Gen Y Wears The Pants
USA Today

Multitasking, Web-savvy Generation Y (1982-2000) has surpassed the baby boomers as the most influential generation for retailers. New research from online marketer Kelly Mooney, released today at the National Retail Federation, shows that 13- to-21-year-olds influence 81 percent of their families' apparel purchases and 52 percent of their car purchases. At 82 million people, Gen Y is the biggest generation. Its members have strong spending power, and stronger opinions at an early age. According to Mooney's research, nothing turns these young consumers off to a brand more than slow Web sites, a dismissive sales staff and free shipping that takes more than two days. They tend to want merchandise that's cheap (American Apparel) or elite (Diesel); retailers in the middle can get lost. "They are more demanding and more savvy than they feel they're given credit for," Mooney says, so in marketing to them, it's important not to insult their intelligence. They will abandon a Web site that takes longer than 3 seconds to download; on average, they require access to information five times faster than older generations. "They don't distinguish between 'this is the store' and 'this is the Web site,' Mooney says. "Part of the reason Gen Y has such influence over household decisions is because their parents tend to be nonauthoritarian. They value friendships with their kids over discipline, which tends to give them an "equal vote in the look and style of the family." - Read the whole story...