I heard a great talk on Generation Y at the Natural Products Expo East. I love to hear about trends and there is a huge group of young people, 97.8 million, coming into the marketplace both as consumers and employees. I had to laugh since all three of my sons fall into Gen Y, and Jason Dorsey's observations were spot on.
Here are some descriptors of his own generation:
The span of birth years are 1977 – 1995. He spoke of how defining moments define a generation’s outlook on life. Gen Y started with the Challenger explosion, lived through the fall of the Berlin Wall, saw the Gulf War on TV, and know where they were (their “JFK moment”) when Sept 11 struck. All of them are children of the Baby Boomers, meaning that most of them have been indulged in, and made to know they are “special” . Their parents defend and coddle them well into their late 20’s. 50% of them move back home after graduating from college, the cell phone is their most important electronic devise and it keeps them connected, and you will want to text them to get their attention. They are tech dependent – not tech savvy as many think they are, and their most important/favorite holiday is their birthday – it is all about them! They are not linear thinkers, they assume instant gratification, feel entitled – which they learned from their parents, and are completely outcome driven. They values lifestyles and relationships over work – life comes first and work is second. By the year 2010, the entire 18-32 year old work force will consist of them.
Now it is up to retailers and manufacturers to figure out the best way to reach this generation as customers and also how to entice them to work for them as an employee!
Products at Expo shout out their claims like sound bites, all vendors have websites, orders can be placed online, values - recycleability, responsibility, fair trade, green & carbon footprint - are sincerely touted to gain Gen Y's interest. See... already this intriguing demographic is making its mark in the world!
Till another time, Anne