Anthony Temple, Managing Director of Rainbow Designs, the Home of Classic Characters, takes a look at the parents of today.
At a time when spend is much more considered it is more important than ever to understand our market and just who are the parents and the purchasers, behind the babies of today?
The majority of parents today fall into a sector known as Generation Y: The Millennials. There are no precise dates for when this generation starts or ends but typically it is referred to as those born between the early 1980’s through to the mid to late 1990’s. It was reported in 2016, that there were 13.8 million people in the UK between the ages of 20 – 35 and accounted for 21 percent of the total UK population.
Millennials, sometimes referred to as 'echo boomers', are the children of the ‘baby boomers’ and more importantly, they grew up when many of the considered classic nursery brands were very much in fashion. The millennial generation were surrounded by renowned brands, many of which were born from publishing heritage, such as Peter Rabbit, Paddington, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Guess How Much I Love You, Miffy and Winnie-the-Pooh.
The popularity and success of these classic brands today is directly linked to the millennial’s own childhood experiences, connections and fond memories of these wholesome and trusted characters. Millennial parents know that they are in safe hands when purchasing classic brand product and they want this security for their own precious little ones.
This generation are at the forefront of social media and digital technologies. To capitalise on this, retailers not only need to be mindful and creative with their selection of products but also look at the critical importance of creating a good communications strategy to showcase their products to this captive audience via the right medium.