Millennials’ CPG Brand Choices Swayed by Promotions, New Media

July 5, 2012

symphonyiri-millennials-cpg-brand-decision-factors-july2012.pngA number of promotional tactics appear to affect Millennial shoppers’ brand decisions more heavily than the average shopper, according to a SymphonyIRI report released in June 2012. For example, roughly two-thirds of Millennial shoppers say that coupons from home are a top-2 box factor driving their brand choices, making them 29% more likely than the average shopper to cite this factor. Millennials are also 31% more likely to be swayed by shopper loyalty card discounts (53% citing this factor), 22% more likely to be influenced by an in-store circular (51%), and 3% more likely to be influenced by newspaper circulars from home (48%).

Other results show that item price (87%) is the most influential brand selection factor among Millennials, and they are 10% more likely to cite this than the average shopper. In-store kiosks and in-store signs or displays are particularly more influential to Millennials than other shoppers, with a share index of 177 and 136, respectively.

Of note, of the 10 factors listed, Millennials only under-index the average in terms of previous usage and trust of the brands, with a share index of 92.

New Media Also Highly Influential

Not surprisingly, Millennial shoppers are far more likely than the average to indicate that new media influence their brand selection. Compared to the population average of 100, they index highest in influence of smartphone applications (362), followed by recommendations or information from blogs or social networking sites (347), in-store touch screen digital signals (316), and mobile advertising (294). It bears noting that although they are almost 4 times as likely as the overall population to be influenced by smartphone apps, only 15% of Millennial shoppers use these apps when making brand decisions.

Meanwhile, Millennials’ above-average reliance on recommendations or information from blogs or social networks is not surprising, given BazaarVoice research showing that 84% believe that user-generated content (UGC) has some (59%) or a lot (25%) of influence on what they buy.

Focus on Price Influences Retailer Selection, Too

Data from SymphonyIRI’s “Millennial Shoppers: Tapping into the Next Growth Segment” indicates that price doesn’t only influence Millennials’ brand decisions, it also dictates where they shop. 86.3% said that having the lowest prices everyday was a top-2 box attribute when deciding at which store to shop. Millennials over-index in this sentiment when compared to the general population, though by a relatively small amount (an index score of 104).

Other key retailer attributes for Millennials are: having the best selection of products (82.5%); having everything they need (55.7%); being fun to shop at (42.6%); and having the latest technology to improve the shopping experience (37.7%). Interestingly, Millennials don’t over-index the average on this last point by a large amount (105), despite their affinity for new media and technology.

Other Findings:

  • Spending by Millennials at mass merchandisers is 28% above the average.
  • Only 1 in 4 Millennials say that being rich is a top-2 factor for their success and happiness, though this is 27% more than the average.
  • Millennials are 75% more likely than the average shopper to live in a household with 5 or more people.
  • Millennials are 14% more likely to be in the $50-99k household income bracket, and 18% less likely than the average to be in the $100k+ bracket.
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