Editor’s note: Rachel Bonsignore is a senior consultant on the consumer life team at market research firm GfK, New York. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared under the title, “What does the future of Millennials look like?”
As the oldest members of this oft-discussed group prepare to turn 40, the future of Millennials will have a significant impact on the global marketplace.
Although they haven’t suffered from a lack of media attention in the past decade, Millennials are worth another look simply because of their significant impact on the future. For example, they are currently overtaking Baby Boomers as the largest adult generation and approaching their Boomer parents in their share of the U.S. electorate heading into the 2020 Presidential election. And in the past few years, they surpassed Generation X as the largest generation in the workforce.
Millennials may also be the first truly global generation. Technology has broken down geographic boundaries, and these young adults are the product of not just their native cultures, but the tumultuous time during which they came of age. A second look at Millennials uncovers three key lessons that will be essential for engaging with them meaningfully in the future.
Future of Millennials as parents
Millennials are now the focal points of families and leading households that look quite different than those headed by previous generations. For example, GfK Consumer Life research shows that Millennials today are about as likely to be parents, but less likely to be married, when compared with Gen Xers at the same age in 2003. With Millennials leading more non-traditional households (e.g., single parents, unmarried couples), messaging needs to evolve to encompass these different types of families.
Even more interesting is the marked difference in the way that Millennial moms and dads approach parenting today. In contrast to the Boomer tendency to raise “latch-key kids,” and Gen X’s “helicopter” parenting approach, Millennials have their own unique take on the parent-child relationship. Research from GfK Consumer Life shows that they reject “over-scheduling” by reducing the amount of time their children spend on extracurricular activities, are more liberal when it comes to limits on a child’s technology and media exposure, and are eager to spend more time with their kids on a variety of activities, from video and board games to shopping and exercising. With less of a strict dividing line between parent and child preferences across categories like media, entertainment and health, brands can rethink how their offerings are classified and marketed; they can also create more opportunities and platforms for parents and kids to interact.
Financial future of Millennials
Coming of age during the Great Recession left many Millennials with low incomes and record levels of student debt. In fact, the typical Millennial’s net worth is 40% lower than that of Gen Xers in 2001, and 20% below what Boomers experienced in 1989. What’s more, significant financial polarization exists within the Millennial group: income gaps by levels of education are significantly wider than those of previous generations, and the change in net worth among young adults over time has declined among unmarried Millennials while rising among those who are married. And while many did receive financial help from their parents during tough times, many Millennials actually have been playing the caregiver role with their own mothers and fathers. With many forecasting that a possible recession in 2020 will again hit Millennials the hardest, brands need to adapt pricing, marketing and merchandising to reflect a challenging and more diverse economic reality.
Financial stress is just one of the reasons that Millennials have come to be known as the “burnout generation.” This segment – particularly those who are also parents – tends to lead on many indicators of modern-day “hustle culture” tracked by GfK Consumer Life. For example, they are very likely to report high stress levels and more likely than average to admit that they work most weekends and are often so busy, they can’t finish everything they need to do in a day. They’re not lazy, they’re simply exhausted – and it’s likely that shaky job security and major financial commitments are partially driving this mind-set.
This tendency to “hustle” is not unique to Millennials in the U.S. – members of this generation index higher than average on aspirational values such as social recognition and status across all regions of the world. But while Millennials tend to lead on many of these attitudes, they aren’t the only generation suffering from burnout; recent studies of Generation Z (the generation following Millennials) show record-high stress levels among this emerging segment as well.
Fun is still a priority for the future
Despite their stress – financial and otherwise – Millennials have not yet outgrown the focus that has long distinguished them from other cohorts: their desire to have a good time. GfK Consumer Life research finds that personal values such as enjoying life, excitement and having fun are still prioritized more highly among this generation than older age groups.
Millennials’ signature optimism hasn’t taken too hard of a hit, either: they report high levels of confidence about their own immediate futures, as well as the lives their children will lead as adults; this mind-set is consistently higher than average on a global level as well as in the U.S. Further, Millennials are more likely than average to seek novelty and fun in everyday products. Appealing to Millennials’ pleasure-seeking tendencies, and giving them enjoyable outlets in their daily lives, will inspire brand loyalty.
What can brands do in order to keep up with these shifts in Millennials?
In just a few decades of life, Millennials have experienced significant social, political and economic upheavals, many of which have had a long-lasting impact on their lifestyles today and prospects for the future. As they enter the “middle era” of their lives with different approaches than their predecessors, brands will be wise to understand that:
- The economic instability that has defined, and will continue to impact, this generation gives brands the opportunity to offer health innovations to relieve Millennials of their financial stress.
- Millennial parents enjoy a closer bond with their children compared to their predecessors; communicate to the entire family, not just the parent or the child.
- The future of Millennials still needs to include fun – give them opportunities to enjoy life!