I visited a client in Shoreditch the other day and something felt distinctly different – and looked different.

Where were the bearded hipsters, they certainly weren’t in the bare brick, natural wood and copper-clad eatery so favoured by them that my client and I were in? Nor were they visible in any great numbers in the streets outside around Old Street at the height of lunchtime.

The Millennials or Generation Y as they are also known are a fascinating audience.

Characterised in the main by nothing other than being born between 1982 and 2004 they represent both challenges and opportunities to marketers.

Earlier this year, the boss of fashion chain Next said it had been hit by a generational shift away from owning ever more “stuff” to spending on memorable experiences such as eating out with friends.