More than $500 billion in retail sales as year-end approaches
Marketing to Millennials is vital all year round, and the back-to-school season is an opportunity for brands to make unparalleled inroads with college students. Right on the heels of back-to-school is the December spending spree. Taken together, consumers launch a one-two punch representing a huge proportion of annual spending. Making the most of this crucial four-month window can make or break a brand for the entire year. Savvy marketers are discovering an affordable, turnkey way to reach 18 to 30 year old consumers in the most important shopping months of the year. It’s not a secret, and if you don’t know about it, you risk losing out on your share of a $500 billion windfall.
As discussed in a recent post, the September back-to-school cycle is the second biggest retail shopping period in the year, with $68 billion in spending. High school students (or their parents) spend about $600 per student at this time of year. College students dole out about $800 each. This spending represents a huge and powerful economic force. Its significance is more than just dollars — though there are plenty of those. This is a time of year when families shop together and permanent shopping habits and brand affinities are formed. Connecting with Millennials as they prepare to return to school can mean making a link that will have economic impacts on a brand for a generation or more.
And while the back-to-school period is big, it is really the teaser to the biggest shopping extravaganza every year — the December holiday spending period. Total retail holiday sales in the United States ranged around $470 billion in 2011 — that’s about $646 per person.
Millennials spend a giant chunk of money between September and December. That makes this period crucial for connecting with the demographic in order to get a piece of that spending now — and to build brand loyalty for decades to come.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Millennials are 80 million individuals who defy everything marketers once held to be true. They reject ‘expert’ advice. They have turned off their TVs in favor of streaming content. They don’t get their hands dirty with newspapers; they get their information online. And they are critical, socially conscious consumers who vote with their wallets, supporting businesses that demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
As we said at the start, the key to reaching — and keeping — Millennial consumers is not a secret. And if you haven’t heard, you risk missing out on a piece of the $500 billion in spending that takes place in the back-to-school and holiday shopping periods.
CampusAuction is an online marketing platform that connects companies that demonstrate corporate social responsibility with 18 to 30 year old consumers who care. CampusAuction bypasses gatekeepers on campus, speaking directly to consumers through social media in the online venues where they live. More importantly, CampusAuction introduces brands to Millennials as agencies that share their worldview — and this is the key factor that puts one brand over the top when Millennials are making consumer choices.
For an affordable, turnkey corporate social responsibility solution that puts your brand directly in the sightlines of 80 million Millennials, contact partnerships@campusauction.com.
