It’s been said that you can’t please all of the people all of the time and it holds true for marketing, as well. Especially, when it comes to the generation gap between Gen-X and Gen-Y consumers.
That’s the finding of new research by Nelson Barber, an associate professor of hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire, who looked at the shopping habits of Gen-X and Gen-Y consumers.
Those groups together comprise 116 million consumers. Generation X is generally considered those people born between 1964 and 1977. Generation Y is identified as those born between 1978 and 1998.
Barber decided to try to understand what marketing methods work best for each group by examining how each comes to its purchasing decisions. He discovered that the differences in their shopping habits have significant implications for marketers.
“Generation X is very motivated to search for purchase-related information and is adept at searching. Generation Xers tend to use information not as a point of pride but as assurance that they are not being taken advantage of by marketers and are getting the best deal possible,” said Barber. “Generation Y selects and consumes products that help them achieve their goals of blending in with the crowd or a certain group; thus, they are influenced by the need to conform in order to be liked and accepted by them.”
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