Despite their obsession with technology, millennials prefer to shop in physical stores, according to a new survey released by CouponFollow. The study reveals that while millennials love their mobile devices and are likely to use them to research items online, when it comes to closing the deal, most of them will end up buying the products in a traditional store.
Understanding how millennials shop is crucial to the evolution of retail sales strategies. Those born between 1982 and 1996 make up the largest generation in human history, with more than 80 million members in the U.S. alone. They pump nearly $600 billion into the U.S. economy annually and are poised to inherit $30 trillion from their Baby Boomer parents. Today, millennials account for 28% of all daily per-person consumer spending — a figure that could rise to 35% by 2030, according to CouponFollow, a website that provides online coupon codes to consumers.
Here are the most important takeaways from CouponFollow's "Millennial Shopping Report Summer 2017," which outlines the trends, attitudes and behaviors of 1,000 Americans between the ages of 20 and 35 from all 50 states...
• According to the survey, 53% of millennials make the majority of their purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. Exactly 31% report that most of their purchases are made online via desktop computer and 16% make the majority of their purchases via a mobile device.
• Younger millennials (ages 20-23) are more likely to shop at brick-and-mortar stores. The survey reveals that 58% of younger millennials make the majority of their purchases offline. That number is five percentage points higher than the generational average.
• More than three in four millennials will browse the internet before making a purchase. When millennials research a product both online and offline, they’re more likely make the purchase at a traditional store. Specifically, 67% of millennials who conduct this level of research will make their purchase offline, while 33% will head for the online shopping cart.
• When shopping online, millennials are most impacted by savings, free shipping and peer reviews, and least impacted by personalization and checkout ease. Nearly 80% of online shoppers noted that they are "greatly impacted" by finding deals and saving money, while 67% are “greatly impacted” by the option of free shipping. Six in 10 said they are “greatly impacted” by product reviews and feedback.
• On average, more than half of millennials search for coupons on the internet before making an online or offline purchase. Seventy percent of those purchasing via desktop will seek an internet coupon, while 52% of their brick-and-mortar counterparts will do the same.
The analysts at CouponFollow believe that as millennials advance in age and spending power, so too must the strategies developed and implemented by America’s retailers.
Their advice: By fusing together the online and offline shopping experience, brands can earn considerable market share by adopting a hybrid approach to commerce that’s rooted in value and designed to empower authentic consumer engagement across a rapidly evolving suite of channels and platforms.
Credit: Image by Porapak Apichodilok/Creative Commons CC0.
