Millennials: From Punchline to Powerful Consumers

By now, you’ve heard the term “millennial” a million times over — and with good reason. They represent 25% of the US population and hold $1.3 trillion in spending power, which has turned them into quite a powerful consumer group.

Millennials have mostly been given the credit, for better or worse, for redefining consumer expectations. These expectations now go well beyond millennials, prompting retailers to change how they engage and market to consumers of all ages.

So, what do millennial consumers want? What do they care about? And how can retailers adapt?

It all starts with the smartphone. Thanks to the access these devices grant, millennials are consuming a lot of content. They read – and value – things like product reviews. They digest what’s happening on social media, both from brands and their peers. They watch videos. And yes, they communicate with their friends and family.

While content consumption is one thing, how brands drive action from them is another.

Building Millennial Loyalty

There is a notion that millennials are not loyal to brands, but this isn’t quite accurate. In fact, millennials are loyal to brands that clearly communicate a meaningful purpose and core values – and stand by them. They’re also more likely to stand behind a company that makes philanthropy part of its mission. They’re not going to go with a brand based on name alone, no matter how long the brand has been around.

For this generation, convenience is not only important, but it’s also essential. And ultimately, the consumer, not the company, defines convenience. Your brand may think four-day shipping serves its needs, but in this age of two-day, same-day, and even two-hour delivery, it may not be enough. To some consumers, four days can seem like an inconvenient eternity.

Millennial marketing expert Jeff Fromm takes it one step further and says it’s not convenience they care about, it’s hyper-convenience. As a retailer not named Amazon, you should think of ways to create customer experiences that make people want to engage with you and talk about your brand. After all, people don’t Google or ask Siri to find them an average restaurant or an average pair of shoes. To appeal to millennials, you need both a good product and good service. Here are a few ways to think about upping the experience you offer to millennial consumers.

Employees: Think about your frontline employees. Customer service representatives and store associates can help create an exceptional consumer experience. Train them to be advocates for the company. They are, after all, the face (or voice) of the business. If they’re unhelpful or treat people poorly, don’t expect repeat customers. In today’s age, news travels fast.

Content: The strategic focus here is to give consumers the information they desire when they go to look for it. Are your in-store product counts online accurate? Do you offer product reviews or how-to videos? Can I easily reach your customer service department to ask them a question? Providing easy-to-access content helps millennials navigate their customer journey.

Inspiration: Great brands inspire people to create great content. Does your brand inspire content creation, such as Instagram posts or product reviews? I don’t mean simply sending an email asking customers to review their purchase, but actually providing inspiration for doing so. Do you make consumers want to share with you on social media? Look at your messaging strategy – does it feel authentic or forced?

Email Marketing: Are your emails relevant and timely? Consumers, especially millennials, will quickly tune out generic batch-and-blast emails. Think of opportunities to send a more targeted email, such as browse recovery messaging, or adding product recommendations and user-generated content to your messages. In fact, according to one of our recent studies, 60% of US millennials fully expect stores to provide recommendations based on their past online purchases.

The customer journey today is more fragmented than ever before, especially for digitally native shoppers. Consumers today may still touch all four bases on a baseball field, but they may not do it in order. But if you can optimize your strategy and give them what they want at each stop, you’ll be a brand they remember and come back to time and time again.

For more information on marketing to millennials, check out episode 14 of the Commerce Marketer Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Mobile: It's Not Just for Millennials Anymore

Smartphones are everywhere, and people are becoming increasingly reliant upon them to accomplish everyday tasks: setting their wake-up alarm, listening to the radio, and, of course, shopping. Because of this consumer reliance on these devices, a mobile-first approach is essential for retailers today, from responsive design for emails to mobile-friendly websites (including the checkout process).

However, even with this increase in smartphone usage, the majority of purchases are still happening on other devices. But why? Is it because technology has not yet caught up with consumer expectations for a purchase experience? Does age still dictate who uses smartphones for purchases? Or is it a combination of these, and then some?

Optimization Obstacle

Data from our recent survey, "How Consumers Across the Globe Use Multiple Devices to Shop and Buy," indicates that even in today’s mobile-first world, there are still inherent obstacles to making a purchase via a smartphone. Let’s think about why this might be the case.

Envision a scenario that challenges virtually every retailer today. You’re commuting on a train. You browse a website on your phone, find a product, cart the item and start to make a purchase, but the checkout process is not fully optimized for your smartphone. So you abandon the cart and finish your order via a friendlier device, such as a laptop. In this scenario, the mobile device was essential, but thanks to the obstacles of the brand’s mobile checkout, the conversion was dependent on another device. This gives would-be purchasers the opportunity to shop elsewhere.

This is exactly why retailers are focusing so heavily on prioritizing the mobile experience. They understand that allowing potential customers to leave their site without making a purchase not only gives them the opportunity to shop elsewhere but also establishes in the consumer’s mind that the brand is not customer-centric.

It's Not Just for Millennials

As you would expect, our research shows that age appears to influence the level of comfort with making purchases on smartphones. Millennials are more likely to view mobile purchasing as the norm, but the behavior isn’t limited to younger generations. The older age groups are also comfortable making mobile purchases via the smartphone, which underlines the necessity to focus on providing a smooth mobile experience.

It’s expected that, over time, mobile purchasing across almost all age groups will increase, and it will likely be a result of two things. First, as smartphone payment technology advances and retailers streamline their purchase process, smartphone conversions will become as easy and as natural as walking into a store and paying for an item.

And as technology further cements itself into every aspect of everyday life, consumers, even in the older age groups, will be less reliant on desktops and laptops to make a purchase.

Until complete adoption, though, here are three ways you can help streamline the mobile purchase process:

1. Add a message to your welcome series inviting new subscribers to create an online account. This can help make entering payment and shipping information easier during the checkout process, as entering this information on smaller devices is often a major obstacle during a mobile purchase.

2. Ensure your emails are responsive and your message is clear. Don’t use too much text in your emails. Not only can it be hard to read on mobile phones, but attention spans are short. If you can’t convey your messaging in a matter of seconds (think three or fewer), your contact will likely swipe away from your email.

3. Focus on the mobile site experience, including the checkout process. Can people easily navigate the site, save items and check out? Look for areas of high friction and improve them.

At the end of the day, the mobile experience matters. Whether mobile is used to start the purchase process or complete one from start to finish, a mobile-first approach is paramount in providing consumers the shopping experience they expect.