Luxury brands struggle to attract Internet generation

(The Times of India) - Seducing hyper-connected "Millennials" poses an increasing challenge for luxury brands, which find their markets slowing as young, skeptical consumers force them to rethink strategies. Goldman Sachs estimates that 92 million Americans are in the Millennial generation -- born between the early 1980s and the 2000s -- surpassing the famed cohort of postwar Baby Boomers who are now approaching a geriatric phase. The huge pool of Millennial consumers grew up with the Internet, smartphones and a sharing economy in which owning things like cars is seen as almost unhip. A Deloitte study targeted Millennials as an opportunity for luxury brands, but warned that they require "a high level of investment" and are more "mercurial" consumers whose brand loyalty can quickly shift.