Marketers are excited about the advertising and promotional possibilities presented by text messaging to consumers' cell phones. Gen Y consumers, given the results of a new study by Maritz Research, may not share that enthusiasm, at least when marketers fail to keep messages relevant.
It's clear that Gen Yers have the text-messaging bug. According to Maritz, 69 percent of these consumers send between one and 10 text messages a day. The average number of messages Gen Y shoppers send daily is 17.
The fact that Gen Y consumers send so many text messages may be part of the problem, as far as retailers are concerned. These shoppers see text messaging as a tool for personal communications and not receiving offers from merchants and brands. Sixty-five percent of respondents told Maritz they were "unlikely to or would definitely not subscribe" to ads coming to them via their cell or PDA.
Only five percent of those responding to the Maritz poll said they subscribe to offers via text.
Gloria Park Bartolone, division vice president, Maritz Research's Retail Group, doesn't completely rule out using text to reach Gen Y shoppers but cautions "retailers need to be relevant to this audience to make it an effective channel to communicate."
While Gen Y may not be getting the text message, many within the group are open to ongoing communications with retailers. For example, 48 percent belong to a retailer hosted online group, 26 percent have posted a product or service review online, and 67 percent use online reviews when making decisions on what and where to purchase.
"Because peer opinions are extremely important to Generation Y, they're likely to take online reviews posted by their peers to heart," said Ms. Bartolone. "Retailers should also pay close attention to blogs and online reviews mentioning their products and brand and consider fixing problems that repeatedly come up. Retailers need to show Gen Y they are listening."
Discussion Questions: What makes Gen Y different from other consumer groups when it comes to buying goods and services? Do you see this Maritz research indicating anything unusual about this group's receptivity to electronic offers? Are there retailers or brands that excel with Gen Y and how is this feat accomplished?