USA Today: Gen Y forces retailers to keep up with technology, new stuff
The next time you see a member of Generation Y, show some appreciation.
In Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens, and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail, Kit Yarrow and Jayne O'Donnell say today's teens, tweens and twentysomethings "were the least likely to cut back spending after the onset of the 2008 recession."
What's more, Yarrow (a consumer researcher and chair of the Golden Gate University psychology department) and O'Donnell (USA TODAY's retail reporter) say the 84 million Generation Yers born from 1978 through 2000 are so influential they've changed shopping for all consumers. They call Gen Y "the taste-makers, influencers, and most enthusiastic buyers of today," who will become "the mature, high-income purchasers of the future."
Because of Gen Y, we have:
- More creative, technically advanced websites (50% of retailers redesigned their sites last year).
- A wide availability of online customer reviews (Gen Y writes half of them).
- A faster stream of product introductions (Gen Y gets bored fast).
- Bigger, more comfortable dressing rooms (Gen Yers like to bring in friends to review outfits).
Generalizing about any group this size is risky. …
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