MILLENIAL INITIATIVES
By 2020, Millennials are expected to account for 30% of retail sales in the United States. We’re talking $1.4 trillion in spending. But these 18- to 34-year-olds don’t have the same media consumption and buying habits as their parents and grandparents. Here’s more about what marketers ought to know when targeting this lucrative group.
1. The U.S. Census Bureau defines Millennials as people born between 1982 and 2000. They are 83.1 million strong and represent more than one quarter of the nation’s population.
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2. Millennials are always on their smartphones—no surprise there. They own, on average, 7.7 connected devices and use 3.3 each day.
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3. The differences between an 18-year-old and a 34-year-old are many. For example, 97% of 18-year-olds live in someone else’s home, primarily with a parent or parents. Conversely, 90% of 34-year-olds live in their own homes, and 60% do so with children.
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4. The “Internet of Me” applies to this generation in a big way, and they’re incredibly engaged with content in every sense of the word. Half of Millennials—versus 38% of the population—consider themselves content creators, and 75% share content online.
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5. The Millennial generation makes up nearly half of the U.S. workforce.
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6. In 2014, Millennials launched almost 160,000 startups and made up nearly one-third of all entrepreneurs in the U.S.
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7. The 18-to-34 age group is now making 54% of its purchases online, up from 51% last year and five points ahead of the 49% of online purchases made by non-Millennials.
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8. When asked about how they will make their next online purchase, 32% of Millennials said they planned to do it on a laptop or desktop computer, 25% said a smartphone, 24% will use a tablet, and 11% will shop in a physical retail store.
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9. Half of the Millennial generation watches sports content on smart TVs, mobile devices, PCs, or gaming consoles.
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10. Thirty-percent of Millennials have done their grocery shopping online.
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11. Ninety percent of Millennials have a smartphone—most of whom (93%) use it to access the Internet—and 53% own tablets.
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12. Also, 28% of Millennials watch original programming within three days after airing, mostly on their laptops or mobile devices.
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13. Twenty-seven percent of Millennials use Facebook less than once a week, if at all, including 11% who don’t even have an account. In addition, a majority (54%) said they don’t have an account with Snapchat, and roughly four in 10 said they don’t have accounts with Pinterest (41%), Twitter (39%), or Instagram (39%).
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14. Ninety percent of Millennials use coupons. However, unlike their parents who used the paper kind, Millennials rely on digital formats such as RetailMeNot and Guilt City.
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15. Seventy-eight percent of Millennials would choose to spend money on a desirable experience over buying something that is desirable. They are all about creating, sharing, and capturing memories.
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