When Consumers Say Nostalgia Influences Their Purchasing Habits, Should We Believe Them?

How do consumers rate their likelihood to purchase by nostalgia CivicScience data from May 2023 show that more than half of US adults say they are likely either quotextremelyquot or quotsomewhatquot likely to make a purchase when it makes them feel nostalgic for the pastNot everyone feels nostalgia in the same way of course Many are looking for products trends or experiences that defined their youth Previous data show that nostalgia for different eras varies extensively by age which is to be expected For example Millennials are most nostalgic for the 1990s while Baby Boomers are most nostalgic for the 1970s Yet fans of eras that they werenamp8217t yet around for are also motivated by quotnostalgiaquot in a sense such as Gen Zaged Stranger Things fansamp8217 affinity for certain brands and music of the 1980s that were popularized by the successful Netflix seriesNostalgia sells but which consumers are motivated by it At the top of the pack the groups most likely to say they make purchases based on feelings of nostalgia are Gen Z and MillennialsConsider that part of whatamp8217s driving nostalgia marketing is a desire on the part of more brands to appeal to younger consumers such as Gen Z and Millennials And that makes sense Combined these two generations represent nearly half of the total consumer market right nowBut just how accurate are young adult respondents at judging whether theyamp8217re likely to buy things based on feelings of nostalgia In other words are young consumers under age 45 who believe they are motivated by nostalgia actually more likely than older adults to make purchases based on it Digging a little deeper into the data shows that the quotnostalgia factorquot wrapped up in consumer purchasing decisions is more complex than face valueIn general respondents who say they are generally influenced to make nostalgicbased purchases are significantly more likely to have actually done so made a nostalgicbased purchase in the past monthHowever crossing these questions a general belief about how someone makes purchases based on nostalgia with a past account of an actual nostalgicbased purchase allows for deeper insight into consumer behavior Further analysis by CivicScience of the crossreference above led to the calculation of a quotd primequot score that essentially measures the accuracy of the response to the first question the general likelihood to buy something based on nostalgia Applying this score to the general question and breaking it down by age we see that older adults over age 45 are actuallyamp160more likely than younger adults to accurately answer they tend to make nostalgicdriven purchases Thatamp8217s to say older adults have more accurate insight into how nostalgia influences their purchasing behaviorUltimately the findings show that although younger adults may indeed be more likely than older adults to describe themselves as likely to buy things based on feelings of nostalgia it is in fact middleaged and older adults who when they describe themselves this way are most likely to be correctThis finding has important implications especially for any brand or organization looking to capitalize on selfreported feelings of nostalgia to drive purchases For such companies and marketing teams it would make sense to pay particular attention to and track selfreported feelings of nostalgia among consumers aged 4554Insights are derived from the latest edition of the CivicScience report amp8220What Weamp8217re Thinking Insights on Current Events ampamp Consumer Psychologyamp8221 an ongoing series available to clientsamp160Get in touch for more infoThis article originally appeared onamp160CivicSciencePosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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When Consumers Say Nostalgia Influences Their Purchasing Habits, Should We Believe Them?

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When Consumers Say Nostalgia Influences Their Purchasing Habits, Should We Believe Them?

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