Business | Buying time

How the young spend their money

They are woke, broke and complicated. Businesses should take note

A shopper surveys footwear on Black Friday at a Tanger Outlet mall in North Charleston, S.C., Nov. 25, 2022. The holiday shopping season is the most important time in the retail industry, a period when many companies make a significant amount of their money for the year. (Gavin McIntyre /The New York Times)Credit: New York Times / Redux / eyevineFor further information please contact eyevinetel: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709e-mail: info@eyevine.comwww.eyevine.com
Image: Eyevine

Young people have always perplexed their elders. Today’s youngsters are no different; indeed, they are baffling. They have thin wallets and expensive tastes. They prize convenience and a social conscience. They want shopping to be at once seamless and personal. They crave authenticity while being constantly immersed in an ersatz digital world. As they start spending in earnest, brands are trying to understand what these walking paradoxes want and how they shop. The answers will define the next era of consumerism.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Buying time”

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