Millennial Impact on Product Development Design

Millennials are proving to be vastly different from previous generations; whether that be in terms of employees, business owners, or consumers. The way they contribute to our society is different. This means that modern product development and design will need to be tailored to their habits and predilections.

Conscious Consumers Condemn Chemical Products

Fabric softener sales have plummeted due to Millennials not buying into it, whereas their age group in previous generations would have. Producers noticed the sales have been declining over the past decade.

This time frame aligns with the age group of Millennials who do not see the beneficial factors to using fabric softener on their clothes. Instead, they see it as a chemical product which is harmful to their health. This is just one example of how product development design is influenced by Millennial consumers.

How Old Are Millennials Anyway?

In case you were wondering, the definition of a Millennial is someone born between 1981 and 1996 and is currently between the ages of 22-37. Many of today’s companies, like Facebook, Pinterest, and Airbnb, were actually founded by Millennials. For the first time, young consumers are able to support business owners their own age who understand their pain points as buyers.

This type of forward, technology-driven thinking is the root of the majority of Millennials behavior when it comes to how they buy and how they contribute to society.

In terms of product development design, we’re seeing categories we’ve never really seen before. These are your smart home devices, wearable devices, and the Internet of Things. These are your Alexa, Google Home, Apple Watch, and Fitbit. IoT would be your home control system, locking your front door via an app, or adjusting the room temperature.

Product Development Design: The Millennial Way

Think local, fast, and well-made. It’s becoming the trend for product development design by Millennial business owners. These owners are passionate and use their drive to cater to their fellow compassionate Millennial consumers.

They are interested in the environmental impacts of the businesses they support. With more and more youth becoming educated, there is a higher demand for transparency within the product development design industry. This is just a reminder to keep your audience in mind, inventors. 

If you have a great new invention and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO today and check out our resources to find out more. Or feel free to give us a call at 1-888-806-MAKO, and we can set you up on a call with our product strategist.  

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!