Many millennials are now following the traditional paths laid out by generations before them—buying homes, getting married and having kids. And the transition to a different life stage has implications for how this highly digital generation will use technology in years to come. Key topics include: How many millennials are parents, married, or homeowners; How the digital activity of millennials is evolving as they become serious adults; Key differences between younger and older millennials as users of social media and smartphones; If TV is still a medium where millennials can be reached.

1. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Made possible by
Millennials—A Moving Target for
Marketers
Mark Dolliver
Senior Analyst
November 10, 2016

2. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
The youngest
millennials
are
essentially
still kids
themselves …
#eMwebinar
Image credit: PhotoDisc

3. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
… while many
of the oldest
millennials
are now busy
raising kids of
their own
#eMwebinar
Image credit: PhotoDisc

4. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
A framework for how to think about the data
we’ll be looking at today:
 The emphasis on millennials as a heavily—not to say
obsessively—digital cohort tends to overlook the
particular life stage they’ve been at as things like
Facebook and smartphones have come along.
 Thus, what we’ve seen in millennials’ digital behavior so
far should not be regarded as a simple precursor of what
we’ll see in years ahead as they become real grownups.
 Differences in digital behavior between younger and
older millennials offer hints at where the generation as a
whole is heading.
#eMwebinar

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Lots of digital
resources
came along
as millennials
were at a life
stage where
they had lots
of free time
for using
those things
#eMwebinar
Image credit: PhotoDisc

6. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
They’ve taken
their time
about it, but
millennials
are getting
married
#eMwebinar
Image credit: PhotoDisc

7. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Among those
in their 30s,
millennials
who haven’t
married are
the exception
#eMwebinar

8. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
With or
without
having gotten
married, older
millennials
en masse
have been
turning into
parents
#eMwebinar

9. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Often with the
arrival of kids
as impetus,
millennials
are defying
predictions
that they
would never
become
homeowners
#eMwebinar

10. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Some brands,
like Mazda in
a commercial
about bringing
a newborn
home, are
alert to the
fact that
millennials are
making these
transitions
#eMwebinar

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The joys of
multitasking
become a bit
less joyful when
it means you
have to do a lot
of chores at once
#eMwebinar

12. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Younger vs. Older Millennials
as Social Media Users

13. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
For something as
basic as using at
least one social
network at least
once a month, the
younger-vs.-older
gap is negligible
#eMwebinar

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The same is
almost true of
something as
widely used as
Facebook,
though older
millennials are a
bit more likely
than younger
ones to be users
#eMwebinar

15. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
There’s not a
huge gap in
Twitter user
penetration,
but younger
millennials are
more likely
than older
millennials to
be tweeting
#eMwebinar

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Instagram has
significantly
higher user
penetration
among
younger
millennials,
and the gap
shows no sign
of narrowing
in this decade
#eMwebinar

17. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
The gap is
wider still for
Snapchat,
even as that
app has
gained a
sizeable
following
among older
millennials
#eMwebinar

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Some surveys
suggest that
Pinterest has
been an exception
to the pattern of
higher social
usage by younger
millennials
#eMwebinar

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Amid these
variations,
though, bear
in mind that
frequent
Facebook
usage is a
common
denominator
among all
millennials
#eMwebinar

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Even for the
younger group,
Facebook is a
social site
where
millennials
dwell for lots
of time on a
typical day
#eMwebinar

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Younger vs. Older
Millennials as Mobile Users

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Smartphone
usage is the
norm across
the millennial
generation, and
it includes a lot
of time staring
at that screen
#eMwebinar

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Smartphone
penetration is
so high among
millennials
that there is
little disparity
between
younger and
older by that
measure
#eMwebinar

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Younger
millennials
spend more
time watching
video on their
smartphones,
and spend
more time on
smartphone
apps/web
usage as well
#eMwebinar

25. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Based on time
spent online,
older millennials
are more reliant
than younger
ones on
computers—and,
hence, less
reliant on their
phones
#eMwebinar

26. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
One telltale
tidbit: 18- to
29-year-olds
were much
more caught
up in the
Pokémon Go
craze than
were 30- to
44-year-olds
#eMwebinar

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Younger
millennials are
also somewhat
more likely to
use their mobile
devices to
access sports
content
#eMwebinar

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Work emails
via mobile
device are an
exception to
the pattern—
no surprise,
as the older
millennials are
deeper into
careers
#eMwebinar

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Tablet user
penetration is
very similar
between older
and younger
millennials, but
the older ones
are more apt to
be handing the
device to their
offspring
#eMwebinar

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Younger vs. Older Millennials
as Video Viewers

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Yes, they
spend less
time watching
TV than older
people do. But
millennials
still spend
ample time in
front of their
TV sets
#eMwebinar

32. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
About nine in 10
millennials are
TV viewers, with
little gap
between older
and younger as
penetration
slowly declines
#eMwebinar

33. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Millennials
still watch
plenty of
traditional TV,
even if a lot
less than older
people do
#eMwebinar

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This might
change in the
future, but for
now, the TV set
dominates in both
millennial cohorts
for big events like
the Olympics
#eMwebinar

35. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Younger
millennials have
an edge in digital
video viewer
penetration, but
the figures are
high for both
subgroups
#eMwebinar

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Younger
millennials are
more apt than
older ones to
use some
social
networks as
venues for
viewing digital
video
#eMwebinar

37. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Digital video
provides a
much bigger
portion of the
younger
group’s total
viewing than
of the older
group’s total
viewing
#eMwebinar

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Younger vs. Older Millennials
as Digital Shoppers

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Millennials
across the
generation
have made
usage of
digital tools a
routine part of
their shopping
process
#eMwebinar

40. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Digital buying
is a rare case
in which
millennials—
younger and
older alike—
have a lower
penetration rate
than Gen X and
baby boomer
internet users
#eMwebinar

41. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Grocery
shopping is
an area where
digital buying
has lagged,
but more for
younger than
for older
millennials
#eMwebinar

42. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Convenience
is crucial for
millennial
mothers, and
many shop
digitally
multiple times
a week as a
time-saver
#eMwebinar

43. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
When they
deploy their
smartphones for
shopping, both
older and
younger
millennials are
often doing so
in pursuit of
bargains
#eMwebinar

44. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
This shared
interest in
bargains is
evident in
younger
and older
millennials’
propensity for
buying digitally
on Black Friday
#eMwebinar

45. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Younger and
older millennials
display similar
degrees of
willingness
(or reluctance)
to transact
purchases via
smartphone
#eMwebinar

46. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
There are signs
that younger
millennials are
less tolerant than
older millennials
of ads that
intrude on their
digital activity
#eMwebinar

47. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Among
younger
millennials
who do use
ad blockers,
they are
especially apt
to do so on
desktop
computers
#eMwebinar

48. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
Summing up:
 The millennials really are growing up. We see this
reflected in the incidence of marriage, parenthood and
home ownership at the older end of the generation.
 With more practical responsibilities to handle as they
form family households, older millennials are more likely
to use digital in utilitarian ways, such as for shopping.
And they’ll have less time for recreational usage.
 There’s not a simple, consistent pattern of difference
between older and younger millennials in digital usage.
But the younger millennials seem more engaged by the
kill-some-time aspects of digital.
#eMwebinar

49. © 2016 eMarketer Inc.
IBM Marketing Cloud helps you use customer
behavior to deliver custom experiences and
messages across the entire buyer journey.
So you can reach the right people,
with the right content, at the right time.
Visit ibmmarketingcloud.com

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Mark Dolliver
Millennials—A Moving Target
for Marketers
 Global Millennials 2016: Gauging the Digital Behavior of Adults
Around the World
 US Millennials at Key Life Stages: How Younger and Older
Segments Differ and Converge
 US Millennials and Video: Seven Insights into Their Evolving
Choices and Viewing Habits
 US Mothers and Money: How Much They Have, How They Get
It, How They Spend It