Millennials are coming of age – the youngest are exploiting technology in ways we never anticipated. Meanwhile, the oldest of them are hitting the peak of their greatest purchasing power.

Millennials; the first digitally native generation now ranges in age from 19 to 39. Their buying power is undeniable; many of Millennials might be homeowners, students, and parents – stages of life with a financial burden, and a crowd of brands clamoring for attention.

Moreover, Millennials present a huge market opportunity, but they have high expectations of brands and low regard for advertising, meaning brands must use different tactics to reach them.

Keep reading to better understand this generation of trendsetters—who they are and how they make their purchases—and leverage the potential offered by millennials.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Profiling Millennials of the U.S. 2019

The United States alone holds roughly 80 million Millennials, and each year they spend approximately $600 billion. 42% of Millennials rate family as the most important thing in their lives, though 21% are less sentimental; they care the most about saving money.

The Digital Life of Millennials in the U.S. 2019

• 97% of all US Millennials said they use the internet., with 28% of them are smartphone-only internet users.
• 85% of US Millennials use social media. 82% of them use Facebook, 52% use Instagram and 47% use Snapchat.
• 46% of US Millennials use social media for 4 hours or more weekly.
• 92% of US Millennials own smartphones and 54% own tablets.
• Making phone calls (67%), messaging (64%), sending/receiving emails (51%) are the top three reasons for using smartphones by Millennials in the US.
• 41.1% of Millennials in the US have used an ad-blocker. And within that generation, younger Millennials (aged 18-24-year-olds) are the heaviest users of ad blockers.

The Buying Habit of Millennials in the U.S. 2019

• U.S. Millennials now make 60% of their purchases online.
• Roughly 8 in 10 of them browse the internet before making either an online or offline purchasing decision.
• 97% of Millennials use Amazon for some portion of their online shopping, with 43% use Amazon for 80% or more of their online shopping.
• 57% of Millennials shop online weekly.
• Desktop/laptop are the most used devices for online shopping by US Millennials with a rate of (49%), followed by mobile phones (40%) and tablet (7%).
• U.S. Millennials are more likely to make mobile purchases through mobile apps than mobile websites (66% vs. 69%).
• 67% of U.S. Millennials prefer to search and purchase on ecommerce sites rather than in-store.
• 52% of US Millennials are willing to share their data with retailers in order to get more product discounts and free shipping.
• 70% of Millennials follow a brand on social media.
• 54% of Millennials still prefer to receive coupons via email, while 23% prefer to receive them on mobile apps. *
• Physical mail (31%), email promotions (44%) and SMS (25%) are the least annoying ads/promotions for US Millennials. *
• American Millennials are much more likely than any other generation to make online purchases in bed (67%). 33% make online purchases in the bathroom.

A Focus on the U.S. Millennials Women  2019

• US Millennial women are estimated to represent a market of approximately $170 billion.
• 42% of these women are moms, have a budget to spend, which means they have significant influence, if not authority, over household purchase decisions.
• 80% of Millennial women are employed fulltime, and 40% work a side hustle.
• Price is a top influence on purchase decisions of 88% of Millennial women in the US, while 84% said that customer ratings and reviews influence their purchase decisions.
• Millennial mothers are the most active social media users, among all moms. Facebook (48%), Instagram (43%) and YouTube (36) are the top three social media platforms for US Millennial Moms.

Profiling Millennials of the Middle East 2019

Millennials making up 28% of the MENA region’s population, being the largest number of young people to transition to adulthood in the region’s history.

57% of Millennials are fascinated with other cultures and enjoy learning about them, 58% of them believe that it’s important to pass down traditions, and 62% of them are never afraid to express their opinions even if it’s against societal norms.

The Digital Life of Millennials in the Middle East 2019

• 97% of MENA’s Millennials are internet users. And over half of them always eager to be online and connected.
• 94% have a presence on at least one social media platform.
• In KSA, all Millennials are internet users, and over 1 out of 10 of them are social media users.
• The vast majority of MENA’s Millennials share content online at least once a week.
• 52% of them stay connected with friends & family, while 39% of them engage, like & comment on other people’s posts
• The smartphone is the most used devices for MENA’s Millennials to access the internet with a rate of 77%, followed by laptop (14%), and then PC (7%).
• Three-quarters of Millennials internet users in the MENA region use smartphones to play games.
• Food delivery apps (Ex: Otlob) and ride-hailing apps (Ex: Uber and Careem) are the most installed/used mobile apps used by Millennials internet users in the Middle East.
• 46% have used Netflix on any device and 42% have used Google Play Music.
• 55% of Millennials in the MENA region have used an ad-blocker.

The Buying Habit of Millennials in the Middle East 2019

• 40% of MENA’s Millennials have shopped online.
• UAE dominates the highest rate of Millennial online shoppers, followed by KSA, Tunisia, and Iran.
• 43% of them have shopped online through shopping websites, 27% have done so through social media and 24% have some so through mobile apps.
• Over 4 out of 1 of Millennials in MENA have purchased online from international sites.
• Almost three-quarters of MENA’s Millennials have interacted with a brand in order to stay updated about offers and products (46%) an learn more about offers and promotions.
• Most of MENA’s Millennials are relatively loyal to their brands. They’re always sticking to the brands they know (58%) and they’re always buying the brands they grew up with (49%).
• 6 out of 1 of Millennials in the Middle East look for information before making a purchase, while 64% always look for the best offers & deals available.
• Mobile devices and apparel are the most purchased categories by Millennials in the Middle East.

Profiling Millennials of Asia 2019

The Digital Life and Buying Habits of Millennials in Asia

• Facebook has the highest proportion of millennials using it at least daily. In Thailand, 90% of millennials are active on Facebook while 85% of Malaysians and 77% of Singaporeans favor this channel.
• 63% of Asian Millennials prefer to shop online than in-store. *
• 32% of them shop online daily or twice a week, while 29% of them do so monthly and 23% do so weekly.
• China, India and South Korea hold the highest proportion of Millennials online shoppers.
• 1 in 4 of Asian Millennials regularly buys online through personal sellers on social media.
• 82% of shoppers in Asia shop online because of lower prices.
• 86% of Asian Millennials use retail or shopping apps.

Finally

After reading all these stats and following up on sources, the question now is “How to Focus Your Marketing Strategies for Millennials“.

Put in your mind that Millennials don’t respond to the hard sell; they intend to make up their own minds. So, advertising pitches that worked for Boomers and Gen X-ers are not generally effective with Millennials.

Remember, you need to help Millennials to believe in your company and its messages and they will invest in your product.