Cue Connect study creates 5 millennial retail shopping profiles

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jun 14, 2016

Millennials, or Gen Y, account for 80 million consumers. They currently spend an estimated $600 billion on retail purchases, and are on track to reach $1.4 trillion by 2020.

With retailers scrambling to target millennial consumers and gain market share, Cue Connect has categorized millennials into 5 main profiles. The 5 are the Social Shopper, the Bargain Hunter, the Elite Shopper, the Impulse Buyer, and the Frugal Fannie.

“Retailers who want to win big are going to be forced to approach their brand from a place of empathy. Tying the consumer experience to emotion is to millennials what direct mail was to baby boomers," said Berkley Bowen, CEO and founder, Cue Connect.

Bowen explained, "Millennials have to feel understood and are insatiable when it comes to immediacy for more personalized touchpoints and better service. This research tells us that ‘surprise and delight’ is imperative."

The take away from the Cue study is that a one-size-fits-all approach will not win the consumer. A Social Shopper is motivated by their friends' Instagrams, while an Elite Shopper is driven by loyalty programs. 

Bowen concluded that millennials are arguably today's smartest shoppers. Accordingly, brands will have to create smart marketing strategies to continue to win valuable millennial loyalty.