Retrograde 2.0

Every generation has its nostalgia. And businesses find a way to profit from it. But the need to look back intensifies when a culture is stressed, depressed, out of work, or otherwise discontent. The memories of our past help shape our society, breeding equal parts unoriginality and fleeting excitement for days gone by.

But in 2015, a new challenge to the ever-present trend takes hold: Targeting younger demographics, who have not grown up with the traditional makings of nostalgia in their tech-driven worlds.

While marketers and retailers will continue to produce classic rock T-shirts and retro-looking radios for the boomer-plus population, they’re missing enormous opportunity to push retrograde quality to younger people. Mass-produced merchandise is the sugar coating; quality and genuineness, lovingly crafted from the heart, is the ticket.