opinion
There’s no denying the millennial
generation, considered to be those born
between 1981 and 1996, have been
raised in a highly digital and media-
saturated world. With the 15-year age
gap though, even millennials claim there
are personality differences between
the younger and older members of this
group of people.
One thing is for sure, most
companies have realised the importance
of this generation and are trying to find
ways to connect with them by creating
interactions that resonate and potentially
transform into customer loyalty. This
remains true for companies in the
retail and financial institution sectors
who have invested heavily in the digital
world; they aimed to try and attract this
segment, thinking that it was the best
route to secure the business of this
very profitable generation and remain
competitive in the market.
Making assumptions
Current industry trends have triggered
retailers and financial institutions to
make critical assumptions that have
deceived them and are leading them
to a path that’s not as profitable as
they believe. One assumption is that
millennials only use digital payments, but
this simply isn’t true. A research study
conducted by the European Central
Bank has determined that they have on
average between €40-50 in their wallets.
This is still below the average of €65
carried by older generations, but the
point is that they hold a larger amount of
cash to hand than most believe.
Another surprising statistic ECB
found is that almost 80% of millennials’
transactions are done in cash, which
is higher than the European average
of 78.8%. A final interesting piece of
information from an Experian study is
that millennials own fewer credit cards
than other generations. On average they
possess 2.52 cards, while Generation X
possess 3.22 and Baby Boomers have
3.53 on average. Taking these interesting
findings into consideration, it’s now safe
to state millennials carry more cash than
originally assumed and they have fewer
credit cards in their wallets that they also
use less frequently.
These statistical findings are
intriguing, but many will ask why do
millennials use cash and have fewer
credit cards when all I am hearing is
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