What Millennials Want When They Shop Online (2024)

FAQs

What do millennials like to buy online? ›

Incidentally, fashion is the biggest online shopping category worldwide in 2023, with total revenue expected to hit $990 billion. This is followed by entertainment products, which 44% of millennials say they buy online.

One of the key trends among millennials is their fascination with tech gadgets. Being the first generation to have grown up with technology at their fingertips, they are early adopters of the latest gadgets and are always on the lookout for innovative tech products that make their lives easier and more connected.

Millennials are likely to research items and read user reviews online before going in-store to check them out. They're also likely to order online and pick up their purchases at the store, reducing or eliminating shipping costs while simultaneously satisfying their desire for immediacy.

Millennials tend to prefer visual content compared to text-heavy content. They like content that is personalized and resonates with their liking and interest. They also tend to share content with their immediate circle if they relate to a piece of content.

Millennials' values include trust and freedom, which results in considering work flexibility as a norm. Millennials expect to be trusted and given freedom in their professional lives. The rise of flexible work has made their dreams come true.

Online courses, certification programs, and alternative educational platforms are becoming increasingly popular among this age group. Young adult households, especially millennial women, often compare their economic standing to baby boomers of the same age, and the disparities are stark.

More than a third of survey respondents said they expected to splurge on food. However, groceries slightly outpaced restaurants and dining out, with 37% of respondents planning to splurge on groceries and 36% planning to splurge on dining out. This trend, the firm said, was most evident among Gen Z and Millennials.

There are plenty of stereotypes regarding Millennials (some more accurate than others), but studies tend to confirm that they are major consumers of technology products, with significant shares of the group owning smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles.

2024 Millennial Marketing Statistics

physical retail, with over 27% of millennials planning to spend significantly more online and less in physical retail stores. Almost 50% more millennials will increase their online spending for health and beauty purchases compared to gen Z, and 42% more than gen X and baby boomers.

What do millennials invest in? ›

Individual stocks and retirement investing accounts are the most common types of investments among Gen Z and millennials. The most common types of investments owned across all generations are retirement investing accounts and individual stocks.

Millennials represent a large segment of the population and are an important target market for consumer companies. The group consists of people born between 1981 and 1996, or roughly 25% of the U.S. population.

Millennials like to feel good about their purchases

60% of millennials tend to choose products, services, and brands that make them feel good about their purchases. For millennials, their online shopping behavior is not only influenced by the products, but rather by the brand connecting with them on a personal level.

Social platform preference

According to data published by Digital Media Ninja, Facebook remains the social platform used at least once per week by the highest percentage of millennials (87%), followed by Instagram (71%), Snapchat (52%) and Twitter (42%). An error occurred.

Millennials are passionate about issues such as sustainability, social justice, and economic equality. They are also passionate about technology and staying up to date with the latest trends, as well as being actively involved in their communities and finding ways to give back.

Fashion aside, well-off millennials are also spending on smaller luxuries, such as high-end bedding, flight upgrades on vacations, and nicer hotels — or something as small as fancier soap.

Activities, interests, and opinions. So what do millennials like to do? Well, like most generations they love watching TV, listening to music, eating out, and spending time with friends and family.

Among different generations, millennials had the highest share of online grocery shoppers, while baby boomers had the lowest. Regardless of the generation, the common reasons cited for online grocery shopping were time-saving and avoiding impulse purchases commonly associated with in-store shopping.

One of the primary factors driving Millennial collecting is to invoke feelings of nostalgia and positive childhood memories. This motivation means coins popular in the 90s and early 2000s such as 50 State Quarters, Gold Sacagawea Dollars, and Olympic Games coins, are of particular interest.