The One Thing Millennials Haven’t Ruined (Yet)

There’s a near-constant onslaught of headlines outlining the vast number of things Millennials have killed. From golf to relationships, they’ve been accused of taking them all out, one by one. Of course, there are some very good reasons for most of these shifts. As a whole, Millennials don’t have the same financial stability to keep up the spending habits of their parents. So, they dine out less (killing chain restaurants), use paper towel for everything (killing the paper napkin) and have less disposable income for travel and accommodation (killing hotels). Check out this list of a few other things Millennials have been accused of killing.

Regardless, it’s not all bad. Millennials are credited with being one of the most brand-loyal generations. The age-old question for companies was how to get through to Millennials as a buying demographic, but when a company successfully manages to do so – they’re in for life. I personally have a MacBook that has 100% died on me to a point beyond any sort of saving and a one-year old iPhone that has taken to freezing and turning itself on and off post-iOS 11 update. But there I am, browsing the Apple website on my now lagging iPhone, looking at MacBook Airs to purchase.

Everyone knows Millennials are heavily influenced by outside media, social networks and peers while making buying decisions. They’re the generation that created Instagram celebrities, after all. But there are few more surprising stats about Millennial brand loyalty that I found interesting:

• Millennials are 2.2 times more willing than Baby Boomers to pay a premium for products and services if they can also earn loyalty and reward points
• 68% of Millennials wouldn’t be loyal to a brand without a strong loyalty program
• 64% say loyalty programs drive them to interact with a brand online

So, according to this extensive compilation of Millennial buying research, getting Millennials hooked on a brand through loyalty incentives can potentially be extremely effective. Millennials seem to know their loyalty is valuable and expect brands to reward it. Can you afford not to?

What are your thoughts on Millennial brand loyalty? Let us know in the comments.

–Kaila Joynes, Consultant