Have millennials changed referral marketing?

Ask any marketer which demographic is most sought after by their brand and more often than not, you will receive the answer “Millennials”. For any business or company, acquiring Millennials as new customers could have a significant impact on their revenue and economics. Millennials, relatively recent departures from their family nest, are on the lookout for the brands, companies and organizations that are going to be large and stable influencers in their independent adult life, which translates as a potential goldmine for marketers.

In the ecommerce space, the power of Millennials has long been known. Not only are Millennials more likely than other demographics to shop online, they also have the highest yearly spend on online purchases. Sales are obviously an indicator of a successful business but they generally don’t just happen unaided. Brands rely on advertising and marketing to sell their products and referral marketing consistently proves to be the most effective of all marketing channels. Over the past ten to fifteen years, the world has changed quickly and, in some areas, drastically. Millennials have been behind many of these alterations and disruptions: from perceived notions of what education, jobs and careers should be to how we use technology and, of course, the marketing and retail industries. So, have Millennials left their mark on referral marketing too and what effect has this had on ecommerce?

Millennials: Online Referral Champions

RewardStream recently conducted some consumer surveys to get a sense of how people engage with referrals and how important reviews and referrals are to people. It isn’t too surprising that the age group most likely to have taken to the internet to share their views on a product or a service is the 18 to 34 bracket, the grouping loosely used to define Millennials. We asked those surveyed:

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