DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Retailers eager to capture the lucrative Millennial market should deploy loyalty programs that prominently feature mobile technology, embrace the value of peer recommendations and are dedicated to helping Millennials save money on everyday expenses that include driving and gasoline, according to survey results featured in the latest Excentus Insight Series report.
“The Roads to Rewards: What Drives Millennial Loyalty?” finds that Millennials are more willing than their Baby Boomer parents or middle-aged Generation X consumers to switch retailers (78%) or brands (55%) in order to earn fuel savings rewards. Their preferred brand loyalties differ from older consumers by rates of 10%-17%.
According to survey results, Millennials also:
- Rely on mobile apps (33%), smartphones/tablets (27%) or wearable devices (7%) to check their rewards status
- Check their rewards status daily (13%) compared with Generation X (10%) or Baby Boomers (7%) – a sign of Millennials’ always-on connectivity
- Are more enthusiastic (26%) than both groups (19% Gen X, 13% Boomers) about using loyalty rewards to save on the costs of driving
- Join a fuel savings reward program based on the recommendation of a family member or friend (19%), compared with Generation X (8%) or Baby Boomer (6%) consumers
- Link their rewards-earning capability to a credit card (26%), compared to 10% and 8%, respectively, of Generation X and Baby Boomer consumers
- Prefer a variety of rewards activities to save money, including retailer/brand coupons (26%), fuel savings rewards (25%) and instant cash-register discounts (23%)
Retailer rewards must resonate with Millennials
“Raised on the Internet and coming of professional age in the midst of a national recession, the Millennial generation is intimately aware of prices and pressures on their budgets, and they present retailers with unique challenges and equally clear opportunities,” says Brandon Logsdon, President and CEO of Excentus, which owns and operates the Fuel Rewards® program and sponsored the survey-based report. “A loyalty program that’s built on technology, everyday savings and a variety of meaningful, everyday rewards-earning options for Millennials can be the key foundational factors that cement rewards-based relationships, increased spending, return visits and lifetime brand loyalty.”
Data in the Millennial-specific report, now available for download, comes from a July 10-13, 2015 survey of 1,016 U.S. consumers conducted by Ipsos eNation on behalf of Excentus Corp.
Representing 25% of the U.S. population and more than $200 billion in annual spending, 13-34-year-old Millennials are similar to Generation Xers (35-54-year-olds) and Baby Boomers (55 and older) in that they join rewards program to save money any way they can. But Millennials’ responses to the July 2015 survey indicate key differences in behaviors and attitudes that should help retailers, merchants and loyalty program managers create rewards programs that connect with this critical segment.
Survey results, report, available from Excentus
“The Road to Rewards: What’s Drives Millennial Loyalty” is the second of three reports in the Excentus Insight Series. The final “American Shopper Insights Report” in late 2015/early 2016 will examine regional differences in rewards-related behaviors and attitudes. The 2015 survey results have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
For more information about the Fuel Rewards program, the July rewards-focused survey or to interview a Fuel Rewards program executive, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com or 305-749-5342 ext. 232, or Patricia Nunez at pnunez@thinkinkpr.com or 305-749-5342 ext. 233.
About the Fuel Rewards program, owned and operated by Excentus
At Excentus, we create programs that help lower the cost of everyday life. Whether through direct-to-consumer programs like the Fuel Rewards® and fuelperks! programs, or through companies utilizing our Centego products and services, Excentus’ proprietary software engine helps numerous loyalty and marketing programs drive down the cost of everyday commodities like gasoline. In fact, since 2012, Excentus has helped consumers and small businesses across America save over $600 million at the pump. Creating real savings that positively affect the everyday lives of real people – that’s what Excentus is all about. Founded in 1996 in Dallas, TX, Excentus is a privately held company with more than 200 employees. Information: www.excentus.com.