But is this true of all the antique and collective niches, or just some? And if it is true of your niche, do you have any wiggle room to expand to engage with these young people?
Take the area of vintage jewelry. One teenage girl recently founded a successful jewelry company, Origami Owl, based on a concept that is pretty darn old: the locket. In fact, that was one of the reasons she started her business, because lockets have been around a long time. "What if you could add charms to it?" was the spin she put on it.
So she experimented with materials, and started peddling them using the sales party method, a la Tupperware and Party Lite. Now the company has a web site and you can directly order as well.
This does not necessarily mean you should mass-purchase lockets. However, using it as an example, if you do have vintage lockets in your inventory, you could experiment with adding charms to them, or perhaps ask your customer if she wants it customized with a letter initial charm or other charm. (Another "new but old" jewelry niche that is very popular "European-style" charm bracelets a la Pandora and Chamilia).
But if you sell, say, album posters or music memorabilia, you might think about which old bands young people actually know about and then try to carry those items in stock. With music, some members of "Gen Y" or the Millennials may not know, say, "Grand Funk Railroad," but they do still know who The Beatles are, and might even pay to download their album...or even buy vinyl! (Not that a "Butcher" album will magically fly into your hands, but still...)
The wording of your items may also be instrumental in making sales. For example, according to one article, young people are more attracted to the word "retro" or "vintage" than "antique" or even "collectible."
However, there may be some types of antiques or collecties that millennials may just not be into. Maybe you could never get a 16-year old girl to want an
original Miriam Haskell necklace, for example.
But there is hope. Even Bijoux Dragon said her customers' children have no interest in vintage, but their grandchildren do. (But they're not in the financial position to spend much on them). And who are some of the biggest consumers of "Mid-Century Modern" furniture? Twentysomethings who embraced "Mad Men." (Well by now, they may be thirtysomething).
So I ask you, do you feel your market is dying off, and young people are not
interested or as interested in your antiques or collectibles? If so, is it the whole market or just sub-genres of it?
Source: www.ecommercebytes.com