Most Millennials are children of Baby Boomers. They wield enormous purchasing power as a collective group. They are also bold and setting trends that the rest of America and the world will follow for several decades. But they are setting trends in a much different way than their counter-culture parents did. Let’s explore how Millennials are trendsetters.
They Love Anything Tech
Millennials popularized online shopping before, and especially during the pandemic. That’s largely because they were the first generation to be exposed to technology and digital devices on a large-scale basis. So, they reward stores that provide working and intuitive technologies the most.
They want responsive sites and technologies that are easy to learn and use. They tend to leave sites that load at brontosaurus-like speed as fast as they came.
They Expect Customer Experiences to be Like Parties
Previous generations were content with going to their local department store to buy something. If they found a helpful sales rep to guide them, that was a plus, but it was not expected. Things are different with millennials though. They expect interactive and entertaining shopping experiences.
Another thing that characterizes them is that they are more individualistic. So, they are more likely to want to shop, travel, and dine, either solo or in smaller groups than their Baby Boomer parents.
They also flock to and consult social media platforms heavily for reviews, advice, and tips when shopping. They trust revelations from previous customers on social media much more than claims about brands from the companies themselves. Part of the reason is attributed to a distrust for Corporate America.
Many of them began college at a time when abuse and malpractice from Big Business started going global. They found this to be shocking and unacceptable. So, they began to demand that corporations act with a sense of real social responsibility. They found that social platforms were the best way to check if corporations really practiced social responsibility because customers on social platforms rarely lie.
They Want to Influence and Make An Impact on the World
Fortunately, that doesn’t include holding controversial and sometimes dangerous and violent sit-ins at America’s largest universities like their parents did in the ’60s. What it does mean is that Millennials want to collaborate with businesses and brands to make a difference in how these brands are made, how the materials to manufacture them are sourced, and how these brands are consumed.
That also means that they care about companies’ values. It’s time to expand upon the point explained in the previous paragraph. More than half of Millennials want to make purchases from enterprises that support causes that they are into. They are also twice as likely to buy organic food than any other generational cohort.
They Want to Do Things Themselves
So, there’s a reason why you see more self-checkout counters in major stores like Kroger and Walmart. Millennials want to do everything themselves. That includes buying and paying for groceries and other staple items themselves.
They Value Personal Experiences When Shopping
What does that mean for businesses? It means that they want to live the action when shopping. Stores that offer virtual or in-person interactive brand demos will be best poised to benefit from this preference. They also prefer ‘tastespotting’ or tasting and experiencing different cuisines as they’re being made when dining out.
Millennials Are Changing How the World Lives
They are doing it subtly too and not dramatically and suddenly like their Baby Boomer parents did. Millenials are bringing about slow and permanent change in the ways in which we live and shop by flocking to social media to gauge the social responsibility of companies and expecting life-changing experiences when shopping.
