A Very Merry, Millennial Christmas

As the Millennials turn another year older, their spending habits are also maturing, especially as more and more of them are now out of college, owning homes and beginning to start families; in fact, 1 in 4 Millennials are actually parents today. As a general refresher, Millennials are the generation who were born between 1977 and 2000 who make up about 25% of the US population and also make up about 21% of consumer discretionary purchases.

When it comes to holiday shopping, Millennials are already planning on spending more than they did last year, an average of $1,427 for this year, especially if they’re parents who typically spend more than the average consumer. Which also makes them the driving force for the general year-to-year increase in holiday spending since the recession; and an important demographic for holiday marketing.

The biggest key element when it comes to targeting Millennials is that you have to meet them where they are – online. 76% of Millennials say they will shop online, and 58% will shop directly from their mobile device this holiday season. Which means you will absolutely need to craft some sort of a digital campaign that appeals to this younger demographic and their needs and wants during Christmas.

So just how do you do that? Here’s 5 simple steps, tips and facts for creating a holiday plan that appeals to Millennials:

Consider All Digital Platforms. The beauty of digital is that there’s now a plethora of options to fit any style and any budget. Another wonderful aspect of digital, you get real time results and the chance to change your art, copy, messaging, demographics, etc. For more specifics on digital marketing during the holiday season, check out our Tis The Season To Get Digital blog post.

But why is digital so important with Millennials? Because that’s where they are.

More than 85% own smartphones
They touch their phones 45 times a day… if you subtract 8 hours for sleeping, they’re checking their phones about 3 times an hour
5 out of 6 Millennials connect with businesses and brands on Facebook
84% of Millennials don’t trust traditional advertising such as radio or magazine ads, pop-ups, cold calling and direct mail campaigns
90% of Millennials can be found on Facebook – and we like to spend about two hours on it a day

So you get the picture as to why you need to be present in one way or another online to capture their attention, and hopefully wallets.

Have A Heart. It’s been said that Millennials will make more of an effort to buy products from companies that support the causes they care about. If you support a nonprofit, or donate certain percentages to a cause, or even if your staff members participate in charity events, share this with your customers. And it doesn’t have to be a big portion of your packaging or main messaging; sometimes just creating simple messages and graphics mentioning you support a certain organization and publishing them on social media can be enough of a draw.
For me personally, being married to a Marine Corps veteran, I am drawn to brands that either support veteran causes, or even just mention they like to hire and support veterans on their staff. Many times, these companies don’t take a large portion of real estate to advertise this, it’s just a small line on the bottom of their packaging or a note I saw on their website.

Even if you don’t support a cause year-round or regularly, consider finding one for the holiday season. Here some ideas you could easily adopt:

Run a toy drive in your office or if you have a store location to donate to Toys-For-Tots and share what you were able to collect
Have your staff decide on a cause to donate to for the holiday season
Donate a certain percentage or amount for every item you sell during the holiday season
Have a company event where your staff helps out in a food kitchen

Showing that your company has a heart and gives back to the community or greater good, shows that you care not only about sales or gaining customers, but about the world we all live in; earning you extra points with not only Millennials, but all potential customers.

Loyal For Life. Millennials and Gen-X shoppers are more likely to be influenced by retailer loyalty programs – consider creating one if you have the opportunity too. If not, consider sending a thank you email to anyone who makes a purchase through your store with a discount for a future purchase.
Amazon Any Day. Millennials prefer to shop on Amazon versus Walmart for holiday shopping. And honestly, is this a shock to anyone? As a Millennial myself, I don’t mind shopping for necessities in-store, but during the holiday season, it can be downright miserable when you combine winter weather conditions getting to the store, long lines, busy store aisles and so on. So if you offer e-commerce, advertise this to them directly letting them know you can help ease the headache of holiday shopping, especially if you also offer specials like free or discounted shipping.
Treat Yo’ Self. While holiday shopping, 64% of Millennials plan to buy a gift(s) for themselves; in fact, it’s about $300 worth of gifts. And as a Millennial who does quite a bit of holiday shopping myself, this is spot on. While checking out what stores have what deals, I always plan on buying items, particularly apparel (apparel and electronics are the top gifts they plan to buy themselves) for myself. So consider crafting a few messages that play into this notion.