The Millennials killed the retail store, or did they?

We — millennials, are different and so many still don’t understand that.
By 2025, we are estimated to represent one-third of Australian’s workforce, subsequently taking over consumerism with a high level of disposable income. But addressing Millennials isn’t as easy, and a lot of businesses including retail giants and the government still don’t understand how to communicate with us.
Millennials’ disregard traditional advertising methods and some companies are still sticking to their guns. Tv commercials, print ads or direct mail won’t cut it with Gen-Y as it did with Gen-X. According to an article by brookings.edu, an astonishing 84% of us don’t trust traditional advertising. We hate it, we’ve been bombarded with these ads our whole lives– it looks too profit driven.
And yes, some of your new advertising methods are modern clichés. Just because you use an absurd amount of emoji’s and selfies on your ads doesn’t mean we’re going to buy more sandwiches or over priced plastic watches.
As millennials, we desire to be part of your story, something bigger than ourselves. Look at how millennials spend 25 hours per week– social media. We want something interactive, but this doesn’t mean spamming us with content.
We are looking for an authentic real-life experience of being part of the action. We want to do more than buying your products we want to make your businesses part of our lives. Why?
We use brands to identify and define ourselves; they make a statement of our socioeconomic standard.
Yes, being on social media helps but we want the real experience. We care for brands with unique design, humour, colour, backed by influencers and a fun tone of voice.
Millennials have essentially redefined what makes a product desirable. We no longer care for the fast–cheap stuff. We want to see how your brand or company uses eco-friendly practices and gives back to the community. What else is our hard-earned money doing except lining your pockets?
Take note though, if your social media campaigns only consist of product-focused messages and self-promotion, then we will quickly flick over your content like a picture-less Tinder profile.
Granted, we spend a ton of hours on social media alone, but we aren’t looking to have a business entity talk at us — we want to be engaged by genuine customer service. We’ve grown up with the internet, and we know how to do our research–your competitor is only a google away.
Our purchasing decisions and spending habits are different from the “norm.” Millenials are cost-conscious, we don’t identify with large commercial brands and we are even steering away from fast food.
Millennials have had it rough, but we’ve come of age and are done being labelled as the text-a-holic or selfie-taking idlers.
Since we’re taking over the world of consumerism, it’s about time businesses listened to us if they want to stay in business. If large corporations continue to rely heavily on “traditional” techniques and don’t start by understanding their customers, they risk losing out in a huge potential market — the millennials.
Customer research will be the next revolution, and it is already here for many. We want authenticity, interaction, and transparency. Get to work!
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