The Era of Uber Convenience

Need your dry cleaning picked up? Your house cleaned? Your ceiling fan hung? Your car washed on location? How about a box of diapers? Lunch? An onion or a banana? There’s an outsourcing app for that.

The rise of outsourcing apps and services that make the consumer’s life easier is at an all-time high. Some may call use of these services gratuitous or lazy, but if you ask Millennial adults, they’ll say it’s smart. For them, technology has provided an invaluable opportunity to maximize their efficiency. 

The Atlantic writer Derek Thompson coined the term convenience maximalism, which describes the Millennial mindset of always seeking to do more with less, even at a premium cost. Millennials get a thrill from answering questions like: “How can I squeeze more into less time? How can I get more done using less energy?” So Millennials figure out strategies for getting all the things done on their very long to-do lists – and often times, those strategies involve modern day conveniences that come at a price. For Millennials, productivity is a generational value, and convenience is the ultimate commodity.

And for Millennial parents, this idea takes on heightened meaning. Days have gotten busier and busier for families, many with two working adults at the helm, tightly scheduled kids who participate in a lot of activities, and whose experience-driven leisure time is spent constantly on the go. Not only are today’s families busy, but Millennial parents have put an even greater priority on spending quality time with their kids, leading them to figure out ways to decrease time spent on things they have to do (like running errands, cooking, and cleaning) for things they want to do (like spending more time together as a family). 

Today, brands are being rewarded when they offer parents a way to shoulder some of the logistical burden, freeing them up to spend time enjoying their families.