Millennials Will Change the Way You Sell

TALKING TO STRANGERS HOW SOCIAL INFLUENCES MILLENNIALS' SHOPPING DECISIONS PRESENTED BY bazaarvoice:. WELCOME TO MILLENNIAL VILLAGE By 2017, the Millennial generation will have more buying power than any other. But how do they make purchase decisions? As early social media adopters, they often understand social better than the brands trying to reach them. So Millennials make their own rules of commerce, and it's time for brands to catch up... or perish. POPULATION 1,688,526,106 USER-GENERATED INFLUENCE 84% of Millennials report that user-generated content (UGC) has at least some influence on what they buy, compared to / 0% of Boomers. HOW MUCH DOES UGC PLAY IN YOUR PURCHASE DECISIONS? MILLENNIALS BOOMERS 3% NONE 9% NONE 25% A LOT 21% A LOT 13% A LITTLE 21% A LITTLE 84% 70% 59% SOME 49% SOME TOP PURCHASES THAT MILLENNIALS WON'T COMPLETE WITHOUT UGC 44% 40% 39% CARS HOTELS MAJOR ELECTRONICS 0001492 0781 7376 32% 29% 29% TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS INSURANCE ACCOMMODATIONS MILLENNIALS TRUST STRANGERS OVER FRIENDS & FAMILY S1% of Millennials say consumer opinions found on a company's website have a greater impact on purchase decisions than recommendations from family and friends. WHEN MAKING A PURCHASE, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS MOST LIKELY TO INFLUENCE YOUR OPINION? RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS & FAMILY MILLENNIALS BOOMERS OfiO 49% 66% RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STRANGERS THROUGH UGC ON A COMPANY WEBSITE MILLENNIALS BOOMERS UGC 51% 34% When looking for opinions about products to buy, Millennials are more than three times as likely as Boomers to turn to social channels like Facebook and Twitter. A BRAND'S MOTIVES ARE IRRELEVANT TO MILLENNIALS The majority of Millennials believe that other consumers care more about their opinions than companies do - and that's why they continue to share their opinions online. 71% 64% 87% ...of Millennials believe that companies shouldn't edit customer feedback by correcting spelling or grammar errors-intact feedback is more helpful to other consumers. ...of Millennials continue to .of Millennials feel that companies should offer more ways to share their opinions online in the future -and they'll continue to participate. share opinions because they feei other consumers value those opinions. Simply asking for opinions just isn't enough anymore. Winning Millennials takes a whole new way of selling. How is your brand working to become more social, transparent, and engaging? SOURCES TALKING TO STRANGERS: MILLENNIALSTRUST PEOPLE OVER BRANDS GEN BUY: HOW TWEENS. TEENS, AND TWENTY SOMETHINOS ARE REVOUTIONZING RETAIL USCENSUS BUREAU bazaarvoice www.PEOPLEOVERBRANDS.COM