Millennial Cleaning Closet

Being a researcher can be strange.

With access to millions of data points, and a plethora of constant questions, my curiosity is a perfect fit. However, as I delve into numbers, samples, and trends, I'm increasingly seeing my behavior in the numbers, and identifying with the results more and more.

Case in point: Millennials. Cool group, huh? Their spending power, customer experience expectations and engagement with brands is off the charts. They are 'digital natives', 'frugal' and 'value experiences over things', and so on and so on. I don't know about you, but I am ripe with anticipation for the next generational obsession to take hold.

But, as I was recently digging into this sensational cohort, I found some interesting stats around the share and resale economy, and 20-something year old's participation in these sectors. For example, 44% of Millennials consider the resale value of large purchases. And since learning about this topic, I've noticed my behavior upholding the notions of frugality, reselling, only buying what I need, and so on.

Was I always like this, or have I become conditioned to behave a certain way based on what I'm reading about my generation? Could it be that my insane appetite for closet cleaning is really just getting the best of me? Maybe I read these stats in a time of my life where I'm already on the route to de-cluttering and reselling?

On that note - Happy Sunday!

Fall Life

Summer, my most favourite season, is drawing to a close. The truth is in the drastic temperature drop that saw me at the beach getting sunburned and dehydrated one day, only to be bundled up in jacket and pants 36 hours later - what is this - Calgary?!

Luckily, the heat has hit back, and the past few days have been a lesson in gratitude. Isn't it wonderful to get one last chance with something you love? Imagine if this was a life thing: an end where you die and then, once you see the gravity of 'hey, no more life', you get one last chance to hit up all the things you missed most on the other side. That is what the last few days have been to me. Oh, and an amazing Songza playlist I discovered simply titled 'Morning Indie Boogie'.

So, to summarize, life is great, tunes are blasting, I'm boogie-ing away in my office chair, and absolutely loving this last chance at summer we've been given. And fall? Well, fall will feel that much sweeter once it arrives, and once we are all confident that we took advantage of every last drop of summer properly.

And, though I'm incredibly infatuated with summer as a season, there is something so fresh, so inspiring and motivating about fall #amiright?! I'm not exactly a PSL-er but even I can recognize the charm of cozy layers and a 'back to school' mentality that pushes you to be the person you've always hoped to be...

....Or at least someone you wouldn't regret being once this beautiful life is behind us :)

Snoozerella

Sleep was never a problem for me. Once night time hit, I was out like a light, sometimes even while in a movie theatre or dark car ride home (when I wasn’t the driver, of course J). I’m sure country air and the silent solemnness of living far from any ‘big’ city also played a part. It was so still at night that, while sitting on the porch while our dog was out for a final Frisbee / bathroom break, you could hear cars hit the ‘ba dum ba dum ba dum’ stop sign indicators on the road that was kilometres away!

But, in recent weeks, my talent for sleeping has slipped a little. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes falling back asleep easily, other times tossing and turning for hours. Living on a hyper busy road in downtown Toronto certainly plays a large role, with rip roaring motors and streetcar honks punctuating an otherwise peaceful sleep. The effect a poor sleep has on me is astounding! Irritability, grogginess, ravenous hunger, dark circles under my eyes and lackluster skin – all incredibly uninspiring feelings as I get ready for work - when I can finally drag myself out of bed that is! A bad night sleep turns me into a snooze button zombie. 

I’ve tried a few things, albeit haphazardly: Melatonin, meditation, a sleep supplement that combines Catsnip, Tryptophyn, Valerian (among others), deep breathing, turning down the thermostat. The things that seem to have the greatest impact on my sleep are behavioral – and maybe this isn’t so surprising.

The body loves routine, and getting cues on what comes next from our actions and surroundings. Replacing my paper books for digital versions on my iPad haven’t helped my sleep. I’ve read more and more how the light emitted from the iPad can mess up your circadian rhythm and signal to the body that it’s time to be awake. Slipping up on my exercise routine also seems to be a sure fire way to sleep less and get hours of more poor quality snoozing.

Yes, of course I’d like a bit more time to devour my magazines on my iPad before sleep. And finding time for consistent exercise is HARD (and less appealing than scheduling after work drinks – let’s be honest!). But sleep is SO CRITICAL! Getting a good night sleep is linked to all kinds of things good, not to mention fun and zany dreams. 

What do you do to get better sleep?

Magazine Mania

I spent part of my deliciously hot summer weekend this week in the sand of a beach on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula. In addition to starting my work week off feeling refreshed and sun-kissed, I am feeling waves of gratitude for all the innovative, alternative and critical publications that exist.

Magazines hold a dear place in my heart, which has been true since I was 14 and first spotted Nylon in my small hometown’s 7/11. It seemed so different from the Cosmopolitans I was used to seeing. While my love for Nylon has waned some, I do appreciate a really great collage as a result of my teenage readership.  

It’s only recently I’m recognizing how magazine obsessed I am. For more than a decade I’ve shelled out anywhere from $5 - $50 per month on a random assortment of mags, primarily used as inspiration and arts and craft material rather than anything educational. I was talked into subscribing to Toronto Life back in November and became both surprised and delighted when the latest issue appeared in my mailbox each month. Beyond the excitement of actually seeing mail addressed to me, it was refreshing to read pieces that were well written, relevant and meaty. In January, I took my relationship with magazines to another level and tried out Next Issue – which has swiftly become a steadfast source of entertainment, competing with Netflix for my leisure time.

Finally, my journey has led me to the diversity of non-mainstream, unconventional publications. I received a subscription to the Smith Journal as a birthday present from my beloved – and boy does he know me well! The well curated collection of articles in my first issue has been incredibly pleasing to the mind. Yesterday, in between beach Frisbee and ice cream, a good friend let me peruse her edition of n+one….and I COULD not / WOULD not put it down – even with the prospect of a fresh water swim dangling before me. 

Perhaps one of the best things about magazines is the low commitment, bite size pieces of inspiration, information, humour and perspective. The wide range of topics available makes a 5 minute reading break feel diverse and intriguing. I often find myself googling a novelist, or perusing the site of a new designer as a result of the magazine’s content. In my pursuit to constantly widen my understanding of the world, magazines have proven themselves useful allies. 

Weekday Inspiration: Rules to Follow

Blue Moon

Hi friend!

Apologies for the tardiness, and great lapses between posts. What a poor first impression! May I blame the hot heat of the summer, and all the fun that goes along with it? Travels to California, visits to Yukon Territory, visits from my best friend, barbeques, picnics, and bike rides galore! Summer can be so short lived, I've been all about eating it up and making the most of it. Most recent adventure was a sail boat ride out into sunset, as a full blue moon rose up over Lake Ontario. How epic was that moon last night??

Weekend Musings: Want vs. Need

"I need to get a pair of platform wedge sandals."
"You need them? Why?"
"Because they're gorgeous, so comfortable, and will make me taller...duh!"
"Those don't sound like needs to me...."

Here is a sample conversation between my impulsive self, and my rational self, that should really happen more often. You can swap 'platform wedge sandals' for almost anything, and the conversation would be the same. So much of my consumer behavior is impulsive, or spurred on by reasons completely unrelated to 'need'.

This is on my mind this week for a couple reasons. First, as some of you may remember from this post, I recently visited the library. Among the pink-hued covers and satisfyingly frivolous reads I took home was a book by consumer behavior consultant Philip Graves. In the very first chapter of Consumer.ology, Graves begins to describe the subconscious emotional desires that trigger spending, which often go undetected by consumers' conscious minds. He goes on to explain how adept our conscious brains are at finding totally reasonable explanations for our behavior, a practice that maintains our own sense of self as autonomous, well-intentioned, sensible humans. Our purchase may be driven by things as complex as social symbolism, or as simple as how a store smells. For many of us, our conscious brain will then identify reasons for the purchase, and justify it as a 'need'.

The topic of want and need is top of mind for another reason. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a panel discussion organized by the American Marketing Association, titled the The Canadian Chief Marketer. At one point, the panel was discussing 'Want' vs. 'Need' in the context of the Nest Thermostat. One of the panelists was on the side of 'Want', citing that there is no way adjusting your thermostat from the comfort of your home is a 'Need'. Another panelist raised the example of driving to his cottage in the winter, setting the cottage thermostat as they left home so they could arrive to a comfortable cottage climate. In this case Nest was fulfilling a 'Need'.

Convincing consumers their 'Want' is, in fact, a 'Need' is what marketing is all about, but society's role can not be overstated. Perhaps that is why social advertising, brand advocates, and content generation will be so critical for marketing moving forward, though not to such an extent that credibility and transparency is lost.