Findings show that millennials do a majority of their shopping online, and purchases are increasingly influenced by social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook
CouponFollow, one of the largest coupon destinations for online shoppers, released the third edition of its Millennial Shopping Habits Trend Report analyzing the spending and saving habits of Americans between the ages of 25 – 40.
“Although millennials are leading the pack when it comes to online shopping, brands have to be even more aware of this generation’s desire to find the best deal to entice them to spend their hard-earned money”
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“Since our last report in 2019, events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased usage of social media platforms have greatly influenced how millennials approach spending and saving. The popularity of new payment methods, such as cryptocurrency and Buy Now, Pay Later purchasing options, have also shifted their spending habits,” said Marc Mezzacca, President of CouponFollow. “Our goal with this report was to revisit how these factors have impacted e-commerce trends and how millennials, as America’s largest generation, continue to shape the future of retail and e-commerce.”
As the most populous generation in the United States, with 73.2 million people in 2022, millennials are a dominant cultural force and have an annual spending power of $2.5 trillion.
Key findings from the report include:
- Four in five (80%) of millennials now do most of their shopping online, up from 60% in 2019, with 56% shopping mostly on their mobile devices, up from 36% over the same period.
- As many as 73% of millennials changed how they shop due to the pandemic. More than half (56%) shifted their shopping online away from physical stores, especially among older members of millennials (35–40 years old).
- Saving money and finding deals is still the most important factor in millennial online shopping (63%), but a smooth checkout process (42%) and product recommendations (22%) are significantly more important in 2022 than they were three years ago.
- As 78% of millennials now follow brands on social media (up from 57% in 2017), more than half (54%) admit their shopping habits are most influenced by Facebook (28%) and Instagram (27%).
- Despite only launching in America in 2017, TikTok is already the main social media platform shaping the shopping habits of 12% of millennials. For younger millennials aged 25-29, that share is 16%.
- As the awareness of cryptocurrency grows (96% aware, up from 90% in 2019), so is the inclination to spend it when shopping online. One in three (30%) of millennials made at least one purchase using cryptocurrency in the past year (+8% since 2019).
- Finding the best deals and saving the most money remains the most important driver of shopping decisions among millennials (63%, up from 57% in 2019), followed by customer reviews (47%, up from 42%) and free shipping (43%, slightly down from 44%).
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CouponFollow surveyed 1,257 Millennial-aged (25–40 years old) Americans from all 50 states, across a broad economic scope, on their shopping habits.
“Although millennials are leading the pack when it comes to online shopping, brands have to be even more aware of this generation’s desire to find the best deal to entice them to spend their hard-earned money,” states Mezzacca. “As factors such as social media and other technological advancements continue to impact the lives of this technologically savvy generation, brands must pay close attention to these trends and shift their ecommerce strategies accordingly to innovate effectively.”
