The Gist: Coach expects to close its reported $2.4 billion dollar acquisition of Kate Spade in Q3 of this year. It’s clear that with the help of this deal, Coach aims to bring Spade’s Millennial following under its helm. Our research indicates this will be easy, and that the retailers will also gain a different type of consumer, including those concerned with the environment, social consciousness, and healthy eating – to name just a few.

Coach has never been my thing, except for the vintage 90s bags my aunts once carried. Those are my thing. Coach took note of this phenomenon by relaunching its classic leather handbag collection a few years back. For the past few years, Coach hasn’t necessarily had that exclusivity factor that it maybe once did. It seems like Coach is taking note of that, and all things Generation Y, with their plans to acquire Kate Spade later this year for $2.4 billion.

When we got word of Coach’s plan to purchase handbag and accessory brand Kate Spade, we loaded in a new tracking question to see who favors or may be persuaded to favor the line.

As the graphic above shows, 14% of US adults have a favorable opinion of the brand, compared to a smaller 7% who have a negative opinion. A solid 35% don’t have a strong opinion. And 44%, leaning older in age and over half male, have never heard of Kate Spade.

Age & Social Media

Let’s get the obvious, yet confirming, data out of the way: Those ages 18-34 are more likely to answer they like or love Kate Spade Handbags and accessories. This is in direct contrast to our Coach tracking question: those in this age group are more likely to say they dislike Coach. With that come other not-surprising insights, like those favorable to Kate Spade are most influenced by social media in deciding what to buy. But where, exactly, do the Kate Spade fans go to be social? They are the most active on Snapchat. In fact, active Snapchat users are 3x more likely than other people to say they love Kate Spade.

Cultural and Environmental Consciousness

Coach should take note that those who favor Kate Spade have various issues in mind and donate to causes all across the board. Those who say they love or like Kate Spade are not only concerned about environmental issues, but they are also big on buying environmentally-friendly products. Is this a nudge for the brand to gaze in this direction for future designs, or even offer a special line that abides by certain sustainability standards? They should take a look at Thread.

Handbag Price and Promo Codes

Those who showroom across multiple sites are more likely to like the Spade brand. With the goal of sticking to private label and scaling back wholesale efforts, the Coach/Spade planners may want to keep this mind. Especially since those favorable to Kate Spade place equal importance on brand and price when it comes to the clothing and accessories they buy (see graphic below). Perhaps some sort of VIP membership program would help shoppers feel like they are part of something exclusive, so that price or sales aren’t necessarily the main drivers of completing a purchase.

Partnership potential

We track celebrity questions over here, not only brands. We noticed a correlation between those who favor Kate Spade and those who favor Jennifer Lawrence.  Future spokesmodel?

What food behavior can say about handbag buyers

Those who favor Kate Spade love organic food and like trying new food trends. This group is keen on eating quinoa, reading nutritional facts and cooking at home. This differs with the majority of Coach fans who prefer dining out at fast casual restaurants.

Get on the persuadables’ side

Lastly, let’s focus on those who don’t have a strong take on Kate Spade, who could be persuaded to come to the other side. Those most active on Twitter fall into this category, as do those who favor socially-conscious businesses. Maybe it would bode well for the brand to take a stand on social issues, as our data show it can be a good thing. Taking it further than those who are concerned about the environment and are already favorable to Spade, those who have no opinion of the brand go the extra mile and adjust their lifestyles to help the environment. How can the brand tip their hat to this notion and convert a new consumer group?

Once the sale goes through, it will be interesting to track the conglomerate’s success. And you know we will.