A recent trend in consumer shopping habits involves Boomer mothers shopping with their millennial daughters in a completely different way than how they would have shopped with their own mothers.  Part of this trend is due to the mothers wanting to befriend their children and the other part is an attempt to look younger longer.  Fashion leaders like Kate Spade and Michael Kors are capitalizing on this trend by incorporating more youthful styles.  Michael Kors, for example, targets both generations with a range of products from cashmere sweaters to studded bags.  Kate Spade recently debuted a cheaper line several months ago targeting the mother-daughter shopper group.  Nordstrom is also trying to become more of a mother-daughter destination by offering less expensive fast-fashion.

According to a recent survey, in the past year, as many as 9% of adult women claim to have shopped with their daughters who are in their 20’s.  This number was just 3% in 2007.  Mother-daughter shopping drives additional sales as the mother is more inclined to spend on her daughter because she’s there with her, and the daughter wants to help her mother look trend-right.

Women are more likely to shop together when they live together.  Approximately 25% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 lived with their parents in 2012, and the unemployment rate for this group was around 16%.  Additionally, mothers and daughters are closer than they were before.  The notion of rebelling from your parents is less prevalent than it was a generation ago.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do mothers and daughters shop together?

2. Which retailers are catering to this trend?

 

SOURCE: Cotton Timberlake, Bloomberg, July 9, 2013