Meet the omnichannel generation

by Samantha Paxson Vice President, Marketing

In 2002 the U.S. Department of Education launched a study of high school sophomores. Just last month, they released preliminary results of a follow up study that caught up with the “sophomores” ten years hence, at the ripe old age of 26.

A summary of results, available online, reveals all sorts of interesting facts about this group – one that, demographically, is of particular interest to growth-minded credit unions. Characteristics of 2002 sophomores include notable lifestyle markers:

• A small majority are married or partnered: 51 percent.
• Although 42 percent live with a spouse or partner, those who don’t are more than twice as likely to live with parents (23 percent) than with roommates (10 percent).
• More than half (53 percent) live less than 10 miles from their high school home.
• Nearly 51 percent had student loan debt: 38 percent had loans totaling $7,500 or more.
• A solid 69 percent were working 35 hours or more per week in 2011, but only 21 percent made $40,000 or more annually.

The omnichannel generation certainly isn’t the first generation whose financial aspirations have outstripped its resources. But according to the Wall Street Journal, twenty-somethings are enjoying prolonged parental support. More than two in five parents of 18- to 35-year-olds still pay for their kids’ cell phone service. Some 29 percent of parents pay for phone service even after their kids have moved out.

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