Kit Yarrow

Professor Emeritus, Golden Gate University

Kit Yarrow, Ph.D. is an award ‐ winning consumer research psychologist, a professor, author, consultant and speaker. Her home base is Golden Gate University where she chairs the Psychology Department and is a jointly appointed professor of both psychology and marketing. Kit's unique ability to apply clinical psychology to business issues has won her four endowed research professorships and recognition as the 2012 Outstanding Scholar of Golden Gate University.

Kit shares her findings and analysis in speeches, in her blogs and articles for TIME and Psychology Today and in her first book, "Gen Buy: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty ‐ Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail" (Jossey ‐ Bass/Wiley, 2009). Kit's new book, "Decoding the New Consumer Mind" (Jossey ‐ Bass/Wiley, 2014) is scheduled for release in March. As a widely recognized authority on the psychology of consumers ‐ and on Generation Y in particular ‐ Kit's work is regularly featured in a variety of media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, USA Today and Good Morning America.

Marketing Across Generations: Is it Psychological or Generational?

Today's young consumers drink more wine, do less laundry and experience more anxiety than their elders did when they were in their 20's and 30's. Are the unique characteristics of the Millennial Generation temporary or psychological? Consumer Psychologist, Kit Yarrow, will explain how developmental milestones (like parenting) intertwine with the major socio-cultural shifts of our times (like our use of technology) and result in new shopping needs and behaviors at every age. She'll contrast the psychology and shopping styles of each generation of adults and explain things like why Baby Boomers are pridefully "cheap" even though they control 70% of the United State's disposable income. Kit's talk will include insights and tactics about how to use the psychology of each generation to market more effectively.