A study comparing Millennials with non-Millennials sheds light on some of the key behaviors and attitudes of the generation.
Currently numbered at 79 million — and growing in influence — Millennials are expected to outnumber the Baby Boomer population 78 million to 56 million by 2030.
The Boston Consulting Group recently surveyed 4,000 Millennials aged 16 to 34, as well as 1,000 non-Millennials aged 35 to 40. The report's complete findings are available online.
Here's a summary of the key takeaways of the survey, and what marketers and companies need to keep in mind as the generation continues to become more dominant.
Millennials are actively engaged in consuming and influencing
In contrast to the stereotypical view that they are lazy and entitled, Millennials are extremely optimistic about the ability of business and government to influence global change. They are more likely than non-Millennials to purchase products that support a cause, and when they make direct donations — which 34% of them do — nearly half donate through mobile devices.
Millennials are also more likely than their non-Millennial counterparts to broadcast their thoughts and experiences online, and to contribute their views to user-generated content. For example, 60% of Millennials spend time rating products and services and uploading videos, images and blog entires online.
Millennials favor recommendations from peers or friends
For the Millennial, an expert doesn't necessarily have to be someone with credentials — rather, it can mean anyone with firsthand experience. Crowd-sourcing is popular among the generation, and more than half of the Millennials surveyed (53%) reported exploring brands through social networks.
They are also much more likely than non-Millennials to use their phones to read reviews or research products while shopping. Half of them reported doing this, whereas for non-Millennials, only 21% engaged in this behavior.
Millennials are "digital natives"
Using new technology is old news to Millennials, and they tend to own multiple devices — 72% reported using MP3 players, 67% use gaming platforms and 59% own smartphones. In comparison, 80% of non-Millennials reported using desktop computers at home, and 60% owned basic cell phones.
The upshot? Millennials are much more likely to multitask while online, and are comfortable doing so across a variety of platforms such as mobile, tablet and gaming.
The Millennial generation is also heavily engaged with social media, with nearly half (47%) of those surveyed indicating their lives feel richer when they are connected to people online. 33% also favor brands that have Facebook pages and mobile websites, compared with 17% of non-Millennials.
What are the implications of these findings?
According to Jeff Fromm, executive vice president at Barkley advertising agency and the founder of the Share.Like.Buy Millennial marketing conference, the way the Millennial generation has engaged with brands, channels and other models online has been instrumental in creating the current "participation economy."
And companies need to keep up with them, Fromm adds. "Since these consumers are always in a hurry, it's critical to determine how you can get them to spend time developing a relationship with your brand," Fromm says.
The survey also found non-Millennials tend to have negative views toward Millennials, which may have inadvertently affected how executives have been appealing to them as consumers. But considering the critical role the generation is currently playing in influencing communication channels, the need to develop marketing, brands and business models to appeal to Millennials is without question.
"Some may argue that the peak spending years of the Millennials are far enough in the future that companies can take their time in developing well-targeted, appealing products and services," says Chris Egan, COO of the customer experience analytics agency SMG. But we believe that staying on top of Millennial trends is critical because they will ultimately influence today's big spenders, the 35-to-74-year-old non-Millennials."
To help companies better tailor their messaging to Millennials, the Boston survey identified six subsets of the U.S. Millennial population. Here they are, along with representative quotes:
Hip-ennials (29%) — "I can make the world a better place."
Millennial Moms (22%) — "I love to work out, travel and pamper my baby."
Anti-Millennials (16%) — "I'm too busy taking care of my business and my family to worry about much else."
Gadget Gurus (13%) — "It's a great day to be me."
Clean and Green Millennials (10%) — "I take care of myself and the world around me."
Old School Millennials (10%) — "Connecting on Facebook is too impersonal, let's meet up for coffee instead!"
What do you think of these findings? Do they agree with your own experiences with Millennials? Sound off in the comments.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, TommL?
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