Millennials don’t always get a great press. Whether it’s their controversial avocado expenditure, an inability to be more than two feet away from their iPhone, or their obsession to match the population size of China with their Instagram following, there’s always a less-than-flattering story about them in the media.
While such views are largely just opinions, there is one fact that stands out when it comes to the millennial generation (generally those born between 1980 and 2000 by the way) – their influence in the online retail space is huge. Millennials love reviews. Simple.
Millennials don’t trust you. They trust your customers.
In stark contrast to those lazy stereotypes, they certainly put the work in when it comes to making a purchase. In fact, a whopping eight out of 10 millennial shoppers never buy anything without first reading a review, a study has found.
As much as 93% of millennial consumers read online reviews before making a purchase – pretty shrewd, right? Since a huge percentage of millennials feel unable to evaluate a brand or product without confirmation from others (with reviews), it is more important than ever for businesses like yours to collect and share user-generated content.
Millennials have grown up through a barrage of rather depressing global events including the Great Recession, so it’s hardly surprising that many are pretty cynical. For this reason, they trust people over brands. Polished product descriptions and shiny adverts will only go so far. A recent survey also revealed 84% of millennials to trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.
TIP: Develop an authentic, human brand presence online to earn consumer trust. Promote the reviews you have in a way that is visible and transparent and encourages more customer reviews and recommendations.
Millennials love their social media. You should too.
This is the generation that grew up with the emergence of social media, so don’t be so hard on their obsession with likes, shares and follows. In fact, you’ll be equally obsessed when you learn of the power these social channels can have on your business. Social buying is the new norm, so businesses need to collect and distribute positive customer reviews and experience through their powerful social channels. Social sharing buttons, Q&As, forum-style discussions and polls on social media are other great ways to encourage feedback and interaction from your millennial audience.
“Social proof can help boost sales among all social shoppers. Nurturing your millennial audience could result in a huge boost of customer reviews, sure to impact sales to all generations”. Scott Stewart, HelpfulCrowd
Millennials take pride in seeing their reviews published and shared across key social media channels or embedded on a website. They also respond well to engagement – a simple “thank you” for a review, or a response to a concern goes a long way. Millennials love reviews, but they love interactions with brands and peers even more.
45% of millennials admitted they prefer buying online, compared to visiting a store.
Mobile-friendly = Millennial-friendly
Remember that iPhone addiction I mentioned earlier? Well, before you go telling those pesky millennials to cut down on their device time, consider this. A study by Blackhawk Engagement Solutions, revealed that millennial shoppers are totally plugged into mobile and social shopping, disrupting the traditional shopping channels used by Generation X or “baby boomers”. 89% of millennials use their smartphones to connect with retail outlets and the research also shows that they’re 13% more likely than Gen Xers to share their experience. For this reason, your online store and review platforms must be mobile friendly.
Oh, and there are eighty million millennials in America alone, representing about a fourth of the entire population with $200 billion in annual buying power. Millennials love reviews. Avoid them at your peril.
