Millennials Do Research before Buying New Handbags

The NPD Group and Stylitics, a fashion technology and insights company, conducted a study that found that women aged 18 and over spent $11.5 billion to buy handbags in 2015. That was an increase of 5 percent over 2014. Much of the increase was due to Baby Boomers who spent their discretionary income on accessories.

Sales of handbags among Millennials between the ages of 18 and 34 grew by only 2 percent in the same period. The researchers found that younger consumers shop for handbags very differently than older generations.

How Millennials Shop for Handbags

For Millennial shoppers, buying a new handbag is a multi-step process. They are less likely to make impulsive decisions to buy handbags than previous generations. In the study, 41 percent of respondents said that they began to think about which handbag to buy a month or more before they actually made a purchase. They are more likely than older consumers to conduct research, either online or in stores, before making a purchase. In the study, 61 percent of respondents said they began their search for the perfect handbag by browsing online.

Millennials are less loyal to brands than older generations. They are more concerned with specific attributes of products than with brands and logos. They are more likely to focus on details, quality, and the uniqueness of the bags they are considering buying than a designer logo. For three out of four Millennials, the specific attributes of a bag were more important than its status symbol quality. They are also more willing to take a chance and buy a handbag made by a new or emerging label.

What Does This Mean for Retailers?

This insight into Millennials’ shopping habits has implications for handbag manufacturers and retailers. They can take advantage of this knowledge about younger consumers’ shopping habits and use it to market their products in stores and online.

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