Zippity moolah

Becky Boswell Smith -- Home Accents Today, 3/1/2005

Zippies. Now, that's a demographic term I like. It's what the young, burgeoning middle class in India is being called. The name comes from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman who describes them as young, Indian and walking with a zip in their stride, oozing with attitude, ambition and money.

They're the young Indians moving to cities to work for American companies in outsourced call centers. They work cheaper than U.S. workers, of course, and (here's a stunner) this Indian middle class outnumbers the entire U.S. population.

Wow. That's the report from the Sunday Times of India.

They drink Barista (a Starbucks clone) lattes and cappuccinos, wear Western designer clothes and tote fancy mobile phones. They have disposable income and, according to an Indian publication, "zippies are folks who aim to change the world while having the best time of their lives."

What does this mean for American products?

Remember the impact of the yuppies and the DINKs beginning in the '80s and continuing today, although the labels themselves seem to have faded. Right now, these zippies are too young to spend much of that disposable income on home furnishings. But as is true with the growing middle class in China, that will change.

And when it does, it could change all of our worlds.