The ‘different schema’ of the millennial shopper

New Orleans--Understanding how millennials work can help retailers reach them, and one seminar at the American Gem Society’s Conclave 2015 helped to identify just who these consumers are.

Jeff Fromm of FutureCast presented “Marketing to Millennials” at Conclave on Wednesday, outlining seven millennial “truths” and guiding retailers on how to market and capture the unique and informed generation.

Fromm began with the stats on millennials, typically identified as those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. This generation makes up roughly 25 percent of the population, and 6 million have an income of more than $100,000 a year.

“Millennials have a different schema,” Fromm said. “It’s not linear like it used to be; school, job, marriage, house, family. They’ll do those things, but not necessarily in that order.”

Millennials also get more excited about brands that are “cool,” and driving their love is a brand’s uniqueness, meaningfulness, innovation and authenticity.

Fromm also identified eight “truths” of Millennials, to better help retailers understand how they experience brands and perceive information.

1. Millennials are “pro-sumer” or consumer partners. Many consumers are passive but millennials are not. They want to be involved with a brand.

2. Millennials look for brands that provide experiences and adventures. Social culture is a big opportunity with this generation.

3. Millennials believe in brands that believe in ideas. With millennials, it’s about them, not the brand. Their mindset is, “I’m going to change the word, are you going to help me?”

4. We’re in this together, for now. Millennials want to co-create and be involved. This journey starts long before a retail store and ends long after, Fromm said. Think of the journey from their point of view; sharing, discovering and exploring is part of their social culture.

5. Millennials see authenticity through transparency. Millennials grew up in a world where privacy isn’t part of the equation, so they’re willing to trade a lot of private information. Retailers need to make the trade with them and provide more customized and personalized products and experiences.

6. Say what you want, but you’ll have to prove it. Take your brand from storytelling to “story living”--it’s the actions you take that will define your brand. Taking bold actions will drive more engagement.

7. Your story may be interesting but if it doesn’t add to mine, it will never be “ours.” Engineer opportunities into your brand’s