8 ms·
Millennials' preferences are killing dozens of industries
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- nxsynonym 9y agoAnother lazy article about how Millennials are destroying the economy. And not one mention to the dozens of industries Millennials created or helped take off.
- DarkKomunalec 9y agoI honestly don't even see such articles as negative. They're not destroying 'the economy', just a few businesses, by acting more frugally/efficiently. People don't serve 'the economy' - it's supposed to be the other way around. If parts of it are no longer needed, tough.
- bencoder 9y agohttp://i.imgur.com/AT0DRAT.jpg http://i.imgur.com/AT0DRAT.jpg
- kernelbandwidth 9y agoThis is pretty funny. "Did Millennials kill fashion?" one of those headlines reads. No, I've seen what y'all did in the 80's and 90's. If Millennials killed fashion, it was a merciful death after that.
- falcolas 9y agoHey! I liked my parachute pants. They were comfortable. :(
- kernelbandwidth 9y agoI'm not saying it was all bad, just, you know, mistakes were made.
- christophilus 9y agoThis says more about the sorry state of the news industry than it does about Millenials.
- slig 9y ago"Millenials are killing traditional news outlets."
- marmaduke 9y agoWhat's the toast and egg thing about?
- qbrass 9y agoI think there's avocado under the egg.
- liberte82 9y agoHilarious. Who raised these millennials?
- jessaustin 9y agoLike many GenXers I would have been happy to laugh at those silly Millennials but TFA has me convinced of their wisdom and good taste. With the exception of bar soap and the possible exception of Lowe's/Home Depot, I completely agree that society needs less of everything on this list.
- THE_PUN_STOPS 9y agoI would like to vote to keep motorcycles around.
- pavlov 9y agoVote with your money -- the only vote that counts in this case.
- clarry 9y agoI'm guessing the lack of disposable income and home ownership are a big cause. Who wants to buy a motorcycle if they don't have a garage, or don't know if their next rent apartment is going to have one?
- cholantesh 9y agoI just got back from a trip to Cambodia and rode a bike there; I can definitely see the appeal! My peer group has a pretty negative perception of bikes, though: they see bike riders as reckless and bikes as dangerous and polluting. I wonder what it would take to build a culture akin to what exists now for bicycles.
- adwhit 9y agoIndeed, hard to imagine anyone really being upset by any of these industries disappearing. But easy to imagine that in the future people will be incredulous that many of them existed in the first place ("You bought a handbag for 30-times it's production cost, and it made you feel good?")
- cyxxon 9y agoSome days ago I read an interview with one of the more important politicians in Germany's conservative party, where he complained about millenials not buying into consumerism as much, and also about his political opponents not protecting ye olde businesses enough from this trend. All I could think of was buggy whips: if your industry is not dying because someone invented a better and cheaper way to meet demands, but because there is no longer as much demand (if at all!), then, sorry, no, you do not deserve to be saved, or bailed out even.
- SilasX 9y agoReminds me of the 2008 crash where people weren't buying cars. "Oh, awesome! They'll have to cut prices, so those who run a prudent budget will get good deals for not going along with the car-buying hype" -- no. Instead, the auto industry gets special attention and demand-propping, like Cash for Clunkers.
- clarry 9y agoI feel the same way whenever people & news fixate on jobs, especially with regard to jobs being lost with the closure of large factories or other big employers. No, they do not exist to produce jobs. No, we shouldn't pour money and effort into unprofitable business just for the sake of jobs...
- pjmlp 9y agoUntil it happens to be your job.
- csmattryder 9y ago> "We believe the delay in homeownership is due to tighter credit standard and lifestyle changes [...]" Being priced completely out of the market is another way to say that, given the housing market in the UK. A lack of guaranteed long-term disposable income explains most of the others; diamonds, annual gym membership contracts.
- stuaxo 9y agoIndeed - people in all industries that need people to have disposable income, should be lobbying for solutions to these issues.
- danzig13 9y agoI believe this is true in the United States also. I definitely have constant post code envy and look up houses all the time. Housing costs a fortune for anything move in ready in any city/town that is desirable and I'm looking in the Southeast which would have been traditionally pretty cheap.
- christophilus 9y agoI don't know if it's that simple. I align with this study, but have a decent income. - Home-ownership is a giant pain and often a poor financial choice - The diamond industry is corrupt, filled with human misery, and has artificially inflated prices - Why pay for a gym when I can go hiking, walking, do yoga, and all the other exercises I like on my own for free?
- actsasbuffoon 9y ago> Home-ownership is a giant pain and often a poor financial choice Yeah, this probably doesn't get discussed enough. I've had my house for a little under a year, and it's required a new roof, a gas stove for a finished basement that turned out to be severely under-heated, problems with electrical wiring, and a few little odds and ends that weren't up to code, which I had to fix to get home owners insurance. I'm saving a bundle when you only consider the difference between my old rent and my new mortgage, but home ownership comes with many incidental one-off costs.
- dozzie 9y agoThe correct emphasis: dozens of industries dying because they can't adapt to millennials' preferences.
- westmeal 9y ago$article_name = "$GENERATION is doing $QUESTIONABLE_ACTION";
- majewsky 9y agoFun fact: Betteridge's Law may apply even though the title is not a question.
- lightbyte 9y agoUnder Cereal: >Instead, younger consumers are turning to convenient options with minimal cleanup that can be eaten on the go, from yogurt to fast-food breakfast sandwiches. Four entries down is: >Yogurt — especially light yogurt
- maaaats 9y agoI would have guessed the drop in cereal is from parents learning that it's mostly sugar, and starting to feed their kids other breakfast.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- zulln 9y agoThey previously consumed yoghurt, now they instead prefer breakfast sandwiches.
- lightbyte 9y agoI'm fairly confident it is saying people are changing from cereal to things that can be eaten on the go, such as yogurt or breakfast sandwiches.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago>Hooters Went to hooters. There was too much clothing. Food was overpriced by bar food standards. If I want to see tits I'll go to a strip club. If I want beer and food I'll go to a bar. The Unix design philosophy isn't just for software.
- anon977 9y ago> There was too much clothing. Some people can enjoy the female figure just fine without advanced states of undress. But I would prefer more diversity in outfits, more along the lines of cosplay restaurants. The standard hooters uniform does nothing for me.
- nnq 9y ago> the Unix design philosophy isn't just for software I have mixed feeling about the "Unix design philosophy" in software. And I'll sure as hell fight to not let it invade other aspects of life! I happen to like "expert generalist" software and tools, and just as much I like "expert generalist" people. I can't wait to see the reversal of the "worse is better" and "efficiency first" philosophies... even if this will likely coincide with the brink of technological singularity and the extinction of bio-humans, I hope I'll see the short as it may be age when we use technology to engineer plenty, richness, artfulness and hedonistic excess in all areas of life instead of the current artificially synthetized scarcity in all things for the purposes of "efficiency" and "accelerating growth".
- genocide_throw 9y ago"Dozens of industries fail to adapt to Millennials' preferences." FTFY.
- princekolt 9y agoBusinessInsider reads more like Buzzfeed than ever before. (Millennials HATE these industries, and you won't believe number 8!) It's also no wonder the publishing industry is collapsing and is only still around because of aggressive advertisement tactics.
- setrofim_ 9y agoYup, it's kind of surprising "traditional news outlets" didn't make that list.
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- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- maxehmookau 9y ago"Young people like different things to old people." Get over it.
- nobodyorother 9y agoBut, but... but those aren't the things I wanted them to like! ...Murderers! Industry murderers!
- Vendan 9y ago> While millennials like to workout, they're ditching gyms in favor of boutique, class-centric centers. "Millennials don't want to be tied down," Megan Smyth, the CEO of FitReserve, a service that lets members book boutique studio classes, told the New York Post. "It's a spontaneous demographic." Ditching 24 hour gyms where you can go whenever you feel like in exchange for booking classes is "spontaneous"???
- falcolas 9y agoMy personal feelings tie it more to the enforced year long contracts than hour-to-hour flexibility. Signing up for a Gym is a major financial commitment.
- wil421 9y agoNot really you can find gyms as cheap as a monthly Netflix subscription or luxury gyms that cost more than my Internet and cable bill.
- falcolas 9y agoAnd no matter the monthly cost, they still try and get you into a year contract. That is the lack of flexibility. You can't go for a month and decide to switch gyms; you're tied to your choice for a year.
- cholantesh 9y agoLA Fitness is month to month. However, they try very hard to convince you to get personal training, which is contract-based. Very sneaky.
- tiggybear 9y agoThat's never been the case for any gym I've ever belonged to.
- jazzyk 9y agoIn the US, Planet Fitness' membership is $100/year (there are others, such as WOW). Hardly a major financial commitment.
- jtcond13 9y agoYou're welcome, America. Will anyone really miss Buffalo Wild Wings? Or Golf? I suspect we drink just as much beer, it's just more craft beer than Sam Adams or Corona. The 'Millennials don't like breasts' angle is a new take. I'd figured that one was a constant.
- davexunit 9y agoI am so ready for the golf courses to get shut down. Huge waste of space and carbon emissions from excessive mowing and fertilizing.
- jtcond13 9y ago+1 to this. Make them public parks that everyone can enjoy.
- NoGravitas 9y agoI think Millennials realize that they can see boobs any time they want, and don't need to go to a crappy, overpriced restaurant to ogle the topboob of a stressed, exploited, overworked waitress.
- m12k 9y agoMy guess is it's more along the lines of "male Millenials have realized that going to a restaurant explicitly to oggle the waitresses' breasts will make them appear crude to their peers"
- vkjv 9y ago
- TYPE_FASTER 9y ago> In late July, Goldman Sachs downgraded both Boston Beer Company and Constellation Brands based on data suggesting that younger consumers prefer wine and spirits to beer, as well as the fact that they're drinking less alcohol than older generations more generally. Not to mention the number of breweries has grown from 2,751 in 2012, which was a record then, to 4,144 in the beginning of 2016.
- matheweis 9y agoYea, I wondered if they even have accurate numbers for beer - you mention the doubling of breweries in the last few years - on a slightly larger timeline it's even more pronounced - it has gone from next to nothing in the last decade and shows little sign of slowing down: https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/number-of-breweries/ https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/number-of-brew...
- davexunit 9y agoI'm surprised that cereal is on the list. The reason cited is that it's viewed as inconvenient. I eat cereal nearly every day because it's pretty much the laziest breakfast you can possibly make.
- giancarlostoro 9y agoI agree, that alone made me question the article more.
- XorNot 9y agoConversely I haven't eaten cereal in years.
- hmhrex 9y agoAs with many things in this article, I disagree with their statement on cereal very much. I would rather spend my money on better foods for my children than the processed, sugar-filled, expensive "cereals" that are marketed as "healthy". I prefer the actual term for [cereal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal) and we try to stick to that mixed with yogurt and fruits.
- ajc-sorin 9y agoIt'd be more accurate to state "dozens of industries fail to adapt to the needs of Milennials." Businesses serve consumers - not the other way around. Perhaps if businesses realized this, they wouldn't be getting "killed."
- 0xcde4c3db 9y agoI notice that the napkin entry implicitly assumes disposable napkins. Given that it's often said that millennials value authenticity, I wonder if part of that decline can be attributed to cloth napkins, and the cited Washington Post article at least touches on that but doesn't seem to have any data. The beer entry similarly seems to disregard the explosion of popularity in microbrews. Of course, like most such articles, this is really less about millennials' preferences than it is about our economic situation. For whatever reason, a lot of people seem to think that inflation ended in the 1970s and that we aren't all running out and buying houses because we lack an "ownership culture" or whatever.
- christophilus 9y agoInteresting. My anecdote supports this. My wife and I use cloth napkins. When they're dirty (or we're being hasty) we use paper towels.
- kalefranz 9y agoWould love to see the parallel article of the 20 or so industries and products that millennials are boosting.
- criddell 9y agoThat was one of the conflicts in that article. Several items were related to decline in restaurants - Applebees, Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters - and then later it says millenials are spending more money on restaurants and experiences. So what are the new restaurants that young people are patronizing? Take out places? And what are the experiences? Travel? Concerts? Movies?
- whatusername 9y agoInteresting... Business Insuder seem to be tailoring their stock photos to local audiences. I saw Commonwealth Bank, Myer, Sizzler, Jarryd Hayne. Those names likely won't mean much to people outside Australia. The article text seemed the same -- just local photography.
- MattSteelblade 9y agoIt seems that it just changed you to the Australia edition. You have a slightly modified headline and some different pictures. The Australian one also shows up as a slideshow, while the American is one long article.
- 9j9j9j9ju 9y agoSoya products are to blame. It decreases testosterone production in men, hence the "don't like breasts" effect.
- thealistra 9y ago1. You assume every millennial eats soya. 2. You assume soya decreases testosterone. 3. You assume that testosterone is the cause of not liking breasts. 4. You assume people don't go to Hooters because they don't like breasts.
- dang 9y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15064348 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15064348 and marked it off-topic.
- dyeje 9y agoCan this meme of 'Millenials are killing x' just die already?
- christophilus 9y agoI'm gen-X, but align almost perfectly with millenials on that list. Good riddance, I say.
- nicktelford 9y agoYou can't kill an industry; that would imply some kind of obligation to maintain the status quo. These industries are "dying" (or more accurately, declining) simply because they're failing to adapt to the changing nature of demand.
- x2398dh1 9y ago"Guilded Age Generation's" New Preference for Decadent, Sinful Kerosene Killing Honest Whale Oil Dealers! Lazy Great Generation Wants To Ride In Cars Instead of Time-Tested Horse and Buggy! Drug-Addled Baby Boomers Spend All Their Time Idiotically Punching Numbers Into Fax Machines Rather than Learning Moorse Code Like They Should Be!
- knbknb 9y agoI'm GenX, but for my generation and Millenials I'd add "Fine China ownership", "Opera visits", "Stamp Collections", and a few others to the list. With "Matchbox Car Collections", I'm not sure if this is still a millenial thing.
- GuB-42 9y agoGeneration n has different preferences than generation n-1. Industries that don't adapt are going down, leaving the space for newer industries. That's the normal state of things. So why present it in such a negative view?
- robbrit 9y agoSo that they can cash in on generation n-1's dislike of generation n. Stating it as the obvious fact that it is doesn't sell newspapers or generate clicks.
- p0nce 9y agoSo, millenials are much more pragmatic and won't buy things that have zero value in a world that heats up too fast?
- nkrisc 9y agoI can't wait for Millennials to kill "Millennials are killing" articles.
- matt_s 9y agoI don't think its only millennials. I'm gen-X and would prefer to go out to dinner to a place with awesome food rather than a meh meal at a chain restaurant where they might just be microwaving everything that isn't grilled or fried. Maybe because of the recession its more of a culture shift away from feeding the greed of corporate america? Maybe people, of all ages, are just more aware of the details on things like handbags that are overpriced, overpriced bar food at Hooters, etc. Maybe if we as a whole are more educated consumers, we consume less?
- jazzyk 9y agoSadly, it is the recession, not the awareness. It is like with car sales: every time gas prices go up, people start buying Priuses, etc. But the minute gas prices come down, SUVs (the bigger, the better) are all the rage again.
- basseq 9y agoI was born right between Gen X and Millennials. Sometimes I am included as a millennial, sometimes not. I'm 50/50 on this list. - Applebees: DEAD. "Low-quality restaurant sees declining sales." Color me shocked. Suffice to say, I haven't set foot in an Applebees / Chilis / etc. in years. I was given a gift certificate a couple years ago, and used it at their sister restaurant On The Border for margaritas only. - Beer: ALIVE. I'm surprised here, given literally all my friends love microbrews. I have a case of Starr Hill in my fridge right now. Is this looking at "Big Beer" and ignoring craft breweries? They also mention that "younger consumers prefer wine and spirits to beer", but use Constellation Brands as an example. Other than Corona / Modelo, Constellation is primarily wine (Black Box, Estancia, Robert Mondavi, Toasted Head, Woodbridge). - Napkins: DEAD. Just a pain. Drives my mom nuts. That said, I do have linen napkins for nice occasions. - Hooters: DEAD. Full of creepy old men who wish it was still the 80s. - Cereal: ALIVE. My wife, in particular, eats cereal almost every morning. - Golf: ALIVE. I enjoy golf. I don't get out to play as much as I'd like, and when I do, it's usually 9 holes. A full 18 just takes too long. - Motorcycles: ALIVE. I used to ride a 1,000cc Aprilia Tuono R, but sold it when I had my first kid. I miss it. Most of my motorcycle-riding friends are on the same trajectory, but that has nothing to do with generation. - Homeownership: ALIVE. Just bought my second house. 50% of my friends own. - Yogurt: ALIVE. Confused here, too, as they turn around and mention that Greek yogurt is popular. Anyway, yogurt (Greek) for lunch today. - Bars of Soap: ALIVE. I like Caress. - Diamonds: ALIVE. I have bought my wife a few. Just so damn expensive, and synthetic stones have reached par in quality. - Fabric Softener: DEAD. According to Procter & Gamble's head of global fabric care, millennials "don't even know what the product is for." I don't know what the product is for. - Banks: ALIVE. Though what they really mean is: physical bank branches. In which case: DEAD. I haven't visited a physical bank in years. Schwab is great. My wife recently opened a business credit card at BB&T, and they told her she had to come in person to change her address. She is considering cancelling her account. - Department Stores: DEAD. Sears and Macys are ghost towns. Norstrom does better. I feel like the quality is generally lower-end, and I can get a cheaper price online for the good stuff. - Designer Handbags: ALIVE. Most of the millennial women I know have at least one "nice" bag. Michael Kors and Kate Spade are kind of "young" or entry-level. Tory Burch does well, along with stalwarts like Louis Vuitton and upstarts like Shinola. - Gyms: ALIVE. I belong to a "big-box" gym. I like all the different classes I can take, or that there are other facilities available. - Home Depot: ALIVE and I am singlehandedly keeping them afloat. I guess this aligns with the "homeownership" bucket, but renters need stuff, too. I went to Home Depot twice this weekend. - Football: ALIVE. I can't wait for the fall, NCAA, and fantasy football. We did ditch cable this year, and that definitely has an impact. Football needs to catch up to viewer trends. Oddly enough, they miss the biggest existential threat to football: violence and brain injury. - Oil: ALIVE. What? Sure, electric cars and bicycle usage are going to cut into gasoline sales, but this is just silly.
- badprose 9y agoGoing over sme of the brands on that list, this was a bit shocking: Applebee's founded 1980. Buffalo Wild Wings founded 1982. Hooters founded 1983. The way they write these articles I thought these companies were as old as Macys (1858) or Sears (1893).
- gordaco 9y agoSo much emphasis on millenials not buying things and so little emphasis on millenials being paid fairly so that they can buy things. People are being denied the possibility of having money. Therefore a lot of luxuries (or perceived luxuries) are disappearing. Businesses should stop feigning surprise about it, and start handing out money to their workers. Millenials also have the benefit of being in a world where information is more available, so it's more difficult to scam them or trick them into consuming things with nasty side effects. Let's see what's in the list proposed by the article: 1) Casual dining: perceived luxury. Homemade food is cheaper (probably healthier as well). 2) Beer: harmful to health. People are now more likely to be aware of this, so a reduction in consumption is to be expected. 3) Napkins: probably, perceived luxury. There are better, cheaper alternatives. 4) Breastaurants: preceived luxury. Another factor here is that the younger generations are likelier to find these demeaning to women. I know I wouldn't ever go to one of these. 5) Cereal: this is an interesting case. My money is on two causes: one is that they are probably perceived to be harmful to health (most are more sugary than it seems at first glance), another one is that people are changing their breakfast habits because of time restrictions. Because yes, millenials aren't just money-poor; employed millenials are time-poor too. 6) Golf: obviously a luxury. 7) Motorcycles: possibly a luxury too. If you run the numbers (as I have, but your results will depend on your location) you will probably found that public transport+Uber or equivalent is cheaper than having your own vehicle. In the case of Harley-Davidson mentioned in the article, they are definitely a luxury. 8) Homeownership: definitely a luxury; rent, shared homes or simply staying with your parents is just cheaper. Also, homeownership ties you into a given locations, yet the job market is likely to requiere people to move. Therefore homeownership is not a smart move for a lot of people. 9) Yogurt: not sure about this, probably it's being perceived as harmful. However not every yogurt is packed with sugar; I wonder if healthier brands are faring better than not so healthy ones. 10) Bars of soap: probably perceived as a luxury as well. The article mentions health concerns, whicih might be valid. 11) Diamonds: this is not even a luxury. It's, and always has been, a racket based on very effective propaganda. Congratulations to millenials for finally starting to end the farce. 12) Fabric softener: luxury. 13) Banks: well, you need to have money to use them, so don't expect millenials to use banks all the time. Also some usual banking practices are really shady and millenials want to avoid them. 14) Department stores: probably perceived as a luxury. 15) Designed handbags: obvious luxury. 16) Gyms: this is another interesting one; I would have bet that people are consuming it more than 20 years ago. I guess that memberships are just too expensive and people just go for a jog in the park. So, another luxury. 17) Home-improvement stores: well, millenials don't usually own their houses and they are not going to spend their already meagers pool of time and money into improving another person's house. 18) Football: I can't say much about this, because I'm not from the US. The article mentions a decrease in cable TV, which is obviously a luxury. I suspect that there is a greater cultural trend here and people are just less interested in sport because there are so many more options to spend free time, and so much less of that free time. 19) Oil: this is a matter of political conscientiousness, so it falls under the "perceived harmful" category. After this wall of text, my conclusion is: yep, millenials are doing what they are incentivized for. No real surprise here.
- damaru 9y agoFor me it just sounds like a consumer generation smartening up - no napkin, hooters, beer and softeners... This is mostly waste anyway, our needs and consumption will change and the industry has to change with it.