• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 13, 2017

According to a recent survey by L.E.K. Consulting, of more than 3,800 Americans, including roughly 2,200 Millennials aged 18 to 34, about their shopping preferences, the results, says the report, reveal important insights into how to win the generation game.

Consumers are a moving target, says the report, powered by major generational shifts. For instance, how does the do-it- yourself supercenter adapt to the way Millennials shop for their homes? As Generation Xers enter their 50s, how might an older women’s apparel retailer respond? And then, where to begin with Generation Z, a group of consumers that’s largely unknown, digitally native and at the cusp of maturity.  Retailers that ignore generational change, says the report, risk obsolescence.

Generational change includes a significant transition of purchasing power between generations, says the report.

30% of U.S. adults, 75 million people, are Millennialsmillm

Millennials account for approximately 90% of all first-time mothers today

They spend about $1.2 trillion a year, or one-fifth of the nation’s total consumer expenditure

The eldest of them are only now entering their peak spending years. As more Millennials crowd into the post-35 age group, expect their aggregate spend to increase as their share of earnings grows

The Millennial cohort is big, but it’s not a monolith, says the report. As consumers, Millennials are actually a collection of subgroups with significant differences in behavior. Analyzing five segments of Millennial consumers in the recent survey, each of which shops differently, the key delineators appear to be parenthood and a college education, concludes the report..

Retailers Play the Generation Game: Lessons From Adapting to Millennials, was written by Robert Haslehurst, Managing Director, and Shang Saavedra, Consultant, in L.E.K. Consulting’s Retail practice.

For more information, please contact retail@lek.com, or more specifically, here.