Who are Millennials?

They are the last generation of the twentieth century, born between the 80s and 2000, grown up in the middle of the digital revolution and matured during the biggest economic crisis since the Depression of the 30s. They represent 2.0 consumers, those who buy being aware of what they want and how to find it, especially on the net: demanding, technologically advanced, knowledgeable and with good buying power. And this is ? in a few words - who the Millennials (or Generation Y) are.

Nielsen.com website states: "From the research Discovering Millennials conducted by Nielsen for Yahoo, it comes to light that 55% of Millennials still lives at home with parents, although not all of them do it for real economic needs: 26% chose to stay with the parents to have a higher standard of living, while 17% find it more comfortable to avoid the management of the house. 16% live alone, another 16% live in a couple with no children, and only 13% have one or more children."

The collected data showed a potentially interesting audience from business point of view, but at the same time it's difficult to achieve for companies. Why?

UNPREDICTABILITY

The reasons are many, the first concerns Millennials' unpredictability, which means the difficulty in contacting them permanently, since that many seem ready to move in a short period: "Only 25% of Millennials interviewed by Nielsen (survey finished in 2015) answered that they plan to live in the same area as now in the next five years. This means that 75% of these emerging consumers plan to move, especially in big cities and university locations."

"Considering that Generation Y represents about a quarter of the US population (in Italy, it includes about 18% of the population) and its buying power is expected to grow as these consumers mature", trying to predict how it will move by 2020 - in terms of their home location, employment and buying preferences - will be critical to manufacturers and distributors interested in capturing its attention.

2.0 CONSUMERS

Millennials know what they want, and buy not to satisfy a basic need, but to build their own identity. They love technology, for which they are willing to spend considerable sums, but with a more careful look at the technical features. They are great savings experts also, able to change their buying decisions to take advantage of discounts and promotions, without expressing their loyalty to the brand. At the end, a moving target, not easy to reach and satisfy.

Always according to Nielsen, "the road to conquer them is to invest in innovation and communication: 79% in fact declare that brands should constantly innovate their products, and 49% agree that advertising is an important key for products or brands awareness."

Seducing Generation Y is certainly a difficult challenge, there is the need to work with all the sensitivity of perception and interpretation of changing desires. But the prize, in case of success, will be the achievement of that category of consumers who, with a growing spending power, will represent the future market.