• by Jess Nelson , May 23, 2017

Millennial shoppers might be easier to reach than you think. 

Millennials are the most likely generation to engage with marketing emails, according to a study released Tuesday by Campaigner. The email marketing company surveyed 761 consumers who made a purchase online between April 20 and April 26, 2017 to investigate generational differences in marketing preferences.

Twenty-two percent of Millennials said they are likely to open a brand email message, compared with an average of 15% across generations. Furthermore, 51% of Millennials selected email as their preferred digital marketing channel.

Millennials are also more likely to interact with brands on social media. Just 24% of online shoppers overall named social media as a preferred marketing channel, but 47% of Millennials engage with brands on social media. Millennials are also nearly three times as likely to engage with brands on Snapchat compared with the average online shopper.

Pew Research Center defines the Millennial generation as “those born after 1980 and the first generation to come of age in the new millennium.” Growing up alongside the advancement of smartphone technology, Millennials are digitally connected and engaging with brands through mobile application. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are more likely to prefer engaging with a brand in-store. In fact, 73% of Traditionalists and 67% of Baby Boomers prefer to interact with brands in-store, compared with 65% across generations. Older generations are also more likely to shop in the morning, while Gen X and Millennials shop at night, according to the study.

Email is the most preferred digital marketing platform for brand interaction across generations, with 44% of respondents overall engaging with brands in their inbox.

Email inbox fatigue, however, remains a serious concern so email marketers should strategically think about when they are sending email. The top complaint among all online stoppers was that they receive too many marketing messages, with 49% of respondents expressing concerns about promotional frequency.