YouthNation: Building Remarkable Brands in a Youth-Driven Culture

Chapter 4Access over Ownership

As the experience economy takes hold, YouthNation is reshuffling the deck, moving the desire to own durable goods to the back burner. This reprioritization has sparked a revolution focused on simply accessing or renting items rather than purchasing them, including cars, electronics, tools, lodging, and even clothes. This trend stands to impact all of corporate America in a major way over the next few years and has already caused a massive disruption in the two segments where American households spend the majority of their income: automobiles and housing. The white picket fence in the burbs with a two-car garage vision of the American dream is being disrupted and transformed before our very eyes, and in record time.

• Home Ownership: The risk-adverse post-2008 mortgage-lending environment simply does not favor younger homebuyers, forcing many first time homeowners to rethink their housing strategies. From the 30-year period from 1983 to 2013, home ownership among 18–34 year olds has plunged nearly 20 percent.¹ At the same time, progressive upstarts have allowed consumers to access short-term rentals in practically every corner of the earth. Sitting in a home you own and working every day to pay the mortgage doesn't feel like a very thrilling experience anymore in this experience economy. The young family's destined migration to the suburbs now seems to be a thing of the past (as we will explore in future chapters) and with the skyrocketing costs ...