Millennials are ruling, also in “responsible” luxury

The main consulting businesses consider $62,000 million this year for the expenses of Millennials. This young men, born between 1985 and 1998, was born in generation with a strong personality and being able to difference their own styles and groups that have been perfectly studied. This generation will spend more money than any other. Their buying habits will exceed their parents’, the baby-boomers and the X-Y intermediate generation. Their ages round between 18 and 35 years old, and in the United States, there are only 92 million of these young men that will spend, for example, an average of $750 to buy media and music content in any kind of format. And this is only one of their expenses.

They have an “obsession” with three particular sectors, all related to the “new luxury” concept: travelling, clothes, and sport accessories – which are seen as a concept that shapes your personality – and organic food. They are the new “Muppies” launched to stage in their “deluxe mini” or “deluxe Fiat 500” cars.

And they consider industry to be reinventing itself: aggressive, new and instantaneous ways of purchases through social networks, which are now part of the new tendency. In the United States, a new platform has emerged combining, for example, trade and social responsibility to support the collective actions of these Millennials. The SanaSana Platform advertises itself as “Purchases with a motive” and tries to build a better world.

SanaSana emerges as a platform associated to a variety of eco-friendly, organic, natural brands, whose products improve and respect both, the environment and labor rights. Through every purchase, consumers win points, and when a certain number of points is reached, donations can be made to charitable organizations of their choice. Clients can campaign through their NGOs, and continue the founding for their selected projects.

In this sense, other businesses emerge. These businesses are based on organic products, and preserve the environment. Level 99, business born in California, has launched “Forever Black” and “Forever White”, new collections featuring jeans made with recycled cloth, thanks to a technology that saves water, and is linked to the TerraPass NGO. With each De Lux pair of jeans the consumer buys, you will be able to finance projects against CO2 emission. Supermodel Petra Nemcova is their universal ambassador, and these jeans are the new “big thing”.

In 2017, Millennials have a consumption capacity of 200,000 million, and are changing the way we deal with large multinationals’ sales. These compulsive consumers also want to buy «responsibly» and in companies that comply with their environmental standards and CSR. And they talk about it in social networks. Millennials also want unique experiences, which make them feel special.

Only a few months ago, one of the big screens in Times Square read: Do you wanna talk? and videos of various shoe designers having a phone call with young men and women. This was an initiative buy Teenmix, a Chinese shoe brand selling its articles in the Luxury Platform Alibaba T-Mall. Would you like your shoes more if you were able to talk to the designer? Would you modify them? After these questions, Teenmix selected nine creative directors from all over the world to speak to clients during the first two weeks of this August. The brand offers to manufacture 500 pairs of shoes with the styles of the nine creative directors, and chosen and designed according to the customers’ styles. It is the first time that this initiative is happening, a massive bestpoke through mobile phones and for younger customers. Who said luxury market was not changing?

Disclosure: The author is not responsible for the views expressed in the article. The text has been written freely expressing ideas, without receiving any compensation. The author has no business relationship with any of the companies whose shares are listed in this article.