The Millennial Consumer’s Handbag Shopping Journey is More Like Buying a Car than Clothing, Reports NPD
Port Washington, New York (PRWEB) May 10, 2016 -- The Millennial customer treats a handbag purchase as a multi-step process, and 41 percent said they started thinking about their most recent handbag purchase more than a month in advance, according to a new report from global information company The NPD Group, created in partnership with Stylitics. The New Handbag Customer Revealed 2016 study examines the closets and mindset of Millennial women to understand their needs, aspirations, inspirations, and the triggers that make them purchase.
Women 18 and over spent a total of $11.5 billion on handbags in the U.S. in 2015. Handbag expenditures grew 5 percent compared to 2014, fueled by Baby Boomers with greater discretionary incomes. However, sales among Millennials age 18-34 inched forward by only 2 percent, led by a double-digit increase in spending by older members of the generation.
“The Millennial customer is shopping for handbags very differently than other generations,” said Rohan Deuskar, CEO & co-founder of Stylitics, a fashion technology and insights company. “For example, this customer starts with specific product attributes, not brand, when looking for her next handbag, and invests more time and research in her purchase than brands and retailers realize. These findings have been eye-opening for handbag sellers, and are having an immediate impact on their marketing, merchandizing, and product development strategies.”
The Millennial handbag customer is increasingly more focused on the details, quality, and uniqueness of her handbags, than the brand itself, across most price points and styles. This makes this customer much more open to trying emerging or lesser-known brands, which has implications for both established brands and newcomers.
The complex, highly rational, and highly emotional nature of the handbag purchase journey poses many opportunities for manufacturers and retailers to capture the attention of the Millennial customer, whether it is through social media or a hands-on experience.
“With the complex nature of the Millennial handbag purchase journey, combined with the diverse needs of selling the same handbags across a variety of generations, it becomes even more critical to ensure those selling your handbags know all the right reasons behind each generation’s choices,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, The NPD Group, Inc. “The handbag has become a signature item, and retailers need to take advantage of selling it in-store, up-front and center, as their own signature.”
Source: The NPD Group, Inc. / The New Handbag Customer Revealed 2016
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group provides market information and business solutions that drive better decision-making and better results. The world’s leading brands rely on us to help them get the right products in the right places for the right people. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, consumer electronics, diamonds, e-commerce, entertainment, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, technology, toys, video games, and watches / jewelry. For more information, visit npd.com and npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdgroup
About Stylitics
Stylitics provides unique technology and data solutions to help brands and retailers drive engagement, upsell, and conversion across channels. We track and analyze purchase and styling information from over 300,000 Millennial shoppers. With over 4 years of purchase history across dozens of segments and every major fashion category, we have a unique view into where the customer is shopping, what she’s buying, and where the trend is heading.
Stylitics also powers data-driven outfit recommendations for retailers. We help retailers automatically display high-quality styling suggestions for thousands of products across their e-commerce and mobile experience, giving their customers an engaging way to shop while increasing conversion and average order value.
Janine Marshall, The NPD Group, http://www.npd.com, +1 (516) 625-2356, [email protected]
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