As any generation millennials bring about new trends. Industries have to stay constantly alert to their wants and needs. So what can one expect from the largest generation on our planet when it comes to shopping? How hard is it to satisfy their consumerist urges? By 2018 millennials will have the most spending power of any generation, exceeding baby boomers by $3.39 trillion. Below are a number of millennial shopping habits you might not know about unless you are a millennial yourself! Millennials are a revolutionary force in the retail industry, so let’s learn more about what they want and how exactly retailers are supposed to meet their needs.
Friends Over Brands
Millennials are digital, everyone will tell you. That’s what makes them so central to marketing strategies in comparison with older generations. Let the statistics speak for themselves. Seventy-three percent of millennials say they make purchases directly on their smartphones. But that’s the least surprising thing someone could tell you about millennial shopping habits, right?
How exactly do millennials make use of technology? Are they in awe of all the shiny ads? Nope, they prefer customers’ feedback instead. They rarely scroll through a brand’s page in search of advertisement. What they do instead is they read the reviews. Friends, family, and strangers are a better source of advice for millennials. So here is the first lesson about millennial shopping habits - they are skeptical and love user generated content. Which also shows that millennials love getting the matter into their own hands. They seem like savvy shoppers already!
Scrolling is Fun
Have you ever caught yourself scrolling through products on an app without the intention of buying anything? Whether it’s your procrastination method or just calms your nerves -doesn’t matter. It’s a habit many millennials have. Second lesson - millennials are digital but that doesn’t make them spend more. And as you could guess, it’s a big challenge for marketing to lure those scrollers into buying.
Demanding Engagement and Convenience
If you are a retailer without a social media presence, bad for you. Forget about millennials stopping by.
Millennial’s love for social media is actually a big plus for retailers. Who’s going to build their reputation if not millennials with their detailed reviews? Millennials are also actively involved with loyalty programs and most of them are happy about how they work.
Quality delivery and free shipping services are also in demand. Even if the store is the next street, many millennials will still prefer products to be delivered.
Special Treatment
Retailers need to come up with advertisement and marketing strategy that’s honest and authentic in order to go hand in hand with millennial shopping habits. The content that brands share should be specifically tailored for the audience’s needs. Publishers need to speak millennial’s language and know how to engage them.
Maintaining a blog for your brand? Make sure it is targeted properly. Don’t waste your workforce for creating content nobody will read! Chose some crazy narrow interests that your audience might like. That way, they will share your content, and hang around your blog more often. Taking a close watch on conversations that evolve on social media and on forums is an absolute must.
That’s the kind of content strategy that speaks most to millennials. They feel like their interests matter, therefore they matter.
Embracing the Moment
Millennials love the here and now attitude when it comes to shopping. They trust their impulses, unlike baby boomers who are more practical. However, that doesn’t mean that Millennials will buy everything they see. The nature of the products plays a role. They love cultural gems and thereby are likely to shop at small retailers.
As the ultimate cosmopolitan generation, they first set the global trends and then keep up with them. So, you can imagine that everything in the green and eco category has more popularity with them.
But millennials are careful when it comes to pricing. It place a major role in product choice. That’s probably because millennials have so many options a click away and therefore can compare product prices in an instant. Amazon (46 percent) and Google (43 percent) are the dominant sources of price comparison for millennials. But again, they won’t go for anything with a low price. Millennials are likely to stick to brands they have an emotional connection with. A brand that’s trendy and will give one status can be a real hit among millennials.
Customer Service
It should be excellent and personalized. If a customer service is not good enough and doesn’t satisfy their specific needs, that’s a major drawback. And it’s not only about product information. Millennials want to feel appreciated. It’s customer service 101 - making your customers feel loved will increase their loyalty!
Retailers need to be attentive to what kind of customer data they have, so they create a more personalized experience. Such information can include why and what customers purchased last. Closely examining millennial shopping habits will help retailers catch up with this demanding generation.
They Love Having Fun
If technologies are central to millennials’ lives that doesn’t mean they can’t have traditional fun. Hanging out at the movies or having awesome holidays is how they would spend their time besides shopping. Which means that they love being engaged with the brands not only on social media but also in real time. And here is where brands have to catch up and tickle their creativity.
Some fitness brands have found a great solution by organizing marathons. What could be better that bringing together like-minded people? That’s a win-win for everybody. The brand just has to come up with a cool hashtag and there they go - half of their marketing will be done by their costumers. Experience over materialism. You only live ones, millennials will tell you.
They Love Gift Cards
Some millennial shopping habits have to do with security. They are all for gift cards when it comes to paying online. As you might know, millennials are very concerned about their security. Consumer frauds such as identity theft scare them a lot. Consequently, they believe that using gift cards is among the safest options of online payment. Some millennials might not trust other payment methods such as PayPal.
Millennial Shopping Habits: Summing Up
Millennials shopping habits rule the industry, no question about that. They are outstanding by numbers, have a special knack for technology and a collective mindset when it comes to shopping.
Shopping was less diverse and easier with baby-boomers, they were less demanding. But millennials know what they want and they make it heard. It’s not them who try to adapt to retail industry. On the contrary, they shape it and demand the biggest brands to abide. Aren’t they cool?
