Bigger Isn’t Better

For Gen Y, bigger and better is no longer an option.

Bigger and Better. It’s been our country’s mantra for many generations. The promise of prosperity for our people—to do better than the generation that has preceded us—is part of the American dream and connected to our national ethos. Look at housing. Two decades ago, a respectable ranch used to be just fine, whereas up until the stock market crash of ’09, owning your very own McMansion was practically de rigueur. What we want, and expect, has grown bigger with every generation.

Until now.

For Gen Y, bigger and better is no longer an option. The great recession has shifted the expression of their values. They’ve been forced to change their behavior simply because they have less. The first generation in history expected not to be better off than the last, they don’t want (and can’t afford) the big house, the luxury car, and the bi-annual resort vacation.

Since they can’t afford to have more, they choose to be different. New currency in the forms of creativity and experience take center stage. Discovering and expressing their identity in this new reality—and the products and services that help them achieve this goal—will be what’s important in their lives. New consumers are actively looking for tools to grease the wheels of this machine and are willing to pay the most for them.

Technology and social networking help them navigate this change—allowing people to quickly prototype identities and express different facets of their personalities, shaping themselves in a virtual space. “They’re actively curating their identities,” Brennan explains. Knowing yourself and what you need to be happy is usually seen in older generations. Also known as “mature consumers,” these folks have traveled the world, had children, bought homes, and purchased cars. They know what they want. They spend time finding what’s right for themselves, rather than spending money on what doesn’t work. Younger generations are on their way to achieving a similar state of consumer maturity at a much younger age. They’re unafraid of being different, breaking molds, and living their lives on their own terms.

As part of this new maturity, having time to enjoy their lives remains vital to Gen Y happiness. Time is the new space. The space we owned and occupied used to be important, and people were willing to work as hard as they could to afford the house and car. Today, there’s a premium placed on time. After all, there’s no point in owning a huge house if you’re never there. Technologies, too, have facilitated this shift. As the Internet has flattened geography, the only thing that seems to break our contact with friends and family around the world is time zones.

At 60 million strong, Gen Y makes up a huge population segment—three times bigger than Gen X. In fact, they’re the largest generation since the Baby Boomers, which is at 72 million people. Their behaviors have a major impact on businesses and dictate what will be hot—or not. Learn what’s out and what’s in for this new consumer.

Fitting the mold is out. Knowing yourself is in. The adaptable infrastructures of sites like Facebook are favored because they allow for rapid identity prototyping, where users can control, manipulate, and change preferences quickly and easily. And sites like OkCupid see growth, as well. But people use them more for self knowledge—using the quizzes to better understand themselves—than as a dating service.

Trial and error is out. The educated consumer is in. With the ability to research a product, check prices, and make purchases via phone, retail stores become places for sensorial experience.

Ownership is out. Access is in. Consumers don’t need to own as much as they want easy and convenient access. Services that share resources with a central hub or with a group of friends—Zipcar, Netflix, Bag, Borrow and Steal, and bike sharing—will see huge growth.

Stuff is out. Service is in. With more emphasis on service, the accumulation of stuff is out. And by default, consumers become more green. Products, such as the iPhone, that cannibalize other categories through convergence will see growth.

Big spending is out. Spending on experience is in. Experience becomes currency. Spending more on having a good time—eating at restaurants, drinking with friends. If there is photographic evidence, it was worth it.

Opulence is out. Unique is in. People aren’t going to stop traveling, but they are looking for cheaper, unique experiences. Services that connect people to unique travel experiences, and provide them with good stories, will continue to have a place.

Luxury is out. Different and personalized is in. Products become more than just stuff, they become evidence of experiences or reminders of a particular point in time. Those that can be custom chosen—just for you or buy you—experience more growth.

See more of our insights at http://continuuminnovation.com/insights/.