Millennials Emerge as Co-Purchasers

After more than 4 months of immersive study on the Digital Millennials -- often referred to as Gen Y -- I shared our research findings, insights and innovation prototypes with a record crowd of more than 2,000 folks at Shop.org's Annual Summit in NYC. In order to supplement reams of quantitative data from third parties, we solicited the participation of 72 Millennials between the ages of 14 and 24 to better understand the role technology plays in their lives and how their generational mindset of "collectiveness" and "connectiveness" shape who they are, what they expect from brands, and how they shop. We provided  web cams to participants so they could submit digital diaries in response to our texted questions. We also performed eye-tracking, had them interact with one another via online focus groups and interviewed them 1:1, which also gave us the unique opportunity to hear their worldview--not to mention a short presentation of their personal web pages from MySpace, Facebook, etc.

So, what'd we learn? A ton. We learned that while they're self-expressive, confident and optimistic, they are also assimilative, risk averse and rarely make a purchase decision without consulting their peer networks. Just like Boomers, they have strong opinions, but more so than Boomers, they feel compelled to share their opinions with their massive peer networks. We also learned that they place high value on authenticity, brands that let them participate and make their mark, and experiences that give them control and instant gratification. Their cell phone is their lifeline and they want to use it to share and to shop so it's only a matter of time before a host of third parties emerge to enable their mobile lifestyle, complete with an online allowance deposited from parents, more user-initiated promotions and opportunities to co-create with the brands they love and trust. You can gather the highlights from a variety of places:

- Our site, www.resource.com, has an overview, and will offer a white paper in about 2 weeks -- sign up for our email newsletter, Limelight, if you don't want to keep checking back.

- MySpace.com/RuReady4us has some of the videos and the key appeals of Millennials, in their words

- USA Today ran an article, as did ZDNet, Multichannel Retailer, and MarketWatch.

Check it out!