Millennial consumers can be divided up into three main segments, says Tim Schlick, chief strategy officer at Platinum Guild International.
Luxury, and jewelry in particular, is a curious industry. On the one hand, it provides aspirational products and exclusive experiences to consumers; on the other hand, many brands treat consumers very literally: merely as a source of consumption.
While there are many examples of luxury brands turning razor-sharp consumer insights into products that not only resonate with, but actually move consumers, a staggering number of brands still implement a purely product-centric business model. This practice is especially prevalent in the jewelry industry: Develop a product efficiently, then try to find a marketing angle.
With consumers more marketing-savvy than ever, this business thinking is doomed. Millennials particularly are masters of distinguishing between product substance and marketing veneer.
Marketing skeptics
Consumers, especially millennials, want products that don’t just tell a marketing story, but are an expression of their story. They seek products that touch and move them, and that express who they are and strive to be. This is particularly true for jewelry — products no consumer needs but many want.
The first step to achieving this is to understand that there is no such thing as “the consumer” and that the current practice of dividing potential customers by age, gender, household income or family status cannot tell you anything about what moves them and why they buy.
Platinum Guild International has worked closely with the Sinus Institute — a global leader in consumer segmentation, sought for advice by companies and governments alike — to produce the largest consumer-segmentation study ever conducted for jewelry.
