Razor companies are honestly losing their minds right now because of these pesky millennial trends. One of the newest and most unique changes in this generation is a strong preference for growing bears. Probably half of the millennials you meet in colleges, universities, and tech campuses have some form of a beard that makes them feel unique.
This is in line with their strong desire to show their individuality. It also manifests itself in stronger demand for tattoos, earrings and other body-altering procedures. Some companies, such as Dollar Shave Club, have managed to succeed despite today’s less shaving population, but other brands, such as Gillette, are seriously struggling and attempting to appeal more to women now.
Millennials Are Too Broke For Life Insurance and Stocks
Back in the day, our parents and grandparents made a huge deal out of having life insurance and owning stock portfolios. When the stock market collapsed in 2008 though, everyone’s confidence took a significant blow, and today, people are much more skeptical about investing. It’s been estimated that about three-quarters of all millennials don’t have life insurance, not because they don’t want it, but because they simply can’t afford it.
Another survey found that only about 13% of millennials have even considered investing in the stock market. Many experts speculate that this is due to them seeing two full-blown market crashes throughout their lifetimes. After seeing their parents lose their minds when their portfolios got cut in half in 2008 and 2009, they are much more apprehensive about investing.
Colleges Are Getting Paid Extravagant Sums From Students
Student debts are much higher than ever before, while the actual effectiveness of having tuition is going down rapidly. Back in the day, colleges were mostly reserved for the rich, gifted, smartest, hardest-working, and privileged. Nowadays, everyone goes to college and university. This makes them much less desirable to employers, especially when considering the rise of many non-viable degrees that don’t actually help you find a job later in life. Almost half of all graduates find themselves working jobs they didn’t aim for, even years after they graduated.
One of the more recent solutions to this massive crisis is called “Income Sharing Agreements”. These are revolutionary payment models for colleges and universities, where the institution only gets paid if they actually help you find a high-paying job in your profession. You basically get to study and receive your credentials for free, and only pay a percentage of your salary later, once you’re already successful. These are obviously more geared towards more “solid” degrees that prepare you for a high-paying job, but that doesn’t take away from the amazing change that this new financial model will likely bring.
Younger People Don’t Really Use Doorbells Anymore
The whole idea of a doorbell was that your house is a big place and you might not hear a knock on the door. In today’s modern times of millennials living in tiny apartments, it really doesn’t matter which part of the house they’re in. We’d argue that they might not hear a knock from their basement, but most millennials today don’t even have basements!
Another reason for doorbells becoming a lot less popular, is that people prefer to just text or call when they visit. When someone visits your apartment, it’s usually either a friend, your family, or a delivery guy bringing you food. Either way, in all three of these examples, the visitor has your phone number. This makes it much more comfortable to just call or text, rather than awkwardly ringing a doorbell.
Organic Foods Are Hurting Processed Food Sales
Many millennials won’t even buy food that doesn’t have the word “organic” on it. This is partly because of their ethical beliefs, where something like organic meat usually means the animal was treated better, and partly due to health fads. This is a great excuse for companies to seriously jack up their food prices, as organic products often cost a lot more than regular ones.
Companies that aren’t willing to cater to today’s green, vegan, organic (insert your healthy words of choice here) demands from millennials, are seeing their sales drop. This is due to both the higher demand for such foods, as well as much stiffer competition from online retailers who will just ship food straight to your door.