“Nearly 80% of Millennials said that once the pandemic eases, they plan to make more effort to buy products and services from smaller, local businesses to help them stay in business.”

— 2020 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey Report

Brands and retailers can breathe a small sigh of relief. After a record decline in the first quarter of this year, overall U.S. consumer sentiment remained fairly steady between April and May, increasing only slightly to 72.3 combined. So, things are looking a little better. But while the relief checks and unemployment payments have helped stem the overall economic hardship caused by the Coronavirus, they have not been able to fully stimulate the discretionary spending that will be needed to completely pull us out of this crisis. Ninety-five percent of consumers say that our economy is currently in recession, and there is still uncertainty about future job and income prospects, especially among lower income and younger households.

Interestingly, when broken out by age, both Gen Xers and Millennials outlook improved in May while Baby Boomers fell further regarding their planned spending and the overall economy. As it relates to Millennials, the 2020 Deloitte Global Millennial Survey was released last week and further supported the resilience and upbeat nature of Millennials, despite the Coronavirus. Truth be told, they had expressed tremendous daily stress and anxiety pre-pandemic. However, the pandemic has actually stimulated greater optimism and decreased stress levels among this audience. They say that this is attributable to less working hours, less hectic shopping and mass consumerism and the lack of stressful commutes during the lockdown compared to their pre-pandemic lives.

Greater Accountability

There’s no doubt that Millennials have been hit hard by the Coronavirus. A quarter of younger Millennials (25-30 years old) either lost their jobs or were placed on temporary, unpaid leave. And only 1/3 of Millennials say that their employment status has been unaffected by the pandemic. With that said, Millennials are already thinking forward to how they will wield their significant buying power coming out of the pandemic.

For one thing, nearly 80% of Millennials said that once the pandemic eases, they plan to make more effort to buy products and services from smaller, local businesses to help them stay in business. And when it comes to larger businesses, 60% say they plan to buy more products and services from those who have taken care of their workforces and positively affected society during the pandemic. They have never had reservations about stopping business relationships when brands don’t meet their high expectations of doing good overall, conserving the environment, protecting their personal data and equitably rewarding employees.

Next Steps

What does this mean for you? Well, Millennials are one of the largest generations in history, and are positioned to reshape the future of our economy. In fact, the Deloitte study reported their desire to lead this change. And as they change the way they buy, it will force companies and brands to change how they do business as well. Brands should be prepared for more transparency and integrity. In short, Millennials are poised to make them more accountable with their expectation for authentic leadership.

The Stratistry team can help you rise to the occasion. We love digging into the latest data and research to derive actionable insights that can help lead your brand to achieve better business results. Contact us to find out how we can combine the art and science of marketing for your brand.