For millennials, staying in is the new going out.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Strangely, one of the hottest demographics in the U.S. today is “young women who sleep, or more broadly, stay home in bed.” This group, says Vox Goods, is at “the center of…the homebody economy.”

To make its point, Vox points out an analysis, released at the beginning of the year, showing millennials spend 70% more time at home than the rest of America, partly because going out is “too much effort.” This trend is packed with entrepreneurial opportunities.

We’ve discussed how millennials’ proclivity to stay in has boosted the food delivery business. But Vox cites other businesses that have benefited from this behavior, such as “alcohol courier apps in limited markets” that are partnering  with Netflix, numerous launches of mattress-in-a-box companies, and the boom in Korean skin care. It’s likely also the reason hygge was a popular home trend for the past few years.

Vox talked to Saucey, a Los Angeles-based alcohol courier app that also delivers other goodies, like chips and ice cream, in 30 minutes or less. Launched in 2014, the company has raised more than $10 million in funding and expanded to Chicago. “The new going out is staying in,” Danielle Silveira, Saucey’s marketing director, told Vox. Both Saucey and Minibar (one of its competitors) sell lots of wine and lower-alcohol beverages, such as spiked seltzers and flavored vodkas, which tend to be more popular with women.

Other small business owners are selling graphic T-shirts, scented candles, luxury sheet sets and pajamas, all celebrating the “lazy,” laid-back lifestyle, Vox notes. Also, self-care is in, reflected in booming sales of face masks (particularly sheet masks, which take longer to apply).

If you want in on the trend, think of what young women might need on their “Girls’ Night In”—which just so happens to be the name of a startup that focuses on self-care through “staying in and connecting with your friends in a low-key way.”

 

Alcohol delivery stock photo by Andrei Kuzmik/Shutterstock