In a nutshell: Affluent Millennials are going to be spending a lot of money in the coming years.

"Great brands and great businesses have to be great storytellers, too." So begins a video that Angela Ahrendts, then CEO of Burberry, prepared a couple of years ago for New York's annual "Future of Storytelling" summit.

Affluents represent around 10% of U.S. households but account for more 50% of retail sales - and over 70% of all retail margins, according to a study from eMarketer. Not only that, this cohort typically shows a higher lifetime value compared to the general public. But not all affluents are created equal. There's one group that's the luxury marketer's golden ticket: emerging affluents.

Finally, winter has departed and spring has officially arrived, so it's now more pleasant for affluent shoppers - especially those who live in the colder and snowier parts of the country- to get out there and start shopping again for more than the basic necessities. As shopping is often a two-phase process during which consumers first research what they are considering buying and then actually make the purchase, how will affluent consumers research products and services and how will they actually buy them in what has become a more omni-channel retailing marketplace in the past few years?