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We may be living in the age of Amazon, but millennials are craving the personal touch of small businesses, according to new research.
The fascinating revelation emerged in a new study of 1,000 American consumers and 1,000 small business owners, which found that six in 10 millennials (61 percent) expect to shop more with small businesses in 2019.
It appears millennials are a major driving force behind the small business movement in the U.S., as only 15 percent of consumers aged 55 and older said the same.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Vistaprint, an online provider of marketing products and services to small business, the new study revealed quite a bit about millennial spending habits.
For example, millennial consumers are spending more when shopping small. The average boomer spends half as much as millennials with small businesses on an average month ($85.99 vs. $197.32).
Not only that, nearly half of millennials (45 percent) would spend more on a product or service if it meant they were supporting a small business, compared to just 27 percent of consumers aged 55 and older.
“We carried out this study to help small business owners better understand consumer expectations and identify ways they can meet them,” said Vistaprint North America Director Erin Shea. “Our results show that the shopping small movement is alive and well, and it’s being driven by millennial consumers. We’re excited to help small business owners seize the opportunity to build an even better relationship with their Gen Y customers.”
When considering why millennials love to shop small, community commitment comes out on top, as supporting the local economy was the biggest reason millennials prefer to shop at small businesses (51 percent).
This was followed by convenience (49 percent), unique products and services (47 percent), better customer service (47 percent) and supporting residents/families (46 percent).
As millennials continue to drive the shopping small movement, is there a way for small businesses to be more prepared for this opportunity? The answer may be online.
For millennial consumers, it’s imperative that small businesses are online, as 84 percent think they should have a website and 80 percent say they should be active on social media.
Millennial consumers are also far more likely than boomers to discover small business through online channels, including social media (51 percent vs 20 percent), online reviews (41 percent vs 15 percent) and their website (32 percent vs 12 percent).
Not being present at all could harm small business sales, as over a third (34 percent) of millennial consumers are less likely to shop at a business without an online presence, more than four times the number of boomers (7 percent).
These figures are cause for concern for many small businesses, as over half (56 percent) don’t have a website, while another four in 10 don’t use social media at all for their company.
The top barrier to building a professional marketing presence is lack of budget, with the average small business spending just $1,533 per year on all marketing activity.
“Despite their limited resources, some small businesses have identified effective ways to differentiate their business online,” said Shea. “Whether it’s by positioning themselves as experts, targeting a niche audience, carefully managing their online reputation, personalizing their interactions with customers or offering unrivaled customer service, businesses can look and feel professional, prepared and plugged in, without blowing their budget.”
Top 10 reasons millennials prefer small businesses over big businesses:
1. I like to support the local economy
