It is all about the experience economy. Millennials would rather buy an experience versus buy a product and they love the journey involved discovering those experiences. An experience that is memorable and that they will relish.
These are the last of the mall kids. Everyday they ventured to the mall to experience life with their friends. Not to shop but to be together and share wild stories of what they will do in the future. They have matured, they have replaced those daily dream sessions with a passion to make dreams realities. They desire to encounter the new, the unique and the thrilling. They want experiences they will always remember and can share with their tribe. Clothes fade from style, cars degrade and cheapen and rented homes can be vacated at a moment’s notice. They are so temporary. Our minds stay true to our viewpoint. What we wanted to recall about our trip to some exotic destination remains in glorious images. The bad hotel and that one meal that made you sick have been minimized or recast as comedies. The trip in our mind was WON-DER-FUL.
That is what the next luxury monied generation is: experience junkies. And that is a good thing. They are not looking for the products that are sold in Home Depot, Macy’s and the local supermarket. They are searching for stores that offer an always changing palette of small manufacturers and importing vendors that are centered on creating new looks or innovative ways for a product to function. These stores will remain the destination when Millennial, Y and Z generation are looking for special products to transform spaces in their home into a unique experience from themselves and their guests. It is about making a statement.
That is the future of non-price-competitive retail. New, different and sometimes challenging products. All selected with a story to move it far away from the expected and everyday. A product with a memorable experience to share.
Image by Diego Delso at Creative Commons
Jeffrey Valles 