Shared Shopping Habits Of Millennials And Baby Boomers

Despite the many differences between younger and older generations, it appears they actually have many things in common when it comes to shopping. This is at least according to a new study from Radius Global Research, which shows that both Millennials and Baby Boomers have a strong bias towards online research and social media when planning to make a purchase online.

The research, cited by BizReport, has found that 90% of people aged 18-32 and nearly the same percentage (86%) of those in the 49-67 age group are fans of online product research, with the main differences stemming from the way they access the information. In the case of Millennials, smartphones are the most preferred device, used by three in five of them. Boomers, at the same time, mostly do their research in newspapers and magazines, and this was found to be the norm for 38% of people in this age group.

Social media was found to be used by both Millennials and Boomers, with the share of female younger and older consumers having a Facebook account being exactly the same, at 90%.

When it comes to word-of-mouth communication, younger consumers tend to value it most for product recommendations, while older people feel more influenced by advertising and sales representatives.

When shopping, consumers from the two age groups are concerned about identical aspects of the purchasing process, with both demographics focusing mainly on quality and price, the study showed.