• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 14, 2022

Remember millennials? They’re receding into the background slightly as they approach middle age.

But they remain a solid audience for ecommerce brands, judging by Millennial Shopping Habits: Trend Report 2022, a study by CouponFollow.  

Of the millennials polled, 80% now do most of their shopping online -- up from 60% in 2019. And 56% mostly use their mobile devices, versus 36% three years ago. 

But 73% have changed the ways they shop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And 56% have shifted their shopping away from physical stores, especially older millennials.  

Email is their favorite delivery mechanism for coupons and discount offers, although it has slipped slightly. 

This year, 48% prefer email -- down from 54% in 2019. Nothing else even comes close.  

In contrast, mobile app delivery has slid from 23% in 2019 to 20%.

Text messaging is preferred by 12%, flat with 2019. Postal mail has also fallen from 10% in 2019 to 9%.

Only 6% favor social media, which was not included in the 2019 survey. However, 78% follow brands on social media.  

When redeeming coupons, millennials prefer these options:

• Online from mobile — 70% 
• Online from a computer — 45% 
• In-store — 26% 

Computer preference fell from 65% in 2019, and mobile rose from 62%.

Only 19% have made purchases using a smart speaker or voice-controlled device, down from 25% in 2019. But 66% now have such a device in their home, up from 55% three years ago. 

Of course, if you want to reach millennials, try Amazon — 98% now shop on it. And 66% make two-thirds of their purchases there. 

What kinds of discounts do they want? They list: 

• Percentage discounts — 35% 
• Dollar discounts — 19% 
• Free shipping — 18% 
• In-store — 35%
• Buy one, get one free — 14%
• Free trial — 7%
• Free gift with purchase — 6%
• Other — 1%

Millennials are more fond of Buy Now, Pay Later programs than those numbers would suggest—40% have used them. In the lower pay brackets, say $25,000 or less, 47% have availed themselves of BNPL, compared with 37% of those earning $100,000 or more.  

Meanwhile, these young consumers are driven by several concerns when they shop:

• Finding the best deals and saving money — 63%
• A fast and simple checkout process — 42% 
• Personalized product recommendations — 22%
• Reading product reviews and customer feedback — 47%
• Free shipping — 43%

When working at home, millennials  are friskier about shopping during the work day — 25% do so during work hours, excluding lunch, versus 16% of those working in an office.  

Overall, 50% own some cryptocurrency, men more than women — 59% to 41%. 

CouponFollow surveyed 1,257 millennials in February 2022.