Debunking the Millennial Myth
Welcome to the age of millennials.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the generation defined in the public consciousness — rightly or wrongly — by smartphones, social media and selfies, overtook baby boomers in size last year.
And yet, businesses, academics and the media continue to struggle to define who millennials truly are, what they believe and how to market to them. So, beyond the buzz and an apparent propensity to live, breathe and shop online, who are millennials really, and are they really even one thing?
In a recent segmentation of U.S. shoppers, LoyaltyOne Global Solutions explored the types of shopper personas that emerge when we exclude demographic differences like age and gender and concentrate solely on behavioral data. What was discovered was illuminating, if not a little surprising: beyond age, so-called millennials are far from being one cohesive group at all. In fact, they fall into a multiplicity of groups with a variety of shopping preferences and attitudes.
Therefore, if millennials are more complex and dynamic than the caricature we tend to see, where exactly does that leave marketers? How do they reach and build relationships and loyalty with this increasingly powerful generation of shoppers moving forward?
To get a clearer picture of millennials — and all your customers — download Debunking the Millennial Myth: Data Over Demographics, the latest thought-provoking report from LoyaltyOne Global Solutions.
