Tag Archives: Millennial

It was a busy holiday shopping season. There was a lot to do, and there were a lot of different choices for shopping and products. And with all the turmoil, isn’t it nice to know you never had to shop alone?

In a survey recently conducted by Pew Internet Research, they found that more than 50% of adults used their mobile phones while they were shopping in a store over the holiday season. What did we all do while on the phone during shopping trips? We not only asked our friends and family for advice about a purchase (38%), we also looked up reviews (24%) and prices (25%) for products while we were in the actual store.

Retailers need to beware! The Pew research showed that after looking up reviews and prices, nearly one in five of these mobile shoppers eventually bought the product, but they bought it from an online supplier instead of the physical store. The competition is getting tougher for the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Online presence and customer service is critical.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

1. Ask students if they have used their cell phones to get advice while shopping? When was the last time? What were they buying? Why did they call someone? What happened?
2. Have students go to the Pew Internet Research site – http://pewinternet.org/– and access the report.
   1. What are five key findings from the report?
   2. How could these findings be used in a retail location?
   3. Assign different retail locations and products to different student groups. (Example: food, clothing, entertainment, etc.)
   4. Observation project for students:
      1. Have students divide into teams and select a retail location to observe.
      2. Put together a protocol for the observation. Suggestions: number of people using phone while shopping, by gender, by age, by location, by purchase decision.
      3. What are the results from the observations? How could this information be used by marketers?

(Source: Pew Internet Research Center)

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/In-store-mobile-commerce.aspx

We all know that different age cohorts are different from each other. Put a Baby Boomer, a Generation X, Generation Y, and Millennial in a room together and they will all act differently and have different values. Or will they? Maybe age is just a state of mind. Even a Baby Boomer can be young at heart, and a Millennial can be conservative and stodgy.

Take Pew Research’s quiz to find out just how much of a Millennial you and your students are. This quiz compares your answers with others from around the nation. Find out how young or old you really act.  (P.S. – Tattoos count!)

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

1. Have students access the survey on the Pew Web site: http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/intro.php
2. As the students get their scores, write them on a white board or sheet of paper. See who scores high and who scores low.
3. Professors – give the quiz to your colleagues and assistants, too. Add your scores to the list.
4. Group discussion:

• What are the important elements that differentiate the generations?
• What traits make Millennials unique from other age cohorts?
• What happens if you change some of your answers?
• How can these findings be used in marketing to this age cohort?
• Video report: Show the video report from Pew about the quiz and their research on Millenials: http://pewresearch.org/millennials/video/conference.php
• Additional information and interactive charts are available at: http://pewresearch.org/millennials/

(Source: Pew Internet Research Center)

http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/intro.php