The future is shaped by millennials so it is important to understand how they perceive the world around them to pave the future of the retail market.
Recently there have been several studies looking closely at millennials. As this demographic of the population will pave the future, their wishes, desires and perceptions should not be taken lightly.
In Asia Pacific, millennials make up 25 percent of the workforce. The common perception of millennials often differs to the reality, so CBRE conducted research surveying over 5,000 individuals from this segment of society. With this data a clearer picture could be painted of their everyday life looking closely at how they work and play.
We have previously looked at how millennials live and work, but now our attention draws to how they play. The study deciphered that millennials in Asia Pacific are likely to spend money and time on travel, entertainment and dining. An amount that is more than previous generations.
As the digital age continues to prevail, millennials spend 4.7 days every month shopping online. Having said that, shopping malls still provide an environment for millennials to socialise, eat out and use services such as banking. Visiting them approximately three days every month – despite shopping online being a big hit – shopping malls still serve a purpose but they may need to adapt. Bangkok has an ever increasing number of shopping malls to cater for every budget, and at the weekend they become jammed packed as people pour from the region to spend their hard earned cash.
Dr Henry Chin, head of research at CBRE Asia Pacific commented, “In order to leverage on millennials’ spending habits, retailers are recommended to increase the experience-based element of their offering and focus on providing an environment for visitors to socialize and relax. In addition to increasing F&B, cinema and entertainment elements in their shopping malls, retail landlords should consider organizing more live events to attract millennials. However, they should also carefully manage their tenant mix to ensure they still cater to other generations”.