Tribune. A new generation of very changeable consumers is emerging who are choosing precariousness not only in their professional life, but also in almost every other way: they renounce job security, routine daily life, property and other classic markers of social success, in favor of nomadism and ever new experiences.
In study published on December 20, 2021 we explored how these people manage the challenges associated with multiple transitions, and what this means in terms of opportunities for brands. Slashers and digital nomads aren’t really new.
But the lifestyle of the flexible consumer goes further: it constitutes a new departure from the established life trajectories of the industrial consumer society, where professional stability and real estate ownership represented markers of success and identity.
The choice of instability
Going against these standards, these consumers are never really “established” either professionally or physically. They go from one freelance job to another, go from a flatshare to a “coworking” space, passing through a seasonal rental, change hobbies and countries regularly, this lifestyle being a matter of their own. a clearly stated choice.
Moreover, these living and working conditions are no longer reserved for young people or the working class. Indeed, we most often encounter these consumers in large cities, the most educated populations, the intellectual and creative professions as well as the digital world.
To understand why and how a growing number of consumers deliberately opt for instability, change and adaptability, and the resources and skills needed to manage this lifestyle, we looked at flexible consumers, which we interviewed and observed in contexts of « cohoming » in London and Paris.
Normalizing precariousness
Among those followed, Claudia, a 37-year-old independent consultant, is a typical example: she works six months a year, then puts her personal belongings in suitcases under her bed, before subletting her room in a London apartment and going on a trip abroad, doing « couchsurfing » or by renting through Airbnb.
Even if chosen, the flexible lifestyle is the result of major changes in contemporary Western society, which normalize precariousness and flexibility. Constant mobility and change (theorized by the concept of “liquefaction”) in work and place of residence have notably intensified.
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