Fauxsumerism: why buy when you can browse?

The millenial generation - those born in the nineties and naughties - have been deemed fauxsumers when it comes to fashion. In shorthand, this translates that they spend hours browsing online, but aren't buying the goods. According to WWD, the biggest challenge facing retailers is

"converting browsers into buyers". A survey conducted by the Intelligence Group polled 1,300 millennials to find out more about how they consume fashion, and discovered that they are a generation of window shoppers who will endlessly put off purchasing anything, instead adding them to wishlists and putting them into online shopping baskets.

Millenials

lack the funds to shop

According to the study, many millernials lack the funds, often due to high student loans and living costs, despite the desire to shop.

The three tiers to being a fauxsumer are as follows:
1. Browsing for clothes and gadgets online is a pastime for you. It's something you like doing when you have free time on your hands.
2. You check out online sales and deals without any intention of actually buying the items you like.
3. You click on 'add to cart' but don't end up proceeding to buy. This leaves you feeling satisfied despite not owning the object of desire.

Of course fauxsumerism isn't just applicable to the 14-35 year old generation. Many of us are guilty of spending our evenings browsing the web, looking at products, yet never checking out with a full shopping cart.

Decidedly, as e-commerce has become its own form of entertainment, retailers must respond by getting as much content online as possible, especially images, specs and reviews. One day the fauxsumers will have a shopping budget, and those online retailers with the best shopping windows will be the ones making the sales.

Image: Browsing