On October 26, 2014, 1,300 Millennials from Elite Daily's database of readers and contributors were surveyed on various consumer-related topics. The study was implemented to obtain a better understanding of our audience's consumer behavior, social media consumption and media expectations.
The results have shed light on some notions we had already held about Millennials. For example, it has always been our belief that Millennials look for authenticity when consuming content.
It is interesting to note the behavioral shifts from generation to generation and, more specifically, from Gen X to Millennials. We surveyed Millennials on a wide variety of topics, including one of the biggest issues facing Millennials today: student loan debt and the resulting personal-finance issues.
Millennials were among the hardest hit in the economic downturn; they carry an enormous amount of student loan debt and face a job market in recession. Currently, student loan debt is $1.2 trillion dollars, and tuition costs have surged 500 percent since 1985.
Brands frequently pose the question of how to engage Millennials. We specifically looked to see which social networks influenced Millennial spending and how that spending was broken down; our survey covered everything from savings and rent to entertainment and loans.
We found that Millennials comprise a vocal and active generation that wants to have a prominent voice in regard to issues and products that affect daily life, including cars and mobile phones.
The “social generation” is heavily connected to brands and one another other, aiding in the fluidity of conversation between business and consumer, and also peer-to-peer interaction.
Elite Daily is the premier online news platform for and by Millennials, the leading source for breaking news and entertainment for the future leaders of our generation, with an audience of over 74 million monthly unique visitors.
We are releasing this first study in order to identify Millennial-consumer trends and also enable brands to maximize their relationship with Millennials.
We believe that Millennials are valuable to brands because they are early adopters and active brand ambassadors on social media.
Special thanks to Dan Schawbel of Millennial Branding for partnering with us on this study. Schawbel has worked on several research studies focused on millennials in the past years and sees the value of working with Elite Daily to help brands become more aware and equipped to work with millennials.
Register here to receive the Millennial Consumer Trend 2015 Study
Citations: http://www.projecttuitionreimbursement.com/2014/10/who-is-responsible-for-12-trillion.html (Project Tuition Reimbursement)
