2020
As the largest generation,
Millennials will account for one
third of retail spending by 2020
1
.
2000-1980 1980-1965 1965-1945
BOOMERSGEN XMILLENNIALS
1980-2000
This twenty-year generation
consists of teens, newlyweds
& parents, making it difficult for
brands & retailers to appeal to
all Millennials at once.
77 M
61 M
92 M
POPULATION
2
INSIGHTS
COTTON INCORPORATED
SUPPLY CHAIN
THE NOW OF RETAIL: MILLENNIALS
Millennials are currently the largest generation and are
projected to comprise one third of retail spending by 2020
1
.
Brands and retailers have taken notice of their importance and
are evolving business models and offerings to win Millennials’
loyalty. Fashion and versatility, omnichannel experiences,
and customer education are essential components of the
Millennial shopping experience.
Millennials are the most racially-diverse generation yet
2
.
Thus multi-cultural and ambi-cultural marketing efforts
should be particularly successful among them. Millennials
are extremely diverse in their life circumstances due to the
fact that they were born over a twenty year span of time
and consist of teens, newlyweds, parents, etc. This may
seem like an obstacle for brands and retailers when it comes
to appealing to all Millennials at once; however, targeted
marketing efforts geared towards parents (often more
scrutinizing shoppers) could yield benefits.
Meeting Millennial expectations will require an
omnichannel business model and engaging social media
content. However, this does not mean that brands and
retailers should eliminate brick and mortar stores since
93% of millennial shopping is still in-store.
KEY INSIGHTS
• Faster fashion, omnichannel approaches, and product education
are instrumental to win all Millennial segments.
• Offer innovative digital platforms and customization options to
capture elusive shoppers.
• Use targeted marketing to reach minority segments of this
generation - the most-diverse generation ever.
Omnichannel means appealing to customers and capturing
their attention through all shopping channels and along every
consumer touchpoint from online browsing to the final point
of sale and beyond. Offering innovative digital platforms
will make it easier for savvy shoppers to discover new
brands and stores and will help retailers remain competitive.
Through engaging digital content and customer education,
Cotton Incorporated’s current consumer marketing campaign
focuses on inspiring Millennials to buy and authenticate their
cotton purchases.