Building Bridges To Emerging Consumer Groups

Demographic groupings make sense. They offer insight into what consumers are buying so pitches can be customized, helping to avoid unnecessarily selling apparel and accessories to demographic groups that don’t buy them. The demographics as we understand them are changing, however. U.S. college students are going global — something seen from Ivy Leagues to community colleges. Millennials are branching off into two groups: younger consumers just starting out, and “bridge” consumers who have entered their prime spending years. Some groups — like beneficial owners — are emerging less organically, and more at the behest of regulators who want to know who they are when it comes to account ownership. In an era in which consumers experience rules, it’s all about knowing exactly who the consumer is.

$400 billion: The amount Americans spend on accessories and apparel annually

$250 million: The amount FinCEN estimates FIs will spend complying with beneficial ownership rules

1.08 million: The number of international students who attended U.S.-based higher education institutions in 2017

30 percent: The share of “bridge millennials” who have tried a new merchant in the last month

10 percent: The share of international students who enroll in U.S.-based community colleges