50 Fresh Facts About Millennials

Millennials are always hitting the headlines for doing things differently to previous generations; they almost seem to be a whole new species.

If they’re not ruining religion or “killing marriage”, they’re developing doorbell phobia and buying houseplants to “fill the void in their hearts”. But are people aged 22-35 they really that different?

We decided to mine our own data to unearth 50 fresh facts about Millennials and shine a light on their behaviour and beliefs. The facts are taken from our recent research carried out among Attest’s UK-wide body of consumer panellists.  

These findings can help marketers look beyond the sensationalist headlines and find meaningful ways to connect with this valuable consumer group.

Millennials’ Views On The Big Issues

Millennials are optimists

69% believe their friends would describe them as optimists.

Millennials expect a better life than their parents

46% believe their life will be better than the previous generation’s. 30% think it will be the same, while 24% think it will be worse.

Stopping war is Millennials’ number one concern

25% believe achieving world peace is the most pressing issue for humanity right now, followed by finding cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s (15.5%) and providing universal access to food and clean water (14.4%). Climate change takes fourth priority (14%).

Millennials are unsure about their political beliefs

45% don’t know how to characterise their political beliefs, but those that do are more likely to describe themselves as socially liberal (32%) than socially conservative (23%). Despite this, they are more likely to be fiscally conservative, with 31% in favour of free markets, versus the 24% who are pro market regulation.

Millennials believe politics in broken

55% agree with the statement that politics is broken.

Millennials are content with their relationship status

When asked about work, life and love, this was the statement Millennials most agreed. More than half (52%) said they were happy with their relationship status, whether that’s single, dating or married. The second most agreed with statement was, “I am satisfied with my sex life” (37%).

Millennials believe work ethic is key to their success

When asked about the factor that will have the biggest impact on their success, the most chosen answer was “work ethic” (25%), followed by “intelligence” (21%), while 16% said their network/contacts.

Being a good parent or partner is important to Millennials

Asked to rank a list of eight attributes in order of importance, being a good parent or partner came out tops, followed by enjoying life and then health and appearance. Least important was “how many people I manage”.

Millennials are defined by their experiences

42% believe their personality is best reflected by the experiences they have, versus the 25% who think it’s the company they keep, 10% the clothes they wear and 8% the things they own.

Millennials give to charity occasionally

44% claim they give to charity “every now and then”, with 28% saying they hardly ever or never donate. Only 26% feel they give on a monthly basis.

Millennials think euthanasia should be legalised

56% agree with the statement, “The right to die with dignity should be legal.”

Millennials embrace the new

54% agree with the statement, “I love to try new things as soon as possible.”

Smartphones are an “essential life tool” for Millennials

80% agree with this statement, while 82% think the ability to multitask is a necessity.

Millennials don’t believe the gig economy is exploitative

Only 23% agree with the statement, “The gig economy exploits workers.”

Millennials Media Consumption

Millennials own smart TVs

60% say they own an internet enabled TV, while 43% claim to own a fitness tracker, 32%  a home automation device and 17% a home assistant like an Amazon Echo. Only 4% report having an electric car.

Millennials subscribe to Netflix

58% report being subscribed to the video streaming service, while 38% say they subscribe to Amazon Prime and 25% to Spotify.

Millennials like streamed and on-demand television

30% report watching 1-2 hours of streamed TV like Netflix each day, while 25% think they watch 3-4 hours and 18% less than an hour.

Millennials are most likely to watch drama

While we might think Millennials are all about reality TV, drama, comedy and documentaries were all reported as more popular genres.

Millennials use Facebook at the same time as watching TV

72.5% agree they multitask by using the platform when watching telly, while 50% watch videos on YouTube at the same time as TV viewing.

Millennials say they watch less than 30 minutes of YouTube videos per day

26% reported this, however the next biggest group (25%) estimated their daily usage at 1-2 hours per day.

Facebook is still the top social platform for Millennials

Asked to rank social platforms by how often they use them, Facebook came first, followed by YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Millennials check their social feeds more than four times a day

Most Millennials (47%) report to checking their feeds in excess of four times a day. A further 28% check between three to four times daily.

Millennials think fake news is a major problem

57% agree that fake news is a major problem, and a further 41% think media needs to be more tightly regulated.

Millennials believe bloggers are the most trustworthy source of information

43% think bloggers can be believed, ahead of brands, journalists, celebrities. Least trusted are politicians (51% think politicians are the least trustworthy sources of information).

Millennials still read news in print

71% of Millennials report to reading a printed newspaper on a regular basis (and much larger number than amongst Gen X).

Millennials prefer Capital FM to Virgin Radio

44% say they listen to Capital, while only 8% claim to listen to Virgin. Kiss is also popular (40%) and Heart (38%).

Millennials use ad-blockers

55% report to using ad-blocking software on their laptops and PCs, but only 21% have it on their phone and 15% on tablets.

Millennials’ Views On Brands

Millennials want value for money

When asked to rank the most important factors when choosing brands, getting value for money was named as number one. Second was buying from brands they already know and trust. Perhaps surprisingly, buying from a brand that acts ethically is way down the Millennial’s priority list, ranked 7th out of eight. Least important was that a brand “talks their language”.

Millennials will stop buying from a brand if they receive poor customer service

56% say they’d go elsewhere for this reason, while the second largest proportion (38%) would be put off by negative reviews online.

Millennials like personalisation

77% think personalisation by brands is helpful, while 23% think it’s creepy.

Millennials like to use dedicated apps

79% prefer to use a dedicated app to access digital services rather than a browser.

Millennials like to use live chat for customer support

63% favour live chat, while 60% also like email and 49% phone.

Millennials prefer to receive marketing via email

58% say getting brand promotions in their inbox is their preference, while 36.5% say TV adverts are a good medium and 35% like social media marketing. Direct mail is the least prefered (16%).

Millennials like to hear from brands on Facebook

72% say Facebook is a social channel they like hearing from brands on, followed by YouTube (39%) and Twitter (32%).

Millennials follow brands on social media for offers and discounts

55% of those who follow brands say that’s the reason why, while 44.5% like to hear about the latest product updates.

Millennials are not big complainers about brands on social media

The majority (62.5%) say they have not complained online in the last six months.

Millennials think brands they’ve purchased from should email them once a week

30% (the single largest percentage) agree a weekly email is acceptable, while 23% think it should be once a month. 18% think brands should get in touch two to three times monthly.

Millennials don’t mind adverts if it means they get something they want free

Despite their adoption of ad blockers, only 31% would rather pay for an ad-free experience with 69% saying they’d prefer to put up with ads (presumably because they can now block them!)

Millennials’ Food & Drink Habits

Millennials make freshly prepared evening meals 3-4 times per week

31% state this is how often they cook at home, while 22% say it’s every evening.

Millennials get their 5-a-day fruit and veg (maybe!)

38.9% say they eat between 4-5 pieces of fruit and veg per day, however a similarly sized proportion (38.7%) admit they only eat 1-2 pieces.

£25-£50 is the average weekly grocery budget for Millennials

37% says this is what they spend on the weekly shop, while 31% spend £51-£75 per week.

Millennials eat dinner out once a week

52.5% say they eat their evening meal at a restaurant once a week, while the second largest proportion (22.5%) claim they never eat out in the evening. 19% report eating out twice a week.

Millennials spend £11- £20 per head on a meal out

40% claim to pay this amount on average, while 31% say they splash out a bit more at £21-£30 including drinks but excluding a tip.

Millennials will tip 10%

33% report this is what they will leave in gratuities, although tipping gets meaner, with 21.5% leaving only a 5% tip and 17% not tipping at all.

Millennials have a takeaway once a week

61% say they will get a takeout each week, while 17% claim to have a takeaway twice a week. The next biggest group (12%) report never getting takeaway food.

Pizza is Millennials’ favourite takeaway food

30% will opt for a pizza when getting a takeout, while 25% go for Chinese and 11% for curry.

Millennials prefer to order takeaway food digitally

34.4% want to order via an app, another 34.4% want to order online, while only 19% want to phone and 12% actually go into the shop.

Millennials take a packed lunch to work

47% make their own lunch during the working week, while 27% buy it from the local shop. The average budget is under £5 (56%).

Millennials eat lunch at their desks

40% don’t get away from their desks at lunchtime, while 34% go to the canteen. Only 9% go and sit outside.

Millennials don’t spend much on alcohol

30% report spending between £1-£15 per week on alcohol, which includes drinks on nights out and with meals, while 25% say they spend nothing at all.

Conclusion

Now you know them better, you can see Millennials are not such a mythical beast after all. Sure, they watch more on-demand TV, use social media quite heavily and multitask more than their elders; but otherwise they’re not that different and don’t need to be approached with new, weird and wonderful marketing tactics.

In fact, as these facts show, Millennials want simple things from brands like value for money, great customer service and good communications. If you want to know how Millennials think your brand measures up on these important metrics just ask Attest.

Attest can help you keep track of your NPS, find out what Millennial consumers like and dislike about your brand and measure unaided brand recall, enabling you to proactively manage your brand perception among this cohort and others.

Ready to drive growth among your Millennial customer base? Try Attest’s brand intelligence tools.