Consumer Characteristics and Shopping Behaviors of Millennials
September 9,
2016 by Jane Chero in General 
This is the final factoid in a series of four factoids detailing Millennial home buying trends, shopping attitudes and habits and whether they lend themselves to home furnishings purchases in the future. Millennials, ages approximately 17 to 34, represent the largest generational cohort in history with numbers exceeding 83 million.
This factoid explores through surveys and studies how Millennials shop and what guides their purchases. As the economy improves and Millennials grow their bank accounts, settle down, and become homeowners, how else will they spend their money? Forbes magazine conducted a study on the consumer characteristics of Millennials in 2015 and surveyed 1,300 young adults. A majority of Millennials are loyal to brands (60 percent) and want them to engage with them on social networks (62 percent). Seventy-five percent hate corporate greed and find it very important to give back to society, especially through local communities. Compared to fewer than three percent relying on TV news, magazines, or books, 33 percent of Millennials look to blogs for recommendations and design ideas.
Just because Millennials are a digital generation does not mean they want to completely abandon traditional ways of shopping. Instead, they expect to have a streamlined experience between physical stores and the internet. According to a study conducted by Accenture on the shopping behaviors of Millennials, 68 percent of young adults demand an effortless transition from smartphone to personal computer to physical store when searching for the best products. Forty-one percent said they practice “showrooming” by checking out a product at a nearby retail store and then shop for it online to find the lowest price. Millennials love loyalty programs and 95 percent said they want brands to reach out to them by sending coupons via text, email or mailed to their homes.
Source: Forbes Magazine “Elite Daily Millennial Consumer Study 2015”; Accenture Survey “Who are the Millennial Shoppers? And what do they really want?’