So I've been a bit MIA lately...it's been a busy couple of weeks. Last week I was at CA Boom 3, the "west coast design show" (will blog about that next), and this week I was at the Pacific Design Center's market week, where I gave a talk with Susan Fanfa about Generation X and the new prosumer. I'm going to excerpt at bit from the talk, because I think it's a pretty interesting subject.
"The design world is a big and lucrative market with hundreds of thousands of players. In the United States alone, $700 billion is spent annually on homes; $250 billion is spent on home furnishings; and over $30 billion are spent on designer-specified furnishings.
We also live in a highly specialized world -- one in which technology and the Internet have converged to provide us with seemingly unlimited access to products, services, and expansive knowledge from experts around the world.
In fact, because of technology, the world is a much smaller place. The Internet has created a global marketplace. Europebynet.com, Design Within Reach, Ebay, Home Portfolio.com, and a slew of other design-related websites have made it easy to bring Swedish, Asian, South American or virtually any style for any locale into your home with the click of a mouse.
The other aspect of today’s market is that good design is everywhere. Top architects such as Michael Graves design inexpensive house wares for Target. Parson’s tables can be purchased at West Elm for just over $100 dollars. And tens of thousands of similar items can be found at a myriad of retailers. Also it’s not just homeowners who shop at these affordable super stores and readily available catalogs. When we recently interviewed 52 name brand interior designers and architects for our Insiders Issue all 52 said they bought things from the Pottery Barns and Crate & Barrels of our design world.
American companies, faced with stiff Asian competition, are being forced to raise their quality standards, create innovative designs, offer customization and provide handcrafted details. You’ll see this everywhere from the small boutiques all the way up to the large-scale corporate giants. The upside of this is more choices for American consumers.
Manufacturers and retailers aren’t the only ones driving the custom craze. Consumers are showing noticeably more interest in their furnishings. I wanted to mention a few examples of niche products that we’ve featured in the magazine: 4Walls.com, InterfaceFLOR, and lighting designer Daniel Berglund.
Because of increased awareness and unprecedented access to the marketplace, consumers have become better educated, savvier, and more involved in the design market and making purchasing decisions.
We call these new consumers “prosumers” because their knowledge rivals that of the professionals.
The other thing to note about our new prosumer, is that they are getting younger. Status-oriented Baby Boomers are still a large percentage of the design market, but their children – dubbed the “slacker generation” when they were in their teens, Generation X is growing up, making their mark, and wielding their Gen-X purchasing power.
In one of the trends story in our Surfaces issue, author Lis King looked at a study done by an Atlanta-based market research company, Kleber & Associates Marketing & Communications. Kleber studied Generation X and the way they envision their homes and lifestyles. Remarkably, Gen Xers value quality and authenticity. They favor eclectic design, bright, saturated colors, and artwork on the walls. And the desire for more personalized spaces has become paramount. They want furnishings and fixtures to reflect their personal style. And they’re willing to spend… Gen Xers represent almost 40 million emerging new homeowners, and their buying power is estimated to be close to $1.4 trillion according to Kleber.
WHO IS GENERATION X?
- They’re 26 to 41 years old
- Descendents of baby boomers
- Pragmatic decision makers who value quality and authenticity
- Eclectic decorators who want their furnishings to reflect their personal style
- Speed demons who want instant gratification
What Does Generation X Want?
They’re not necessarily extravagant like their parents. In fact, the things they want are undeniably practical:
- lots of storage space
- open plans
- hardwood or tile floors (80% have pets)
- landscaping
- outdoor living (they want to use their entire property)
In close, the Gen X prosumer, is smart, savvy and wields big buying power. The new interior designer needs to be more hands-on, a team player, willing to work with the client to create personalized spaces that reflect the clients lifestyles. And manufacturers are starting to act smaller and sleeker, they’re getting more personal and going more custom.
