Generation Y is what?
Twenty some odd years ago, when a kid came home from school, what did they do? Some might turn on their old-school television and watch a few cartoons, or maybe some actually went outside and played. Now flash forward thirty years. What do kids do when they come home? Many still turn on the TV, a few might play outside, but a lot of kids now a days will turn on their computer and go on the internet. Over 65 percent of Americans have Internet access either at their home or their workplace and nearly 50 percent of children live at a home where the Internet is available to them (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006). One aspect of the online experience that felt a recent growth is e-tailing or online shopping; a place on the Internet where retailers offer customers products and services for sale (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006). It is estimated that about 5% of all retail sales is purchased through the Internet (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006). So who does all of this Internet shopping? Adult consumers do the majority of online shopping, however recently a new generation is taking over the domain of online-shopping, the generation who comes home from school and goes online, Generation Y. Generation Y is somewhere around 60 million strong, born between 1979-1994, constitutes as the biggest baby boom since the 1940’s, and continues to grow at around 1.6 times the over U.S. population (Bannon, 2001). The interesting aspect of Generation Y is that unlike previous generations, they grew up with technology, especially computers and the Internet. About 50 percent of Generation Y has Internet access and is putting it to use; almost 17 million Generation Y young adults are shopping online and spending an estimated 1.5 billion dollars online each year (Grasse, 2000). However with all of this spending, marketers are still wondering if Generation Y has good marketing potential for e-tailing. Part of this concern stems from the relatively small percentage of Generation Y that owns a credit card; the other, larger, concern arises from the peculiarity of this generation. They grew up differently, live differently, and have different values and attitudes, which makes marketing to this Generation Y crowd sometimes difficult. How is Generation Y portrayed according to adults? When we consider different discussions about Generation Y and their e-retailing potential using content analysis, analysts view Generation Y as technologically savvy, live very busy and social lives, are suspicious, skeptical, and smart, and focus more on trends and quality, not price and specific brands.
One pattern that pops out immediately about Generation Y is that they are very technologically savvy. In Internet Retailer, Grasse points out how Generation Y is the leeway for “computer literate Americans (Grasse, 2000).” Grasse does not just say that Gen Y is tech-savvy, but she goes further and states that they are leaders in the computer and technology world. It is like she is almost stating that they are the first generation to include computers in their language and everyday lives and have surpassed other generations in their knowledge of computers. Business Week also discusses the implications of Generation Y. Ellen Neuborne comments that this generation is “tapping away at computers in nursery school (Neuborne 1999).” This comment seems sarcastic when first read, however it really does show how young this generation is getting into technology and how simple it seems to them. Part of the reason that technology seems so simple might be due to the fact that this generation has grown up with it being around. As Packaged Facts puts it, “They have always seen things like VCR, TV’s, internet, computers, cell phones, and video games (Brown and Washton, 2000).” Technology is not a new thing to this generation as previous generations in the past, and as Pack Facts points out, it is something they are use to always being around. As many sources point out however, it is more than just being tech savvy and growing up with the technology. Some people argue that due to the constant appearance of technology in this generation’s lives; they are actually taking its use for granted and thinking its use as nothing special. Essentials of marketing argues that Generation Y is “attached to technology,” its is “ubiquitous in their lives, “ and that they “balance seamlessly from one to the other (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006).” It is almost as if they are saying that this generation could not live with out technology and yet they think of it as something that they can just go to without really thinking of what they are actually using and how it impacts their lives. Nicole Grasse from Internet Retailer also points out this aspect of tech savvy Generation Y people by saying that because Generation Y grew up with computers, they take them for granted (Grasse, 2000). This implies that Grasse is arguing this generation is spoiled by computers and technology and they don’t even understand how much harder their lives would be with out it.
Another piece of Generation Y that goes hand-in hand with them being tech-savvy is how they are using their knowledge and comfort of technology to accomplish or do several things at a time, aka multi-tasking. As Kipp Cheng from Media Week put it, “Teens are typically on the phone, with the computer on, surfing the web, IMing or chatting and either listening to music or watching TV all at the same time. That’s just standard operating procedure for them (Cheng, 1999).” This comment is showing how Generation Y is so use to technology, they can utilize various forms of it all at the same time and feel comfortable with it. Packaged facts also picked up on this comfortable feeling that Generation Y has with technology and how they are utilizing the comfort to accomplish more than one thing at a time. Packaged Facts stated, “They are hard wired to use multiple media and engage in multiple tasks at the same time. It is common for them to watch TV while surfing on the web, talking to friends on the phone, IMing and doing homework at the same time (Brown and Washton, 2000).” This shows how Generation Y can use more than one form of technology at a time and does do it almost on a daily basis. It is more though than just multi-tasking because they are comfortable with technology. As many writers point out, Generation Y often multi-tasks because they live such busy lives. Media Week points out how this generation is rarely in a dormant situation and can often be seen running around doing many things at once (Cheng, 1999). Internet Retailer also points out how Generation Y lives busy lives, and Packaged Facts discusses how Generation Y always seems to have busy schedules and activities that limits their ability to sit around all day (Brown and Washton, 2000). These sources are stating that Generation Y is not apt to sit around all day and be lazy, as some adults may think, but are however always on the go with different activities, which makes them utilize technology to their advantage.
So Generation Y is technologically savvy and lead very busy lives, which causes them to multi-task at a frequent level. Another trait of Generation Y that many writers discussed in their articles is how skeptical and smart they actually are when it comes to marketing and selling products. Media Week writer Kipp Cheng argued that Generation Y is, “More jaded and a bit more skeptical. Teens readily reject false images. If a marketer is being dishonest, it will ring false to them. They have highly sensitive B.S. detectors that just go off the charts if they’re lied to (Cheng, 1999).” Cheng says more than just the fact that they are skeptical, he actual says that they are smart and can tell if they are being lied to or cheated. Packaged Facts also picks up on this generation’s skepticism and argues, “They are more capable of discriminating between hype and truth. They are highly savvy about marketing and resent any attempt to manipulate their behavior. Authenticity is a key aspect of teen communication, you don’t need to fool kids into buying. It’s okay just to sell to them. It’s more important to project a clear and authentic attitude. They have been empowered to question, challenge and disagree (Brown and Washton, 2000).” Packaged Facts went further than Cheng did with his analysis of the skepticism of Generation Y. He pointed out how they are more than just skeptical of false advertisements; they really don’t like to be lied to or manipulated into buying a cheap product. They would rather just have the facts plain and simple in a way that is true to them. Ellen Neuborne from Business Week also picked up on this skepticism and tried to understand where it came from . She discussed how, “Marketers perceive them as kids, when you do that, you fail to take in what they are telling you about the consumers they are becoming. They have name distrust (Neuborne, 1999).” However Neuborne felt that part of this skepticism stemmed from Marketers not treating Generation Y as adults, which led to a distrust of marketers and companies. Essentials of Marketing also tried to rationalize why Generation Y is so skeptical. They pointed out that a good possibility for their skepticism is due to the fact that they have been exposed to marketing more than any other generation, which has led them to believe less and doubt more (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006).
As many writers have pointed out, Generation Y is not like previous generations. One difference about Generation Y, which many of these authors hinted at, is how Generation Y focuses more on trends and quality, not price and specific brands. “This is not a generation that’s shopping on price. It’s completely the opposite. They want what they think is quality (Cheng, 1999).” Cheng from Media Week picked right up on this difference from previous generations. He recognized that Generation Y does not focus on prices like their parents, but instead want products that have a high quality of performance. Nicole Grasse from Internet Retailer also picked up on Generation Y’s habit of buying quality goods. She pointed out how they get very excited about good that’s provide good quality and speedy service (Grasse, 2000). Grasse also briefly discussed how because of this high quality demand; Generation Y focuses much more on trends instead of specific brands (Grasse, 2000). Many other writers also picked up on the lack of brand loyalty that Generation Y has. Business Week writer, Ellen Neuborne argued that Generation Y is notorious for switching brand loyalty to any company that comes out with the latest styles and trends (Neuborne, 1999). She is careful to point this argument out and seems to almost say that they are very fickle with their purchases. Packaged Facts also discussed the lack of brand loyalty that Generation Y seems to have. They commented, “Retailers find it difficult to anticipate and react to the fickle tastes of their consumers. They are very affected by the must have items. They won’t be cool because they are wearing a mass-market brand of jeans, they’ll be cool if they wear a pair of jeans nobody ever heard of. Tests showed they pay little attention to leading brands and are likely to prefer little known, sub-niche brands (Brown and Washton, 2000).” Packaged Facts went further than just saying that Generation Y is not brand loyal. They argued that Generation Y, like Ellen Neuborne, is fickle and likes to have things that nobody else owns. Generation Y feels “cool” having something that is not popular, which makes it hard for retailers to sell to this generation. Another source that picked up on the lack of brand loyalty of Generation Y is Essentials of Marketing. They stated, “They appear to be a notoriously fickle consumer group. They demand the latest trends in record time. They are very trend and fashion conscious and are much less brand loyal but are instead spontaneous to what they feel like (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2006).” Essentials of Marketing also discussed Generation Y as a fickle group of consumers who focus more on the latest trends and fashions. But they went further and said that on top of being focuses on quality and trends and being less brand loyal, Generation Y has a reputation of being spontaneous in their purchases. This spontaneity, they feel is part of the reason why they are so much less brand loyal than other generations.
Generation Y is often described by writers as technologically savvy, live very busy and social lives, are suspicious, skeptical, and smart, and focus more on trends and quality, not price and specific brands. But what do all of these descriptions and values mean within the context of e-retailing and marketing? These traits may lead to two conclusions. First, due to all of these differences one may conclude that Generation Y is in-fact a very hard generation to market to. Writers often point out how this generation is always on the go and never dormant. If they are always on the go, how can a marketer best reach this group of young people in a way that sticks? People say that Generation Y is notoriously skeptical to marketing. Because they are skeptical to marketing, this generation obviously does not respond to traditional styles and formats of marketing and advertising. So if a marketer wants to reach them, they must change their practices and advertisements in a way that Generation Y will not find as false or unreliable. Writers also state that Generation Y is not brand loyal and focuses more on trends and quality. Due to this fact, it is harder for a marketer to get this generation to like their brand and stick with it. This means that companies must always be on top of trends and styles if they want to keep this generation’s interest and loyalty. Over all marketers have their work cut out for them to actually get through to Generation Y. The second conclusion that one may conclude about Generation Y from the descriptions that writers talk about when discussing this generation is due to their knowledge of technology, Generation Y has the potential to be a great market for e-retailing. Yes this generation is highly skeptical and very busy, but they do seem to spend a great amount of time online. But its more than just being online, Generation Y actually understands the concept of the Internet and uses it with ease. This grasp of Internet knowledge has huge potential for companies who want to sell their products online. Cleverly designed websites with social networks and trendy products could potentially pull in Generation Y and cause good profits for companies. Generation Y is already on the Internet all the time, why not utilize this? This generation has proven to be quite difficult to get through to, though seem easily describable. But exactly how difficult they are to target in marketing and how much potential they hold for e-retailers is relatively unknown. Like the unpredictable nature of Generation Y, maybe only they themselves know the answers.
