Millennials: Reshaping the World, One (Cautious) Purchase at a Time

Millennials
reshaping the world
one (cautious) purchase at a tiMe

Marian Salzman
JUNE 2012

@ erwwpr

2

who are
Millennials?
• Millennials are today’s young adults.
• The “millennials” handle—used because this group was in its
formative years when the new millennium struck—was
established by American generational experts Neil Howe and
William Strauss in a book called Millennials Rising: The Next
Great Generation.

• They are also called echo boomers (it’s a big cohort),
Generation Next and Generation Me.

• Unlikeother much-discussed generations such as boomers and
Gen Xers, though, millennials are much more than an American
phenomenon; they’re truly global.

@ erwwpr www.erwwpr.com @ mariansalzman

3

Millennials
by the nuMbers


4

deMographics

Age: Definitions vary
by source, but 18 to 34
works well, as the U.S.
Census Bureau uses
groups 18-19, 20-24,
25-29 and 30-34.


5

deMographics
Cohort size: In the U.S.,
it’s about 70 million
to 80 million—roughly
22 percent to 25 percent
of the population (Census
figures estimate 18-34s
at 70.3 million).


6

deMographics
Ethnic mix: The group is highly diverse. According to Pew,
it’s 61 percent white, 19 percent Hispanic, 13 percent
black, 4 percent Asian, and 2 percent mixed race or other.


7

deMographics
Marital status: In the
2010 census, 28 percent
of 18- to 34-year-old males
and 36 percent of females
were married; 67 percent
of males and 57 percent
of females were never
married. In the 25-to-29
cohort, 31 percent of
males and 42 percent of
females were married.


8

deMographics
Life-stage delays: The
recession is cited as an
important factor by 15 percent
of 18-34s who postponed
getting married, 14 percent
who postponed having a baby,
12 percent who moved in with
a roommate and 10 percent
who moved back with parents.


9

deMographics
retail iMplications
• A big market: Their shopping needs and preferences will make
or break retailers currently focused on young adults.

• Diversity: Not just discrete ethnic niche markets but also
ethnic cross-influencing of tastes and willingness to experiment
with different flavors and styles.

• Life-stage minuses:
Delayed household and family formation
mean less demand for new home and baby-related products.

• Life-stage pluses:Extended adolescence means more demand
for entertainment and leisure products—also influencing the
purchasing of their parents.


10

work and Money
Income: Recent Bureau of
Labor data shows per
capita income in the 21-to-
29 range at $27,267 for
singles and $34,046 for
married couples.


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work and Money
Employment: Only 48
percent of 18-24s in the
workforce have a full-time
job; only 55 percent of people
aged 16 to 29 have a job.


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work and Money
Buying power: ComScore
estimates U.S. millennials’
buying power at $170 billion
per year. People under age
35, however, are now worth
68 percent less than they
were 25 years ago.


13

work and Money

Debt: A 20-somethings’ total debt averages $45,000,
ranging from $12,000 for ages 20-21 up to $78,000
for 28- to 29-year-olds who have debt.


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work and Money

Education debt: Total outstanding
student loan debt—federal and
private—exceeds $1 trillion.


15

work and Money
retail iMplications
• Seasoned consumers: They’ve grown up with consumer
hyperabundance as the norm, so they’re familiar with easy
spending and retail therapy.

• Net less well-off now: Spending longer in education, big debts
and struggling to find decent jobs means they’re less able to
fund their own retail spending and less willing or able to
finance it with debt.

• Less well-off long-term: Unemployment means lower starting
incomes for graduates and lower incomes in the future—10 percent
lower even after 17 years, according to a Yale study. That means
that as a cohort, millennials will have relatively less to spend.


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deMographics
TV advertising: Fewer
millennials than non-
millennials watch more
than 20 hours of TV a
week (26 percent vs.
49 percent). But 57 percent
of millennials say that
TV is the first way they
hear about products.


17

deMographics

Automobiles: The percentage of Americans under
19 with a driver’s license declined from 64 in 1998
to 46 in 2008.


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deMographics
Groceries: Fewer
millennials than over-35s
prefer grocery chain
stores such as Safeway
(34 percent vs. 44 percent).
Millennials skew more to
mass retailers such as
Walmart Supercenter
(32 percent vs. 27 percent).


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deMographics
Beer: More than a
quarter (28 percent) of
their beer spending is on
imported products, vs.
15 percent for other
cohorts. Mexican beers
account for 46 percent of
millennials’ import
purchases, compared
with 35 percent for older
cohorts.


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in the Market
retail iMplications
• TV advertising: To influence millennials, it must entertain and
engage to build awareness. Forget the hard sell unless it’s fun.

• Big-ticket items:With less ready cash, millennials will think
harder about which pricey products they buy and the value
they get from them.

• Cheap on necessities: Managing with less cash/credit makes
millennials more inclined to patronize retailers and brands that
make their dollars go further.

• Affordable luxuries: This
group has grown up with cool stuff
and high consumer expectations, so they will splurge on some
feel-good premium products that don’t break the bank.


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Influence
and loyalty
Brand choice influences:
Almost two-thirds (61 percent)
of U.S. 18-25s prefer to buy
from companies with a reputation
for having a purpose other
than just profits, according to
a Euro RSCG social media
survey in 2010.


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influence
and loyalty
Consulting mobile: Far more
millennials than non-millennials
use a mobile device to read
user reviews and to research
products while shopping
(50 percent versus 21 percent).


23

influence
and loyalty
Retail loyalty programs:
Seventy-seven percent of U.S.
millennials participate in loyalty
programs, and 78 percent are
more likely to choose a brand
that offers one over a brand
that doesn’t.


24

influence
and loyalty
Location-based promotions:
Thirteen percent of millennials
have responded to location-
based offers delivered by
smartphone; 26 percent would
like their smartphone to
replace plastic loyalty cards.


influence
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and loyalty
retail iMplications
• More trade-offs: It’s harder for millennials to choose—they
want not only good prices but also a good retail experience and
a good conscience. They need help.

• Mobile help: Solutions and answers (information, reviews,
recommendations, promotions, payments) come to millennials
through their mobile device, so retailers must think, act and
live mobile to connect.

• Good-enough brands: To get into millennials’ consideration set,
a brand doesn’t need to be impossibly virtuous, just be known
to have its heart in the right place.


26

attitudes


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1. brands are
personal


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“Millennials are tending to
define themselves by the products
they buy.… they tend to see their
stuff as extensions of who they are,
ways that they define themselves.”
—Paul Kelly, Smallyouthgroup.com


29

“Millennials are highly
sophisticated brand managers; they
can detect bullshit. brands have to
act with transparency, accountability
and honesty. (h/t @cajunjen)”
—Viacom’s Scratch blog


30

1. brands are personal
• Throughout millennials’ lives, brands have been presenting
themselves as a means of self-expression and self-definition.

• Millennials are open-minded, so they accept that brands can
play this role—but they’re also demanding, so they want to
know a lot about the brands that want to represent them.
• Tooled up with social media and multiple viewpoints,
millennials are adept at looking through the marketing moves
and getting a sense of what the brand is really about, its truth.
• This matters to them because they use brands to identify,
express and support what they find personally important.
Using brands that embody their values makes them feel good
about themselves.


31

1. brands are personal
retail iMplications
• Not all brands need to have a deeper meaning. In commodity
categories, millennials don’t feel their brand choice is an
important personal statement.
• But brands that particularly want to connect with millennials
and identify with them must understand the importance of
being authentic, real.
• Thisdoesn’t mean being goody-two-shoes, holier-than-thou.
There’s plenty of range for being dark, subversive, ironic or
whatever, provided it’s authentic and self-aware.


32

2. optiMistic and
realistic


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“the Millennial generation
will entirely recast the image of
youth from downbeat and alienated
to upbeat and engaged—with
potentially seismic consequences
for america.”
—Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation


34

“boomers have given them
the confidence to be optimistic
about their ability to make things
happen, and Xers have given them
just enough skepticism to be
cautious…. if you want to remember
just one key word to describe
millennials, it’s realistic”
—Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman, When Generations Collide


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2. optiMistic and realistic
• This generation is acutely aware of the real and potential
problems facing them and the world.

• The message that things need to change has reached them loud
and clear: Very large numbers think they have a duty to
change the world—84 percent of them in a 2011 five-country
survey carried out for Euro RSCG.
• They have no illusions about the scale of the problems, but
they believe they can tackle the challenges with education,
collaboration, technology and smarts.
• General can-do optimism stands out as one of the signature
attitudes of the millennial generation.


36

2. optiMistic and realistic
retail iMplications
• Optimistic plus realistic is a smart way to communicate
with millennials.

• An upbeat tone chimes in with their own optimistic feelings
about their prospects in the world. They feel in tune with
brands that mirror their can-do confidence.
• But they shy away from hype and inflated claims. Going over
the top risks insulting their intelligence and marketing savvy.


37

3. buy Value
to last


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“when i purchase something,
i want to know that it’s going to last for
a while. i don’t know, maybe it’s just
the nostalgia of getting things handed
down to me from my parents and
grandparents and the history they
had, but it makes me sad to think that
our generation’s purchases won’t go
through the same ordeal—everything’s
‘insta-use’ and once it’s used, it’s gone.”
—Brittney, 21, Seattle, on Millennial Inc. by Mr Youth and Intrepid


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3. buy Value to last
• As children and adolescents, they’ve lived through the long
consumer boom with its cycles of upsizing homes in the
suburbs to accommodate more purchases.
• Eitherpersonally or nationally, they’ve seen the trauma of
overextended credit, families facing foreclosure and desperate
yard sales of possessions.
• Now as young adults, they’re drawn to more urban settings
where the living spaces are smaller.
• They don’t have the money or the space or the need for a
lot of possessions; they buy versatile essentials and make
them last.


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3. buy Value to last
retail iMplications
• Product lines and retailers that depend on impulse purchases
are going to struggle with millennials; compared with older
generations, they’ll buy less often and spend less when they do.
• Millennials shop cautiously online for important products, checking
out the options to make sure they understand the essentials of the
category: brands, price range, performance criteria.
• Armed with the fruits of their tech savvy, they check out the
goods offline, in the store, looking for immediate value in their
life and the likelihood of lasting usefulness.


41

need to
4.
know why


42

“although they are better
educated, more techno-savvy and
quicker to adapt than those who have
come before them, they refuse to
blindly conform to traditional standards
and time-honored institutions. instead,
they boldly ask, ‘why?’”
—Eric Chester, Employing Generation Why?


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4. need to know why
• Pop culture has stereotyped young people as wild, rebellious
troublemakers intent on confronting older generations. Think
Blackboard Jungle, The Wild One, 1960s counterculture, 1970s
punks, goths and cynical Gen Xers.

• Millennials buck those stereotypes. They are more respectful
than resentful toward older generations, and they tend to get
along with their parents and seek their guidance and approval.
• They don’t automatically reject the opinions and claims of
other people, but they don’t automatically accept them either.
They need solid arguments to convince them.
•A lifetime of exposure to hyperactive media and marketing has
made them skilled at deep-reading the messages to find out
“Why should this matter to me?”


44

4. need to know why
retail iMplications
• Brands and retailers who want millennials as customers must
be prepared with several levels of convincing reasons that
answer millennials’ needs and concerns.
— It might be a great deal in terms of value for money and long-term
usefulness ...
— It might be really smart ...
— It might have a great backstory ...
— It might be doing great things in corporate social responsibility ...

• Whatever it offers, millennials need to know why they should
take notice of what you’re selling.


45

5. generation we


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“in order for brands to be
relevant and loved by millennials,
brands must be platforms for
collaboration and bringing their
young audiences together.
companies have to begin seeing
themselves as more than sellers,
but enablers. (h/t Moosylvania)”


47

5. generation we
• To outsiders, millennials might seem to take youthful self-
absorption and self-centeredness to new levels, but compared
with previous young generations they also bring a new
sensibility to the mix.
• With their intense use of social media and texting and constant
interaction, millennials have a sense of connectedness, an
instinctive sense of “we.”
• Millennials value teamwork and inclusiveness; they’ve learned
the value of reaching beyond their immediate social circle and
connecting far and wide.
• All their social media connections aren’t necessarily friends in
the traditional sense, but they interact and contribute to each
other’s sense of group.


48

5. generation we
retail iMplications
• Whether online or in the store, millennials like to shop
with friends and family, sharing the experience.

• More than any other generation, millennials tend to
canvass the opinion of their peers before, during and after
their purchasing.
• More than with any other generation, brands and retailers
should engage with millennials both as individuals and as
part of a wider group.
• Even if they’re on their own, you’re never selling to just
one millennial.


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6. eXpecting to
haVe their say


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“they’re driving co-creation
—they want involvement in new
products, but not necessarily always
from the ground up; they’re also happy
to leave it to someone else to design
as long as their input is considered.
(h/t @cajunjen & @alleyesonjenny)”


51

“a generation raised
on ‘children should be seen and
heard’ simply will not be a passive
consumer of anything.”
—Nick Shore, senior vice president for strategic
insights and research, MTV Networks


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6. eXpecting to haVe their say
• At home, at school and in the market, millennials have been
brought up to believe that their opinion is valuable, that it matters.

• With social media, they’ve become used to sounding off in
public to one another and to the brands that increasingly
cultivate interaction with them.
• With their votes and interaction, they’ve become accustomed to
shaping the outcome of talent and reality TV shows and
creating different endings for games.
• They’re used to media and brands that offer them mechanisms
to get involved with co-creating the product.


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6. eXpecting to haVe their say
retail iMplications
• Brands dealing with millennial consumers need a lot more than
occasional focus groups and customer surveys.

• They need to develop channels that enable consumers to give
feedback in real time and see that their feedback is heard and
has an impact.
• This has the double benefit of engaging those millennials who
are motivated enough to contribute and signaling to the rest
that this a brand that takes them seriously.


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so what?
• Millennialsprobably aren’t the sort of consumers that many
brands and retailers would have wished for—they’ve got less
money to spend, are less willing to spend, are more fickle,
more demanding, more questioning …
• Even so, millennials are already an important part of the market
and will increasingly shape it as they move through adulthood.

• The quicker brands and retailers figure out how to work with
millennial consumers, the better placed they will be to survive
and thrive in a millennial world.


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so what
will you do
to reach
Millennials?

Millennials: Reshaping the World, One (Cautious) Purchase at a Time

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