How Millennials Are Changing Product Development
Millennials are setting the pace for new product innovation which we may not be so aware of, but it is happening all around us.
With $200 billion in annual buying power in the U.S. alone, millennials are defining a new market. Born in the early 1980s and the mid-1990s to early 2000s Millennials are sometimes referred to as “echo boomers” due to the major surge in birth rates during the 80s and 90s, and because millennials are often the children of baby boomers. Although millennial characteristics vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions, the generation has been generally marked by increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies.
The Influence That Millennials Have on Society
Millennials are different from previous generations on many levels, as entrepreneurs, as employees, as consumers and as innovators. Recent studies show that millennials are even more environmentally conscious than previous generations and this has been having a tremendous impact on how design is and will be carried out.
Unexperienced people from previous generations bought products from companies that only made superficial changes to their marketing but did not change their vision. This generation is the first to buy and sell products to businesses within their own generation who knows and understand how they feel and what they want.
Here are a few examples of how new generations like Millennials are able to shift an entire market.
Cellphones and Tablets: 90% of millennials say their phones never leave their side. Phones have all that millennials need, a camera for selfies, apps and of course, the Internet.
Entertainment Subscriptions: We all know why blockbuster died off. Studies say that 51 percent of millennials consider Netflix subscriptions very valuable, compared to 42 percent for broadcast channels and 36 percent for cable subscriptions. TV sets basically lack mobility, but more importantly they lack the tools to allow Millennials to choose exactly what they want to watch/listen/learn. Streaming can happen wherever you are and do whatever you like!
Environmentally Friendly Everything: A recent study found that 63 percent of millennials strongly supported having more sustainable options in the paper and product packaging they purchase, and 52 percent of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable paper products or products in such packaging. They also more likely to consider the sustainability attributes of a product before purchasing it.
Something like an environmental preference will make new and fresh companies go back to some old ways of manufacturing and even create new more efficient way too.
The millennial product design thought process
So if we can summarize the thought process of millennials as designers we can come up with new products ideas that have a few main philosophies.
If you want to cater to millennials contact us and we can help!
We can help you focus on having ideas that convey speed, mobility, consciousness care which support new and innovative technologies.
“An exceptionally generous generation that holds great promise for improving the world”
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