For most of us, we consider adult behavior to be things like having an 8-5 job, having a mortgage, going grocery shopping, making a car payment and assuming other ‘adult’ responsibilities.
“Adulting” is a pop culture term coined by a 20-something generation of millennials who are entering the mainstream adult population with very different expectations about how they want to be an adult and what it means.
“I hate adulting and having to spend my own money on groceries.”
This is a generation of high consumption and personal choice, but some might say very little personal responsibility. Much has been written about this generation’s likelihood to have helicopter parents that facilitated success and in turn shielded them from the notion of hardship and even adult responsibility versus Generation X that was thought of as latchkey kids responsible for their own success and well-being while their parents worked.
It may be fun to joke about a millennials propensity to adult, but it speaks to a greater need to understand both generational and cultural shifts that impact business, brands and consumerism. Millennials often opt for shared economies and flexible settings that allow them to personally shape their own environments and eschew traditional norms.
Today, millennial minded businesses have offered disruption in a variety of categories that better meet the needs of this generation. Most metropolitan cities now offer a bike share program and car share programs like Zipcar see continued growth. (Read: no car payment – screw adulting). Box subscriptions in both meal and snack formats, as well as jewelry and health products fill the need of someone else doing the work of the research to find the best products and doing the shopping for you. (Read: no shopping for groceries – screw adulting). And a gig driven economy promotes freelance work opportunities that millennials set their own schedules and do the work they choose without conforming to the norms of a fixed, office based schedule. (Read: I don’t do 9-5 – screw adulting). I even recently saw an advertisement for an apartment rental concept that allows you to move around the country and stay in different apartments on the same rental contract, allowing for a truly travel minded boho lifestyle.
This free-spirted generation is now the largest generation and nearly 75 million strong with more than $200 billion in buying power. Despite their demographic size, they do not have the most buying power today, but it is growing fast. The question for all businesses and brands is how will you capture this new generation of consumers that is not consumption averse, but is changing the consumption landscape?
Written by Melinda Goodman
Managing Partner
Melinda@FullTiltMarketing.net
