CHAIN RESTAURANTS
While some may say that simply blaming a generation for the “death of an industry” might be an exaggeration, millennials do play a role in the slowdown of an industry. “Millennial consumers are more attracted than their elders to cooking at home, ordering delivery from restaurants, and eating quickly in fast-casual or quick-serve restaurants,” Buffalo Wild Wings’ then-CEO Sally Smith wrote in a letter to shareholders in 2017, prior to leaving the company due to internal issues that she blamed on the changing industry.
NAPKINS
According to a Washington Post article published in 2016, the younger generation prefers paper towels over napkins. The Post refers to a study conducted by Mintel, which highlights that only 56% of shoppers said that they bought napkins in the last six months. At the same time, 86% had said that they purchased paper towels. Consumers said that paper napkins tend to be less economical and paper towels tend to be more functional.
HOMEOWNERSHIP
While some like to stick with the flexibility and mobility afforded by renting, homeownership – including both the down payment and the mortgage – is simply too expensive for many young people. A nationwide survey conducted by Apartment List in the US from October 2016 through April 2017 found that despite the overwhelming desire to own a home, millennials had to increasingly delay their plans for homeownership. Based on the thencurrent rate of monthly savings, the survey found that millennials in many of the nation’s large metros will need at least a decade to save enough money for a 20% down payment on a condo.
DIAMOND INDUSTRY
It is no secret that people are getting married later in life. In June 2016, The Economist asked in a now-famous tweet: “Why aren’t millennials buying diamonds?” Replies included “You mean, besides the crippling debt?”, “because I work in a grocery store” and “because you can’t live in a diamond or eat a diamond.” The Economist noted that “young consumers increasingly shun the taint of conflict and exploitation” or, it might just be the fact that millennials are delaying marriage, and therefore not buying diamond rings.
DOORBELLS
We’ve all done this. Texted a friend that we are ‘here’ rather than ringing their doorbell. In June, a Twitter user asked, “Can someone write an article on millenials killing the doorbell industry by texting ‘here’?” From the replies he got, it was clear that millennials were indeed terrified of the doorbell. In a study published in the Journal of Actual Real Science millennials were blamed for the total collapse of the doorbell industry. A spokesman for Doorbells International said, “We have seen a 600% decrease in doorbell sales over the last five years. According to our findings, we can see that 99.8% of millennials would prefer to send a text message from the sidewalk saying, ‘I’m here’, than ring the doorbell.”
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