Millennials Are the Ones to Watch

What makes Millennials tick? Meredith Corporation is determined to find out, following the release of its Women 2020 research study targeting this 80 million strong consumer group. Meredith's Women 2020 proprietary study is designed to help marketers understand the buying behavior and decision-making processes of women by category (beauty, food, home) through the lens of life stages and the influence of technology.

“Meredith's cornerstone content is home, health, family, food and lifestyle, serving more than 100 Million American women who are inspired by our brands,” said Britta Cleveland, senior vice president, Meredith Research Solutions. “We're there for the milestones and moments in between – they are searching our recipes, pinning our wedding and design ideas, and sharing our parenting tips. This research initiative helps Meredith deliver targeted, data-driven content to key audiences for our advertising partners and brands.”
 

Millennial women believe in the power of positivity. They are optimistic and looking forward to the future; as 75% of Millennial women believe they will be happier in 2020, while 73% believe they will be more fortunate and 71% believe they will have more opportunities than the previous five years. One quarter (27%) think weight acceptance is the most pressing issue facing women today; similarly, 25% believe it's wage equality, 19% believe it's domestic violence, and 10% believe it's quality health care.


When it comes to beauty, 73% of Millennials say looking beautiful/sexy is important to them verse 57% of Baby Boomers; but 60% of Millennials buy based on price while only 38% of Boomers consider it. In addition, 75% of Millennials try products based on a recommendations and 55% frequently recommend products to others.
 

 

When asked which celebrity best represents the values of the Millennial generation women responded: Jennifer Lawrence (33%), Taylor Swift (31%), Beyonce (20%), Kim Kardashian (8%), and Lena Dunham (8%). As for role models they named: Ellen Degeneres (16%), Michelle Obama (14%), Angelina Jolie (13%), JK Rowling (10%), and Hillary Clinton (8%).


In regard to media, Millennials said that they share their “true self” through photos and videos but they don't trust that others are being as authentic as they are on social media; 31% of Millennial women admit to lying on social media while 65% believe their friends and family have lied on social media. Moreover, 81% access the internet at least once a week with their laptop, 80% use a smart phone, and 48% use a tablet. Furthermore, 90% access Facebook at least once a week, while 77% access YouTube, 57% access Instagram, 56% use Pinterest, 47% use Twitter, and 28% use Snapchat.