emarketer webinar: millennials—a moving target for marketers

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Millennials—A Moving Target for Marketers

Mark DolliverSenior Analyst

November 10, 2016


The youngest millennials are essentially still kids themselves …

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… while many of the oldest millennials are now busy raising kids of their own



A framework for how to think about the data we’ll be looking at today: The emphasis on millennials as a heavily—not to say

obsessively—digital cohort tends to overlook the particular life stage they’ve been at as things like Facebook and smartphones have come along.

Thus, what we’ve seen in millennials’ digital behavior so far should not be regarded as a simple precursor of what we’ll see in years ahead as they become real grownups.

Differences in digital behavior between younger and older millennials offer hints at where the generation as a whole is heading.

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Lots of digital resources came along as millennials were at a life stage where they had lots of free time for using those things



They’ve taken their time about it, but millennials are getting married



Among those in their 30s, millennials who haven’t married are the exception

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With or without having gotten married, older millennials en masse have been turning into parents

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Often with the arrival of kids as impetus, millennials are defying predictions that they would never become homeowners

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Some brands, like Mazda in a commercial about bringing a newborn home, are alert to the fact that millennials are making these transitions

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The joys of multitasking become a bit less joyful when it means you have to do a lot of chores at once

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Younger vs. Older Millennials as Social Media Users


For something as basic as using at least one social network at least once a month, the younger-vs.-older gap is negligible

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The same is almost true of something as widely used as Facebook, though older millennials are a bit more likely than younger ones to be users

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There’s not a huge gap in Twitter user penetration, but younger millennials are more likely than older millennials to be tweeting

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Instagram has significantly higher user penetration among younger millennials, and the gap shows no sign of narrowing in this decade

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The gap is wider still for Snapchat, even as that app has gained a sizeable following among older millennials

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Some surveys suggest that Pinterest has been an exception to the pattern of higher social usage by younger millennials

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Amid these variations, though, bear in mind that frequent Facebook usage is a common denominator among all millennials

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Even for the younger group, Facebook is a social site where millennials dwell for lots of time on a typical day

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Younger vs. Older Millennials as Mobile Users


Smartphone usage is the norm across the millennial generation, and it includes a lot of time staring at that screen

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Smartphone penetration is so high among millennials that there is little disparity between younger and older by that measure

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Younger millennials spend more time watching video on their smartphones, and spend more time on smartphone apps/web usage as well

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Based on time spent online, older millennials are more reliant than younger ones on computers—and, hence, less reliant on their phones

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One telltale tidbit: 18- to 29-year-olds were much more caught up in the Pokémon Go craze than were 30- to 44-year-olds

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Younger millennials are also somewhat more likely to use their mobile devices to access sports content

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Work emails via mobile device are an exception to the pattern—no surprise, as the older millennials are deeper into careers

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Tablet user penetration is very similar between older and younger millennials, but the older ones are more apt to be handing the device to their offspring

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Younger vs. Older Millennials as Video Viewers


Yes, they spend less time watching TV than older people do. But millennials still spend ample time in front of their TV sets

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About nine in 10 millennials are TV viewers, with little gap between older and younger as penetration slowly declines

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Millennials still watch plenty of traditional TV, even if a lot less than older people do

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This might change in the future, but for now, the TV set dominates in both millennial cohorts for big events like the Olympics

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Younger millennials have an edge in digital video viewer penetration, but the figures are high for both subgroups

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Younger millennials are more apt than older ones to use some social networks as venues for viewing digital video

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Digital video provides a much bigger portion of the younger group’s total viewing than of the older group’s total viewing

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Younger vs. Older Millennials as Digital Shoppers


Millennials across the generation have made usage of digital tools a routine part of their shopping process

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Digital buying is a rare case in which millennials—younger and older alike—have a lower penetration rate than Gen X and baby boomer internet users

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Grocery shopping is an area where digital buying has lagged, but more for younger than for older millennials

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Convenience is crucial for millennial mothers, and many shop digitally multiple times a week as a time-saver

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When they deploy their smartphones for shopping, both older and younger millennials are often doing so in pursuit of bargains

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This shared interest in bargains is evident in younger and older millennials’ propensity for buying digitally on Black Friday

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Younger and older millennials display similar degrees of willingness (or reluctance) to transact purchases via smartphone

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There are signs that younger millennials are less tolerant than older millennials of ads that intrude on their digital activity

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Among younger millennials who do use ad blockers, they are especially apt to do so on desktop computers

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Summing up: The millennials really are growing up. We see this

reflected in the incidence of marriage, parenthood and home ownership at the older end of the generation.

With more practical responsibilities to handle as they form family households, older millennials are more likely to use digital in utilitarian ways, such as for shopping. And they’ll have less time for recreational usage.

There’s not a simple, consistent pattern of difference between older and younger millennials in digital usage. But the younger millennials seem more engaged by the kill-some-time aspects of digital.

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Mark Dolliver

Millennials—A Moving Target for Marketers

Global Millennials 2016: Gauging the Digital Behavior of Adults Around the World

US Millennials at Key Life Stages: How Younger and Older Segments Differ and Converge

US Millennials and Video: Seven Insights into Their Evolving Choices and Viewing Habits

US Mothers and Money: How Much They Have, How They Get It, How They Spend It