A Harris/Resource Interactive study of Generation Y states that:
“The big story is not what they buy — it’s all the influence they have on the total purchases within a household.”
The buying behavior of my own family reinforces this statement. My Dad recently decided to change our household’s internet access provider, and he put me in charge of picking the best one. At first I was surprised, but looking around our house I began to realize just how much of an impact I have on my parents’ purchasing decisions. The Harris study proves that I am not alone — parents across the country are buying with influence from their Gen Y children.
Categories Under The Influence of Gen Y Kids
Overall, it is estimated that Generation Y influences “as much as half of all spending in the U.S. Economy.” But what categories do they impact the most?
Clothing ranks highest, as Millennials are considered co-purchasers for 81% of the family’s apparel. Food is a close 2nd, with a 77% rate of influence.
The largest trend, however, is in technology-related purchases. From computers (68%) to cell phones (66%), Gen Yers have a great deal of influence on the tech gear their parents purchase. Gen Y has never known a world without computers. As a result, we are quick to adopt new technology — and we are usually the ones to teach it to our parents.
Parents Under The Influence of Gen Y Kids?
This temporary role reversal, where the child is teaching the parent, creates the high level of influence children have over their parents’ tech purchases. An apparent shift in decision making power between parents and kids would baffle most members of The Greatest Generation (Gen Y’s grandparents), but it is quite common in today’s world. Breaking away from their parents’ philosophy that “children should be seen, not heard,” Baby Boomers are known for preferring a collaborative relationship with their Gen Y children.
Marketers must understand this shift, especially if they are promoting one of the more-effected product categories in the chart above.
What is the best way to win over parents and their children? Communicate your message with both of them, in the forums that they prefer:
- Baby Boomers respond best to television, print and radio ads
- Gen Y rejects traditional advertising, and prefers word of mouth messages from peers, active interaction (think experiential/event marketing), and online communication.
Warning: Tailor your marketing to each demographic, but be careful not to send two completely different messages. For example, if you try to appear “edgy” to the child and “safe” to the parent, both groups will see right through you.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Excellent post (and blog) Jeff. This is definitely a shift that marketers need to embrace. The whole concept of “target audience” needs to be rethought — the people who do the buying are not the ones doing the purchasing. In the “olden days” a vacuum cleaner maker would want to target their message at the mom demographic. Today, as important if not more so is the teenage boy who, although he probably won’t ever buy a vacuum cleaner for himself (excuse the gross stereotype), is the one who can talk up certain brands because he thinks their technology is cool, etc.
I’ll be adding you to me feedreader!