Our culture of convenience is heavily dependent on the mobile device. It has permeated many aspects of daily life. This series will explore mobile usage and ultimately, its effect on the payments industry.
Millennials: that elusive group whose business companies are desperate to gain. This generational cohort is categorized as those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. At 80 million people in the U.S. alone, they’re the largest living generation in history.
A differentiating characteristic of this group is the fact that they’re the first generation of digital natives; they are savvy mobile and online shoppers and are accustomed to constant connectivity. Technology, particularly mobile devices, touches every aspect of their lives.
Over 2 billion consumers are expected to own smartphones this year. Despite the prolific usage across all age groups, mobile use among millennials is unparalleled. They’re constantly on their mobile devices – even while shopping in-store. Just take a gander at some stats below:
- 87% use between 2-3 tech devices at least once a day.
- 80% of millennials sleep with the cell phones next to their bed.
- 82% check their mobile devices within an hour of waking up. This is excluding the alarm function.
The average millennial with internet access spends 3.2 hours a day on their mobile devices. This equates to almost a whole day every week or 49 days each year.
Considering their affinity for mobile devices and technological proficiency, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that 62% of millennials would be comfortable connecting their payment info to an app from a retailer or service they frequently use, and that 44% of millennials would rather use their mobile phone than cash to pay for smaller items.
Mobile devices have ushered in an era of ubiquitous connectivity, speed, and ease; this is the world that millennials have grown comfortable of. Consequently, they will seek experiences that provide that similar convenience; 50% of millennials want mobile payments because they desire faster transactions.
Their complete digital immersion means they’re more receptive to new innovations; 85% of millennials say they are open trying new banking and payment technologies. With this group, resistance to new payment methods, such as mobile wallets, is not as high as it is with the previous generations; millennials are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of technology.
Prevalence and popularity of technology across society as a whole can be largely attributed to millennials. They grew up in a technology-entrenched environment which has paved the way for a culture of convenience to emerge. This culture of convenience demands a streamlined experience – particularly in payments.