In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.
1. Discounts drive sales.
As we told you, Millennials are cost-conscious and love a discount. According to Forbes, most of their social media interaction (especially Twitter) is driven by the desire to save via coupons and flash sales. Nearly nine in 10 millennials use coupons, according to a report by Valassis, the company behind the RedPlum coupon circular. Asked to describe their couponing habits, millennials told Bloomberg about checking for discount codes on such websites as RetailMeNot, using web-browser extensions such as Honey to highlight bargains, and seeking out cash-back programs like Ebates. Flash sales proffered by Groupon, pharmacy loyalty cards that trigger discounts at the register – all these approaches are seen by young shoppers as basically indistinguishable from the coupons of old.
However, Millennials still spend about $200 billion each year in the U.S.; and spend about $9.00 more per shopping trip than Baby Boomers. It is the reasoning behind their purchases that is a huge opportunity for companies; this generation is willing to spend on what matters to them, and what helps their voice to be heard – and preferably not for a full price.
Sources:
- Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
- EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
- http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
- https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
- https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/