Reaching 16 to 34 year olds with buying power effectively has proven illusive for years, until now. MasterCard has discovered the spending habits of this group, called Millennials, and shares its findings in a report.
According to David Rich, vice president of North America sales/business development at MasterCard Advisors, new data from 80 billion anonymous credit card transactions of Millennials can provide a new look beyond the usual marketing parameters based on geography, demographics and psychographics.
Millennials total 79 million in the U.S. alone, 3 million more than Baby Boomers, ages 47 to 65. Which makes them the next frontier in target advertising and marketing. They’ve got cash to burn and spend and analyzing their spending habits is crucial.
Finding show that Millennials spend three times more on beauty products and at department stores, 3.5 times more on shoes and 5 times more on women’s apparel. They tend to make more transactions but spend less per transaction. The challenge for marketers and brands, he said, is to determine how to “focus on the clients that you want to have and retain the clients you’ve already got.”
“Millennials typically will start watching a movie on one device and finish it three devices later,” Rich said. “The same is true with the shopping experience and the integration of the online shopping experience with the brick-and-mortar purchase.”
