• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 3, 2022

Email teams trying to target the most loyal consumers have a new demographic to deal with: Bridge Millennials. Those are people in the age group 34-44, who bridge the gap between Millennials and Gen X. In other words, they are people entering middle age. 

Of all groups, they are the most eager to have relationships with multiple brands, judging by Relationship Commerce: Building Long-Term Brand Engagement, a study by PYMNTS.

The study breaks commerce relationships into three types: loyalty programs, memberships and retail subscriptions. Overall, 16.8% of consumers belong to all three, 34.7% belong to two and 27.8% belong to one. And 20.7% belong to none. 

Baby boomers are least likely to have multiple relationships -- only 7..8% belong to all three types and 29.1% belong to none. In contrast, 27.5% of Bridge Millennials have joined all three and 37% are in two. Moreover, only 13%, belong to none.  

In this they are rivaled only be people earning $100,000 in general: 27% of these high earners have multiple relationships, versus 15% of people who earn between $50,000 and $100,000. And 39.6% belong to two.

What do consumers want once they are in these relationships? Discounts. 

Overall, 28.3% want discounts, and 35.3% are now getting them. Among the groups, 33% of consumers with retail subscriptions or memberships and 52% of those in loyalty programs say discounts or deals are the most important benefit. And 33% of shoppers without commerce relationships say discounts or deals would be the most important motivator.

Bridge Millennials appear to be similar to other groups in this regard — 29.3% seek discounts or deals. But in this regard, they are topped by Baby Boomers (33.2%) and Generation X (33.%). 

But 28.1% of the Bridge cohort want free products, putting them ahead of other groups: 26.4% of Gen millennials desire the same, along with 24.8% of Gen X. Only 19.7% of Baby Boomers share that desire. 

Free shipping appeals to 23.3% of Boomers, 14.3% of Gen Z and only 9.8% of Bridge Millennials.

Emailers trying to target individual demographics need to incorporate these preferences into their creative, and to automatically target those generations with the appropriate offer. 

It’s worthwhile doing, for 75% of consumers with relationships will buy more from those companies. And 90% are more likely to purchase more from firms that understand their buying preferences. 

PYMNTS surveyed a census-balanced panel of 2,826 consumers who have entered into commerce relationships with brands. Of these, 1,689 belong to loyalty programs, while 1,828 have memberships and 617 have subscriptions.