New Survey Busts Top Millennial Shopping Myths

January 27, 2014 – Merchant Warehouse, a leading provider of payment technologies and merchant services, along with Retail Pro International, today announced the findings of a joint survey designed to identify the knowledge gap that exists among retailers and millennial shoppers. Targeting millennial consumers, as well as U.S. retailers, the survey gathered insights on shopping preferences and retailer beliefs around attracting and engaging this particular shopping demographic.

Survey findings busted a number of myths surrounding the millennial shopper, including:

Every millennial wants to use mobile devices, and looks for loyalty and rewards programs — Of the millennial consumer respondents, 60 percent said they do their pre-purchase research through retailer websites.
If you offer a discount, they will come — Almost 50 percent of millennial consumer respondents reported they’d only be willing to go to a retailer location to use a coupon if it offered at least 20 percent off.
Retailers will always market differently to various shopper demographics — Survey data showed an even 50/50 split between those retailers that choose to market differently to various demographic segments, and those that don’t.
Retailers are way behind where they should be when it comes to delivering a seamless, omni-channel experience — 53 percent of millennial consumer respondents stated their shopping experiences are seamless across channels with their favorite retailer, though they do admit retailer sites are often lacking in extensive functionality.
There are some people who still use cash as a primary payment method — 68 percent of millennial consumer respondents reported using credit or debit cards primarily, but 25 percent admit their payments methods vary between paper (cash, coupons) and plastic (debit, credit).

Some additional key findings, specific to holiday shopping preferences for the 2013 holiday season, include:

In-store vs. online — More than 90 percent of consumers reported there are some products they prefer to buy in-store versus online. Specifically for the 18-29 age group, they prefer to shop in-store for apparel (nearly 73 percent), footwear (76 percent) and home goods (62 percent).
High-ticket items — This same group prefers to buy electronics online (approximately 84 percent), but elects to buy furniture (almost 81 percent) and jewelry (nearly 62 percent) in a store.
It’s a solitary enterprise — Nearly 80 percent of consumers reported they often do their holiday shopping alone, a point supported by the role online research played in making shopping decisions this holiday season (mentioned in myth #1).
E-Commerce lagging — Slightly more than 50 percent of retailers report having an e-commerce presence, with another 12 percent stating they’re in a “research phase.”

For more information on Merchant Warehouse, visit merchantwarehouse.com.

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