Millennial Shopping Habits Are Changing Fashion – Here’s How
千禧一代的购物习惯正在改变时装
The Huffington Post Canada | By Philip Mak
Translated by Lei Howe
- 赫芬頓郵報加拿大 /Philip Mark 撰 Lei Howe 译
I made the mistake of asking a group of middle-aged relatives over the holidays what they thought of the current generation a.k.a. millennials. “Entitled.” “They spend too much time on their phones.” “Lazy.” All followed by maddeningly smug head nods.
我在圣诞期间犯了个错误，我问一帮中年亲戚他们如何看待目前这一代人，也就是千禧一代，他们自鸣得意地点着头说。“自以为是的权益感。”“他们花太多时间在手机上。”“好懒。”
While perhaps it is the fate of every waning generation to criticize the values and lifestyle of their successors, they also need a reality check. Millennials, or Generation Y, represent an estimated $2.45 trillion in spending power and have overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest, most influential group in terms of consuming and employment.
可能命运注定上一辈人都会对后一代人的价值观和生活方式做出批评，他们也需要审视一下现实。千禧一代，或是Y世代, 代表着估计为2.45兆的消费能力，并且超过了婴儿潮一代，成为了消费和职业上最有影响力的一群人。
When it comes to fashion retail, millennials have broken just about all of the rules. Diversity, inclusivity and gender fluidity have become industry norms, as exemplified by Jaden Smith’s recent fronting of Louis Vuitton’s women’s SS16 campaign (pictured above). Menswear is outpacing womenswear in growth, with males actually shopping more than females online. In fact, judging by Amazon’s 40 per cent increase in Cyber Monday sales from its sellers, everybody is online shopping — period. Brick-and-mortar mainstays like GAP and J.Crew continue to struggle against direct-to-consumer competition like the Reformation, Bonobos and Everlane, the latter of which saw a 200 per cent growth in 2014 alone.
谈到时装零售业，千禧一代打破了几乎所有的常规。多元性，包容性，流性成了行业的常规，Jaden Smith最近为路易威登2016年春夏女装的推广活动就是一个典型例子。男装的增长在超过女装，男人比女人在网上购物更多。其实，从亚马孙在网购星期一的销售量上涨了40%来看，一句话，大家都在网购。传统实体商店的主力，如GAP和J.Crew，在和Reformation, Bonobos，Everlane之类DTC（直接面对消费者）营销的竞争中继续在挣扎，直接面对消费者的营销仅在2014年就有200%的增长。
In turn, retailers with physical storefronts have had to do more to coax customers back through their doors. Think barber shops and cafes in Frank & Oak, or a blowout bar in Nordstrom’s new Vancouver location — even free wifi. All of these perks are designed to bring consumers in-store and keep them there longer.
与此相反，具有实体商店的零售商则要花更多心思去哄诱消费者踏回店门。看看Frank & Oak 店里的理发店和咖啡馆，或是Nordstrom 在温哥华的吹发沙龙，甚至还有免费wifi. 所有这些特殊服务都是想吸引消费者来到店里，并在店里多停留些时间。
“I think the reality is brick-and-mortar will never go away because of tactile experiences, or the need to look at and feel products,” says Farla Efros, president of retail strategic firm HRC Advisory. “It’s about changing what shopping at brick-and-mortar looks like. That’s why a lot of retailers are investing in buy online, pickup in-store.”
“实体商店因能提供触觉体验，人们有想亲眼看看和亲手摸摸产品的需要，所以它们不会消失。” 零售策略公司HRC Advisory 的总裁艾弗罗丝说。“这涉及改变在实体商店购物的体验。这也就是为什么很多零售店投资于网上购物，店里取货的模式。”
Toronto menswear shop Gotstyle now offers “It’s a Match,” a makeover service to help guys look their best in their online dating profiles. Owner Melissa Austria says, “We dress you up, show you how clothes should fit, give you outfit ideas and take pictures of you in the neighbourhood on your phone so you can immediately upload to your social media and dating platforms.”
多伦多的男装店Gotstyle现在推出“搭配相称”，一项形象更新服务，帮助男士们在网上约会中显示最帅的形象。店主奥斯荃说，“我们为你着装，教你衣服怎样才算合身，为你提供如何着装搭配的建议，并用你的手机给你照相，这样你马上就可以上传到你的社交媒体和约会平台。
Approaches like this resonate with millennials’ hunger for experiences and a personal relationship with brands. Marissa de Miguel, head of strategy at Montreal’s N/A Marketing, notes, “The future belongs to pervasive brands — brands that behave like our most valued relationships. They flow seamlessly in and out of our lives; they don’t just mirror our wants and aspirations, but contribute to them in meaningful ways. Brands that can provide us with this kind of experience are brands we’ll open our wallets for.”
这种方式和千禧一代对体验与与品牌的人际交往的渴求很能产生共鸣。在蒙特利尔的N/A Marketing 工作的策略主管米谷尔说：“未来属于渗透式的品牌 — 那些品牌的行为如同我们最重视的日常关系。它们流畅自如地在我们生活中进进出出；它们不仅仅反映出我们的所想所求，更是为我们的所想所求作出积极的贡献。我们愿意为这些能给我们提供这种体检的品牌而打开钱包。
The primary means brands and consumers now use to communicate is social media. Retailers can integrate customer experiences and opinions at every level, from product development to store stock to decor. On the flip side, now, as a consumer, your voice can be heard with just a hashtag. In turn, unhappy customers can band together to form digital angry mobs with immediacy, numbers and a platform that previously would have been nigh impossible.
社交媒体是品牌和消费者交流的最基本方式。零售商能在每个环节上都能融合消费者的体验和意见，包括产品开发，商店存货，到商店装潢。另一方面，作为一个消费者，你现在用一个标签#号就可以发表意见。不满意的消费者联合起来成为一群愤怒的暴民, 其速度，数量和平台是前所未有的。
Fast fashion brands like Forever 21, H&M and Zara continue to dominate millennial brand preference lists, largely thanks to their social media savviness and ability to understand and maintain relationships with their target audiences. Forever 21 has even started to adapt its lines to reflect millennials reaching professional and parenting ages.
快时尚品牌如Forever 21, H&M 和Zara 仍然是千禧一代所青睐的品牌中的主角，这要归功于它们在社交媒体中的精明和它们对目标观众的理解和保持关系的能力。Forever 21 甚至开始变通它们的产品来适应进入职场和为人父母的千禧人。
“On average, millennials possess three or more devices. They survive on social media as their only medium of communication versus the older crowd that watches TV or reads the newspaper.” — Efros
“平均讲来，千禧人有三到四个电子通讯设备。他们生存在社交媒体中，社交媒体也是他们唯一的交流媒介，而上一辈则是看电视或是看报纸。”艾弗罗丝说。
Austria echoes these sentiments: “Millennials are more connected than any other generation – 89 per cent of millennial shoppers use their smartphones to connect to the Internet on a daily basis and 55 per cent rely on social media as their primary source for shopping, news and information.”
奥斯荃也有同感：“千禧世代比任何一代都要互联， 百分之八十九的前禧世代购物者每天用智能手机上网，百分子五十五以社交媒体为他们购物，新闻和信息的基本来源。”
Models like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have capitalized on this, building large enough empires on social media to warrant $300,000 paycheques for featuring brands in a single post. Their “fame” has had a trickle-down effect to every blogger and online pseudo-celebrities, with the term “personal brand” abused to a criminal level.
模特儿肯德尔·詹纳和吉吉·哈蒂德充分利用这一点，在社交媒体上建起了一个帝国，在他们的社交媒体上为品牌发单个帖子，就稳收30万美元。他们的“声望”对每个博客达人和网上伪名人有涓滴效应，“个人品牌”这个名称被滥用至极。
That said, it’s a new breed of celebrity in an era where everyone has a camera in their pocket. As magazine, television and billboard ads go the way of the dodo, polished social media influencers, both of the globally and locally famous varieties, have become the new mode du jour for fashion marketing. If Kendall Jenner is the Super Bowl ad of the digital era, the blogger selfie is a coupon in the Pennysaver.
在这个每个人口袋里都有个照相机的时代产生了一批新的社会名流。当杂志，电视和巨型广告牌逐渐过时，精练的社交媒体影响者，不管是国际知名的，还是当地有名的，成了如今时装市场中的最新潮流。如果肯德尔·詹纳是数码时代的超级碗广告，那么博文上的自拍照就是省钱一族里的优惠券。
Forward-thinking brands who truly want to stay relevant to millennials need look no further than their oft-reported propensity for social good. About 70 per cent of millennials have said they would be willing to spend more on brands that support causes.
有远见的品牌想要真正地和千禧一代保持相关，它们一定要认识到千禧一代对社会公益的倾向。大约有百分之七十的千禧人表示他们愿意去更多地消费那些支持社会理念的品牌。
As internet access and social media makes millennials increasingly aware of fashion’s wasteful supply chain, ELLE predicts that a growing wave of consumers will drop fast fashion for ethical fashion in 2016. “Millennials have a very high level of environmental responsibility, sustainability and giving back to the community,” notes Efros.
ELLE 预测说，当网络和社交媒体让千禧一代越来越多地意识到服装生产链中的巨大的浪费，那么在2016年中消费者中会有一股不断上升地潮流，那就是摒弃快时尚，接纳有商业道德的时装。“千禧人对环境，可持续性，回报于社区有很强的责任感。” 艾弗罗丝说。
Labels like the Reformation, Cuyana and Zady have become leaders of the slow fashion movement. On a general level, this encompasses minimizing an organization’s carbon footprint, high standards for worker rights, environmentally sustainable materials and business practices, and “less is more” consuming (i.e. buying something that’s a little more expensive but of higher quality). The Reformation even has a program where you can send them your unwanted clothing in the mail for free and they’ll either reuse or recycle it.
诸如Reformaiton, Cuyana 和Zady 之类的品牌变成了慢时装运动的主力军。总体上来说，这包括把机构的碳足印减到最低，工人权益的高标准，维护环境持续性的原料和商业行为，和“少即多”消费理理念（购买稍微贵一些但是质量高的产品）。Reformation 甚至还有一项服务，你可以把你不需要的衣服免费的寄给他们，他们会再使用或是循环再生。
Diana Zwetzich, co-founder of New York-based emerging outerwear label Koja, knew if she was going to sell fur in the post-digital age, she’d have to do it with social good in mind. “Koja is the opposite of fast fashion. From the start, we have endeavoured to put respect at the core of our coats, from materials to manufacturing,” she tells me.
戴安娜 兹沃兹克，, 立足纽约的新品牌Koja的联合创始人，知道她如果想要在后数码时代销售裘皮制品，就必须考虑到社会利益。“Koja是和快时尚相反。从最初开始，我们就努力把尊重作为我们裘皮大衣的核心，从原材料到加工。”她对我们说。
“All of our fur, skins and leather are sourced from tanneries that treat the animals humanely, are hormone-free and use their entire bodies. We are also sweatshop-free; our pieces are handmade by a team of women in Germany who have benefits and a supportive work environment.”
“我们所有的裘皮都来自于那些以人道对待动物，无荷尔蒙并使用整个动物体的制革厂。我们没有血汗工厂；我们的产品是由一组德国妇女手工制造，她们享有福利，并有一个关心支持的工作环境。
It seems to be paying off. Since launching in fall 2015, Koja has seen numerous online sales and will be worn by Demi Moore in her upcoming film “Blind.”
这看来很有成效。自2015年秋季推出后，Koja网上销售不计其数，黛米摩尔也将在电影“盲”中穿Koja服装。
Whether slow fashion will last as a movement or just fizzle into a momentary trend like its culinary counterpart, farm-to-table, remains to be seen. What is certain is in order to connect with millennials, you need to recognize them for what they are: disruptors with a cause.
慢时装是否是一个长期的趋势，，还是像餐饮业中农场到餐桌一样是一个短暂的潮流， 这一点现尚未可知。但有一点是肯定的，如果你想与千禧一代互联，你必须要认识到他们是一群有社会理念的常规破坏者。
De Miguel sums it up best: “What is certain is when an app can get you a ride in a black car for the price of a latte, when you can rent a villa next to Clooney’s on Lake Como for less than a trip to an all-inclusive, you’ve got to realize that the rules of the game have changed. Millennials aren’t just buying stuff.”
米格尔作了最好的总结：“当一个APP能使你以一杯拿铁咖啡的价格就能搭乘上一辆黑轿车，当你能用比去一次全包式度假村更便宜的价格租一栋在科莫湖上与克隆尼为邻居的别墅时，你必须意识到游戏的规则已经改变，千禧一代不再是单纯地购物。”
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