Millennial holiday shoppers mix tech, traditions

Millennials (of which I am one) view love and marriage differently. We view home and habitation differently. We view work and socializing differently. It should come as no surprise, then, that we view the extended Thanksgiving weekend mega-shopping extravaganza (including Turkey Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday) differently, right?

Yes and no.

Millennials shop till they drop

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts from its annual survey that 135.8 million Americans will shop from Thanksgiving Day to Sunday, Nov. 29, and that 183.8 million will do so on Monday, Nov. 30. Combined, those numbers mean that 58.7 percent of the general population plan to shop. As for the 18- to 34-year-old generation known as millennials, the number is just over 77 percent. That’s right, we aren’t bucking the system on this one in the way you may have expected. We’ll be shopping like everyone else — only in a greater per-capita fashion!

As you probably would expect, most millennials who do choose to shop on Cyber Monday will be doing it online — nearly 90 percent, according to NRF. Even when millennials are shopping old-school over this holiday weekend — at brick-and-mortar stores or IRL (“in real life,” an actual marketing and consumer insights acronym) — they’ll be relying on their faithful smartphones. About 88 percent will use them to compare prices, find deals, research merchandise, find stores and post photos and videos of their shopping experiences to social networks, according to the latest Retale shopping survey.

As you’ve no doubt noticed about millennials and smartphones: We don’t leave home without them. Like, ever.

Online and ‘in real life’

If the fact that millennials are enthusiastic “real life” shoppers comes as a surprise given their proclivity for the alternate reality of the Internet, in other ways it fits them to a T. They want experiences, and shopping can satisfy that desire nicely. Pam Goodfellow, principal analyst at Prosper Insights and Analytics, the firm that conducted the NRF study, recently explained to Forbes: “For these adults, it’s less about making room for pumpkin pie and more about going out with friends, checking out the deals through their mobile phones and experiencing retailers’ night owl hours, and perhaps making a dent in their shopping lists.”

Surveying two millennials

My own quick survey of two millennial work colleagues, assistant director of client services Morgan Murphy-Corcoran and portfolio analyst Mike Sherman, bears much of this out.

• Murphy-Corcoran will shop with her mom and sister on Black Friday because “it’s a tradition” and “a social experience.” She’ll also shop online on Cyber Monday. Sticking to her principles, also a trademark of her generation, she boycotts shopping on Thanksgiving Day “because I don’t think store employees should have to work that day.”
• Sherman will probably shop every day of the extended weekend except Thanksgiving Day — but all of it online. It’s his way to “avoid the chaos” in favor of “doing things like eating turkey, spending time with family and our dogs, being outdoors, and other hobbies.”
• Both value the consumer’s empowerment through technology. “I shop online for convenience, price and speed,” Sherman says. “I feel much more knowledgeable on how to navigate deals online quickly versus brick-and-mortar.” Moreover, he doesn’t think these sales days really offer the best deals anymore. There are deals to be had all week long and he’ll buy only “if I feel like it’s a solid discount for a quality item.” Murphy-Corcoran says “shopping online allows me to more easily compare the prices of similar items while also getting a greater selection of products.” In the store, she’ll scan barcodes of some items with a smartphone app to find more information about them — such as where she can purchase them more cheaply.

Surprising findings

Two final surprises. For those who believe millennials are financially irresponsible and apathetic about their personal finances, the millennial marketing and research firm Ypulse finds that 65 percent of millennials have a holiday shopping budget. For those who believe millennials are selfish, self-absorbed and care more about their social networks than their familial ones, Ypulse finds that the primary gift-giving recipient for 84 percent of millennials is dear old Mom!

For the record, I wasn’t surprised on either count.

Jennifer Pagliara is a financial adviser with CapWealth Advisors, LLC, and a member of the millennial generation.

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