Then consumers started buying fewer items. While merchandise began to pile up for some retailers, others missed their regular shipments due to lulls in production. The conversation has changed to how to operate retail with a simplified strategy. Now, instead of worrying about how to attract a wider range of consumers, retailers …
Establishing Credibility with Next-Gen Consumers
Trust is paramount when selling to a generation that lists “shared values” above all other brand attributes but price. However, establishing trust with next-gens is no longer a simple proposition. A strong “About Us” page and mission statement won’t cut it anymore. Not when next-gens monitor every aspect of a retail business –– from a product’s source materials, to the warehouse in which it was made, to how employees are compensated on the front end. Establishing trust with young consumers isn’t an impossible feat, it just takes a lot more …
Pandemic Fashion: We May Never Wear Real Clothes Again
Not much of coronavirus’ impact on the fashion industry was predictable. Sure, sweatpants did eclipse evening gown sales and lipstick took a nosedive, as expected; but some of the more lasting effects of Covid-19 on the fashion industry could not have been foreseen. I’m talking about a scarcity aesthetic the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression. A “scarcity aesthetic” comes into play in times of economic hardship, when the divide between the haves and have-nots makes consumers reluctant to flaunt their wealth through …
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Where Curbside Pickup Goes Wrong
Curbside pickup at many major retailers isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Yet this hasn’t prevented customers from using the service during Covid-19. The allure of allegedly “contact-less” shopping is more than most can resist during a pandemic. In fact, the number of orders placed online and picked up at stores surged by 208 percent in April alone. But many retailers initially had to scramble to implement curbside pickup while being simultaneously understaffed, underfunded, and under inventoried; and this led to many a catastrophic pickup …
What to Do About Gen Z’s Consumer Power
Generation Z never did what marketers told them to. This is especially true when it comes to where they spend their hard-earned cash during a global economic meltdown. Gen Z consumers are still the largest consumer demographic, falling between the ages of 7 and 22 and controlling 143 billion in spending power pre coronavirus. However, the members of Gen Z that are still making money during the pandemic are bifurcated into those that have been consistently spending online, and those that are holding off in hopes of eventually spending what …