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Talking toStrangers:Millennials TrustPeople over Brands
January 2012

Table of Contents
This socially-dependent generation will change how you do business.

3

Step away from the “buy” button: Millennials won’t buy without…		

4

Strangers with benefits: Millennials trust anonymous consumers 		

6

Millennials want to engage with brands, even if they question…		

7

Three steps, big returns: start the conversation now 			

8

About the methodology			8

About Bazaarvoice			

9

About the Center for Generational Kinetics			

9

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POPULATION 1,688,526,106REPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

This socially-dependent generation willchange how you do business.
That guy texting his boss?
Your business depends on him.
It’s true. By 2017, Millennials – currently in their
mid-teens to mid-30s – will have more spending
power than any other generation.1
Constantly connected and dependent on social,
they shop in a whole new way – and brands
must sell to them accordingly, or miss thistidal wave of opportunity.
This generation (sometimes referred to as
Generation Y) was born between roughly
1977 and 1995, and has come of age being
advertised to more than any generation inhistory. Baby Boomers may have seen magazine
ads or billboards – Millennials see those, plus
non-stop ads on their smart phones
and Facebook.

Their reliance on social disrupts all areas ofbusiness. They’re connected and endlessly
curious about what others are doing – andit flows right into how they shop. Like mostgenerations, they trust opinions from consumers
more than what brands say about themselves.
Early social media adopters, they oftenunderstand social better than the brands trying
to reach them. So Millennials make their own
rules of commerce, and it’s time for brands tocatch up… or perish.

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Millennials experts from The Center for
Generational Kinetics, Bazaarvoice, andKelton Research uncovered groundbreaking
insights about how Millennials and Boomers
use social to shop.

Bottom line: Millennials buy
POPULATIONdifferently.
Are you selling1,688,526,106
tothem differently?

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POPULATION 1,688,526,106 1

1. Kit, Yarrow and O’Donnell, Jayne. Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens, and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail. 2009.
2. US Census Bureau
3REPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

Step away from the “buy” button:
Millennials won’t buy without
input from others
Consumers trust customer content
over any other info.

Without consumer input, Millennials
don’t buy – almost anything.

Most consumers, regardless of age, go to theinternet to research purchases. And most ofthem look for user-generated content (UGC) tohelp them buy. According to the survey, overhalf (51%) of Americans trust UGC more thanother information on a company website (16%)
or news articles about the company (14%) whenlooking for information about a brand, product,or service.

Eighty-four percent of Millennials report that
UGC on company websites has at least someinfluence on what they buy, compared to 70%
of Boomers. In fact, there are many purchasedecisions – big and small – that Millennials
won’t make without UGC.
Design your in-store experience for Boomers.
While Millennials are slightly more likely to buy
online (52%) than in stores (48%) after doing
online research, 71% of Boomers say they will
still buy in stores after getting information fromthe web. Extend online research tools intoyour aisles.

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POPULATION 1,688,526,106
How much does user-generated content play in your purchase decisions?

MILLENNIALS
3% NONE

BOOMERS

25% A LOT

13% A LITTLE

9% NONE

21% A LOT

21% A LITTLE

70%84%M

B
59% SOME

449% SOMEREPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

Take action: Put consumer opinions frontand center. Everywhere. Ask consumers to give
you feedback. Millennials want to share, so getthem talking and respond. Then share theseconversations everywhere – anywhere they canbuy your products online or in stores. Make sure

to optimize everything for mobile and tablet
computing. And make sure you make it easy forthem to share their insights about your products
via social.

Top purchases that millennials won’t complete without user-generated content.

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44%

POPULATION 1,688,526,106
39%
40%

MAJOR
ELECTRONICSCARSHOTELS

32%

29%

29%

TRAVELACCOMMODATIONSCREDIT CARDS

INSURANCE5REPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

Strangers with benefits: Millennials
trust anonymous consumers
Millennials are more likely than Baby
Boomers to trust likeminded or experienced
consumers over people they know. Don’t get
us wrong – Millennials want to hear from friends
and family. When it comes time click “buy” andenter their payment information, the opinionsof strangers like them – especially those whohave direct experience with a product – havemore heft than they do for Boomers. Forty-fourpercent of Millennials are more likely to trust
experienced consumers (who happen to bestrangers). And 51% of Millennials say consumer
opinions found on a company’s website havea greater impact on purchase decisions thanrecommendations from family and friends.
Millennials get social to find experts. Whenlooking for opinions about products to buy,
Millennials are more than three times as likely
than Boomers (22% vs. 7%) to turn to social
channels. They’re on the hunt for feedback fromexperts and people with common interests – notjust personal connections.

Millennials are
3x as likely toturn to social to
get opinions onproducts to buy.

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When making a purchase, which of the following is most likely to influence your opinion?

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS & FAMILYMILLENNIALSBOOMERSPOPULATION 1,688,526,106

49%

M

B

66%

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STRANGERS
THROUGH UGC ON A COMPANY WEBSITEMILLENNIALSBOOMERS
UGC

51%

34%
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REPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

Take action: Organize consumer opinions
by social and interest graphs. Serve up theopinions of everyone in a shoppers’ social graphright in the purchase path – so it’s easy to see
what friends think. And also show opinionsfrom other consumers like them, based on yourshopper’s interests. They see you get them, aresavvy about social, and know they want to see
input from other consumers. A free-wheeling
Millennial shopping for computer games will
prefer user reviews and stories from fellow,
anonymous gamers versus his Facebook friends
who prefer console games. Let them see input
from everyone, making it easy for them to get aquick view of what everyone thinks.

But Millennials still want to be part of theconversation. Despite believing companies
don’t care about their opinions, Millennials stillwant to communicate with them. These younger
consumers feel more strongly than Boomers (64%vs. 53%) that companies should offer more ways
to share their opinions online in the future – andthey’ll continue to participate.

Millennials want toengage with brands,
even if they question
brands’ motives forgathering feedback

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Consumers believe companies only careabout how customer opinions make themlook to other shoppers – they don’t reallytake feedback seriously. Consumers question
the motives of companies that collect customer
opinions. About the same amount of Boomers(73%) and Millennials (71%) say companies
care about customer opinions simply because
they impact how other consumers will view
the brand, rather than truly caring what theircustomers think.
Both generations believe consumers care morethan companies. The majority of Millennials(73%) and Boomers (70%) agree that otherconsumers care more about their opinions thancompanies do – and that’s why they continue toshare their opinions online.

A brand’s motives are irrelevant to millennials.

71%...of Millennials continue to shareopinions because they feel otherconsumers value those opinions.

POPULATION 1,688,526,106

64%

87%

...of Millennials feel thatcompanies should offer more
ways to share their opinions
online in the future – and they’llcontinue to participate.

...of Millennials believe thatcompanies shouldn’t edit customer
feedback by correcting spelling or
grammar errors – intact feedback ismore helpful to other consumers.

Take action: Prove you care. Respond directly
to customers’ input, answer their questions, andengage with them on social media. Take action on
the insights feedback reveals – these can informand improve marketing, product development,
customer service, and many other areas of yourbusiness. Then spread the word – let customers
know you’ve taken action. When they know you
care, they’ll come back with more feedback, andthese conversations create a valuable loyalty cycle.

7

REPORT: Talking to Strangers: Millennials Trust People over Brands

Three steps, bigreturns: start theconversation now
Simply asking for opinions just isn’t enoughanymore. To make big gains with Millennials
now – and win their wallet share and loyalty –take action here:
1 Make customer opinions the hero. Letshoppers know you want their opinions, anddisplay them everywhere in the purchasecycle. Remember, Millennials won’t buy
until they get the trusted info they crave.
2 Let Millennials see opinions from people
who matter most to them. Give them theinsights they need from experts, people
like them, and their friends – highlighting
those who share their interests and haveexperience with the product.
3 Take action on Millennials’ suggestions.
Everyone wants to be heard. When you
improve products or change policies basedon first-person consumer input, spread theword. Create two-way conversations thatbuild loyalty.

About themethodology
This survey was conducted among 1,013
nationally representative Americans ages 18 andover by Kelton Research between August 25and September 5, 2011 using an email invitation
and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure
reliable and accurate representation of the totalU.S. population ages 18 and over.
Results of any sample are subject to samplingvariation. The magnitude of the variation ismeasurable and is affected by the number ofinterviews and the level of the percentages
expressing the results.

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In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100
that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus,by more than 3.1 percentage points from theresult that would be obtained if interviews had
been conducted with all persons in the universe
representedPOPULATION
by the sample.
1,688,526,106

Take aim to capture Millennial loyalty now – by2017, they’ll have more spending power thanany other group.

Winning Millennials takes a whole new way of selling. How is yourbrand working to become more social, transparent, and engaging?
Start the conversation with Millennials now.

8REPORT: The Conversation Index

About Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice enables the world’s biggest
brands to capture, analyze, and mostimportantly, act upon social data to drive
true, customer-centric change.

About the Center
for Generational
Kinetics

Bazaarvoice helps clients replace guesswork
with precise, always-on insight about theirproducts, services, and customers. The result?
Our clients create products that customers
crave, provide service based on what customers
want, deliver targeted marketing messages that
get real attention and, therefore, enjoy a distinct
competitive advantage. All because brands
listen and act on what matters to the people
who matter the most.

The Center for Generational Kinetics converts
generational trends and predictabilities into
breakthrough opportunities.

Bazaarvoice turns data into doing.

At The Center for Generational Kinetics we focus
all our efforts on delivering tangible ROI for ourclients around the world.

Learn more at bazaarvoice.com,via Twitter at @bazaarvoice, andat bazaarvoice.com/blog.

We study what works to make the most of every
generation in the marketplace and workplace.
We then look at why it works and how you canbenefit from that knowledge. The outcome is
cutting-edge content, training, and thought
leadership designed for leaders who demand
results. This is what we do. It’s all we do.

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Learn more at www.GenHQ.com, via
Facebook.com/JasonRyanDorsey, andPOPULATION 1,688,526,106
at www.GenHQ.com/blog

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