The Millennials, these luxury beasts

“I put on my brand sneakers!” Maïté Sulliger has fun pointing to her white tennis shoes with wide cream satin laces: "People think they're branded when they're H&M." The Moschino belt, which cinches her voluptuous waist, is original. The pink velvet case of her Miu Miu glasses too, like the bottle of Dior perfume displayed on her shelf. His golden watch? "Tock." Tit for tat and without complexes, Maïté juggles between labels. Of all the goods she consumes, the share of designer products is minimal, but her interest in the luxury industry is enormous.

Maite is 24 years old. She created her own line of clothing, works for an e-commerce site in Geneva and still lives with her parents, because she feels "too good" there. She belongs to Generation Z, also known as “Millennials” or “digital natives”. A heterogeneous group whose definition varies according to use, from the theoretical concept to the marketing sample. Born on the eve of the 21st century, these young people cannot remember life without mobile phones. They grew up with the Internet and their social interactions are dominated by social networks. According to an annual study by Bain & Company, they only occupy 2% of the luxury goods market today, but represent 85% of the sector's growth by 2025.

Also read: “Millennials are looking for experiences and authenticity”

The phenomenon is therefore not negligible. But for major brands, from hotels to watchmaking, cosmetics and fashion, identifying this volatile generation is a real headache. How to seduce a clientele who grew up in a climate of crisis, under environmental threat, who questions the consumer society but swears only by its image? How to identify this ultra-connected, over-informed target, who prefers experience to ownership and who enjoys deconstructing the codes they have inherited?

Co-founder of the collaborative media Twenty, a digital platform run by 16-25 year olds, Nadège Winter believes that this generation shifts the very notion of luxury: “The fascination still exists, the big brands and references are there, but their interests have expanded and diversified. Their view of the world is leveled by the network grid.” Dear designers, advertisers and product managers, welcome to a world where a kitten, a monogrammed bag and a cupcake have the same power of intensity.

Gathering consumption

If the price remains constitutive of its definition, luxury among Millennials now includes symbolic criteria. They want to recognize themselves in the values ​​of their favorite brands, claim the exclusivity of lived experiences and prefer rarities to it-bags. Mastering these parameters is a culture in its own right, but its experts do not necessarily make the best clients. Numa Cardinals is 18 years old. He is employed in a vintage men's clothing store in Vevey, Lowkey. He perfectly masters the history of the Gucci or Missoni houses.

He knows the year in which Lacoste set up its factories outside Europe and can cite the exact references of its favorite pieces. But its consumption has limits: “Clothing, I really like that, it's my whole life. Day at work, evening on the Internet. I started working so I could afford clothes. But spending 3,500 francs on a T-shirt, I don't see the point. Like those guys who dress in Valentino but who come to scratch you 5 francs to buy a kebab. It's ridiculous."

Back from Milan Fashion Week where she presented her clothing line, Maïté spent a night in Monaco. She wanted to afford luxury accommodation: “I saw the famous 5-star hotels, I found them gloomy. I found an incredible Airbnb rental in a former palace that had served as a hospital during the war. She scrolls through the photos on her phone screen. Bay windows, sea view, white bedding and a botanical garden in a greenhouse: “I prefer a building with charm and history to a famous but has-been brand. In the United States, for example, the Marriotts are disgusting.”

Approach Tricks

Challenged by these seasoned consumers, brands innovate as best they can. So as not to annoy the ultra-connected youngster, an impatient animal who wants everything right away, the OKKO hotels – eight 4-star establishments in France – have removed all the administrative formalities but increased the availability of staff: “Without ever being intrusive, the receptionist knows how to tell customers the best bar in the area.” Product and Communication Director of OKKO Hotels, Solenne Devys knows that social networks forgive nothing: "When I survey my establishments, I always ask myself: "are the bar, the bathroom, the hall Instagrammable? ?"

In the hotel industry as in fashion, this supremacy of the image marks the emergence of an unprecedented reign: bloggers, Instagrammers and influencers are the new sesames of customer recruitment. Today, consumers wander through their selections of Pinterest or SnapChat profiles with a sense of critical freedom: they are the ones who choose the content they consult, unlike the passive leafing through of a magazine.

However, the desires they provoke (we also speak of “inspirations”) are indeed the result of advertising tricks: by spraying influencers with loss-leader products – small leather goods, caps, glasses – brands create the illusion of an essential accessory because it is ubiquitous. As these items are accessible, they end up taking over the urban landscape. The meteoric rise of bloggers has made them essential: “People today consult social networks more than the brand's website. It is no longer a question of converging traffic to a single place but of generating traffic at all points”, observes the digital project manager of a large group. Approach strategies are becoming more and more refined: “Before, we chose bloggers with a huge reputation. From now on, we try to capitalize on personalities who have less audience but a more involved community, which "likes" and follows all the publications. Their posts perform better.”

Polyphonic conversation

This parallel communication takes place outside the traditional springs of advertising: Millennials no longer adhere to marketing one-upmanship. Finished, the imperial monologue of brands and the hype of immutable values ​​– they must now integrate into a polyphonic conversation with demanding consumers, adapting to their language and their concerns. Nadège Winter takes as an example the return to grace of Gucci, whose growth has exploded since the arrival of Alessandro Michele, artistic director: “The universe they are developing on Instagram is consistent with the codes of this generation. The idea of ​​the gang, the monsters and the extraterrestrials, the fact of favoring humor over beauty, the return to the origins of the brand, the little videos that create offbeat stories... It works. Director Spike Jonze (In the Skin of John Malkovich) also captured the trend with his multi-award-winning perfume ad for “Kenzo World”. We see a young woman escaping from a formal dinner and starting an unbridled dance in the corridors of the building, breaking with the ethereal aesthetic that commands the world of fragrances.

Teen bedrooms, echo chambers

Its volatility does not prevent luxury brands from continuing to court this youth, which remains an excellent showcase. Despite low purchasing power, its prescription power is colossal. The favorites of these trendsetters resonate in homes, on social networks, within a wider community. Because looking closely at its cradle, we notice that the characteristic behaviors of this generation are already widely practiced by its elders.

Joëlle de Montgolfier is one of the directors of the luxury division at Bain & Company: “Today, technological adoption is widespread. 36-45 year olds are very connected, they also buy online. Among those aged 56+, 80% of purchases go through at least one Internet interaction. We can speak of a “millennialization” of consumers.” In a world obsessed with youth, where you can live at 40 as you did at 20, Millennials have stepped out of their niche. For luxury brands, they are both the horizon and the norm.