It Turns Out, You Can Buy Experiences
And millennials prefer spending their money on experiences, rather than objects
But you only really want to if you’re a Millennial. According to recent studies conducted by ZenithOptimedia and Eventbrite, Millennials prefer spending their money (which is a pretty good chunk of change now) on experiences, rather than objects. The experiential aspect of a product or event is what inspires people to spend their money on it. Millennials, born from about 1980-1996, are now America’s largest generation by population, and are entering into their prime earning age, currently contributing about $1.3 trillion dollars annually to the economy. The difference between Millennials and earlier generations, however, is the fact that they consider experiencing live events such as: concerts, parties, festivals, participating in sporting events or cultural activities is an important part of “connecting” with their community and the world. The constant connection (internet, cellular phones, etc.) that Millennials have lived with since an early age, and the fact that many have been exposed to high-quality and high-priced goods and gifts since childhood, is changing their priorities. 18 to 34 year-olds are less likely to consider expensive or luxury goods as a priority, they value a life experience over “having things”.
That’s not to say Millennials don’t appreciate money; in the study conducted by ZenithOptimedia, 60% of the respondents said that the most important factor in making them feel like an adult was “financial independence”. This means that a huge sector of the American population is ready to consume and is looking for added value in the product or event. Also, 59% and 32%, respectively, responded that they, when experiencing something new or entertaining, would take a photograph and post a photo online…this has to do with the whole “constant connection” thing that Millennials have been living since it began.
What we (as companies) should learn from all this, is that social media is an incredibly important marketing tool. Even if our product is a physical one, we can add an experiential aspect to it by creating interactive feedback, websites, Facebook profiles, Instagram accounts, etc. And we should start getting creative! With a little creativity, we can add a special value to all kinds of events and life experiences to make them more attractive to Millennials.