Urban Outfitters Struck Gold

by Ari Fund

Recently, Urban Outfitters lifted the spirits of Boston University’s student body as it shed some much needed light on the streets of Allston when it replaced an old gas and service station with its fourth Boston store.  For its grand opening, Urban had The Appreciation Post, a local band, perform a free in-store concert, along with a DJ on site spinning before and after the band performed.  As I listened to the music and shopped with some friends, I couldn’t help but notice the smorgasbord of college students nodding their heads to the eclectic beat.  The majority of those students are what I call hipsters.  However, if you ask them, they are anything but.

To me a hipster is a socially conscious 18-30-something who listens to indie rock and underground music, hangs out in coffee shops (miles away from the corporate world of Starbucks), combines expensive, fashionable clothing with vintage pieces found at thrift stores, and converses about books, music, films (yes “films,” not movies), and art.  Many hipsters are pale, sport shaggy, natural hair, and are very skinny, even though the gym is never listed on their to-do lists.  Scruff on the face is common for men, while body art and side messenger bags partnered with Ray Ban sunglasses are common for women.  Hipsters’ cause is their music, and many smoke American Spirit Cigarettes and walk proudly in hightop Converses.

Setting the record straight, one of my friends preaches, “real hipsters get dirty with old Asian ladies at thrift stores like Urban Renewal on Brighton Avenue.  The people who shop at Urban Outfitters want to look like they did that, but don’t want to get in there and actually do it.”  Meanwhile, he is a self-proclaimed musician wearing faded jeans that look like his band mate glued them to his legs, red hightop Converses with the tongue flipped over the laces and round glasses that cover half of his strikingly angular cheekbones.  Yup, you guessed it, they are not prescription.

He, along with others that I describe as “hipsters,” declares that Urban is his favorite store and associates it with words like hipster, scene, trendy, bohemian, and retro.  However, he would never use “hipster” to describe himself.  Are you confused yet?  I am.

With such an exotic, eclectic and exciting slew of customers, how does Urban continue to successfully target these confused people?

It’s actually quite simple, not to mention genius.  Urban knows exactly how to tap into its consumers’ minds and use it to their benefit.  Basically, Urban knows these people better than they know themselves!  Much like the consumer – call him hipster or not – each retail location looks, feels and sounds completely different.

However, the one common undeniably awesome theme Urban uses is the ability to create a euphoric shopping experience.  Urban fosters a unique environment (something hipsters crave) that allows the consumer to feel like he is digging crazily in an old vintage shop in New York City’s East Village.  He’s on the hunt for that one spraypainted, sheer T-shirt, or those checkered black and purple moccasins that make people look not twice, but three times, as he struts down Commonwealth Avenue.  It’s incredible.

And just like the way hipsters prefer to relax in alternative coffee shops around town, Urban doesn’t just set up shop in a newly vacated space in Natick Mall.  It prides itself on refurbishing old warehouses and transforming them into a metropolitan college student’s shopping paradise.  With its quirky décor and racy vignettes stacked with books that Barnes and Noble wouldn’t dare advertise in its windows, Urban makes the customer feel heard, wanted and needed.  And what hipster, or better yet, what college student doesn’t want that?

Urban Outfitters isn’t just a clothing store, it’s a brand that has transformed itself into a lifestyle filled with a cornucopia of retro T-shirts, risqué books and an abundance of accessories that reflect and complement its consumers’ lifestyles.  You can argue all day about the definition of “hipster,” which hipsters would proudly do, but one thing you can’t argue is the fact that Urban Outfitters is a noteworthy example of how a brand has established a relationship with its consumer.  Urban Outfitters struck gold.

Ari Fund, Brand Planning Intern

Photo Credit: infomofo