The founder of the Millennial 20/20 Summit on how Millennials are disrupting every sector, and the next trends shaping their behavior…
The way young consumers want to shop, interact with brands, consume content and make payments is evolving—and we’ll be talking about it all at Millennial 20/20 along with 4,000+ brands, retailers, corporates, service providers, media, entrepreneurs, and start-ups.
Millennial 20/20 North America is in New York City this week! Join us on March 1-2, and use the code YPULSE25 to get 25% off your tickets here.
The Millennial 20/20 Summits focus on a unique time in the industry, where large and small businesses are dealing with a more complex and ever-evolving consumer that requires them to think of innovation, disruption and technology as key components of their future. We’ve been sharing insights from some of the speakers who will be showcasing their expertise at Millennial 20/20, including Aldo, Mic, and Imgur, who Ypulse will be presenting research with. Today, the founder of the event, Rupa Ganatra, has answered our questions about this generation of consumers:
Ypulse: How would you describe the Millennial consumer? What attributes are most important to them?
Rupa Ganatra: The Millennial consumer is well-educated, entrepreneurial, and digitally-savvy. This generation thrives when working in fast-paced business environments, solving existing challenges and creating new business models.
YP: What part of society, or what industry, do you think Millennials are impacting the most?
RG: Millennials are changing the way we do business and this is a fact. Whether brands are looking at Millennials as a consumer or as an employee, they cannot ignore the changing behaviors that are impacting every aspect of business. Furthermore, over half of new businesses are being started by Millennials and in the next few years Millennials will make up the largest section of our workforce. As digital natives, they will lead the way in disrupting every sector and creating a new age of “doing business.”
YP: What do you see as the most unique differences between Millennials and consumers from previous generations?
RG: I genuinely believe that large and small businesses are dealing with a more-complex and ever-evolving and powerful Millennial consumer that requires them to think of innovation, disruption, and technology as key components of their future. From deference and admiration for brands and retailers, our customers now challenge prices, seasons, origins, value, and authenticity. The Millennial 20/20 Summits explore how we can use data and technology to develop a coherent and relevant voice that places our business profitably and sustainability at the forefront of the Millennial mind.
YP: What has your brand done or changed specifically to better appeal to Millennials?
RG: The Millennial 20/20 Summit was created to specifically help businesses understand this Millennial mindset. I wanted to create a platform where we could expose businesses to a network of movers and shakers, or industry innovators and disruptors who have been successful in localizing their propositions to create valued solutions for this new consumer.
To do so, we’ve programmed our New York Summit on March 1-2, 2017 to feature lively discussions on the future of commerce, marketing and innovation across industry sectors. The event will also feature 3 conference stages, 8 conference tracks, over 60 exhibitors, 200 speakers and 3,500 delegates from established brands like Taco Bell to those that have been disruptive in their space lately, like Warby Parker and Boxed.
YP: What do you foresee as the next big trends that will impact young consumers’ shopping behaviors?
RG: Today, 65% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer if they are recognized and remembered. On that note, a big trend that will impact young consumers’ shopping behaviors is retailers using technology to create memorable in-store experiences. Millennials today are craving the latest disruptive products that appeal to them, and this disruptive mindset applies to the in-store experience as well.
RUPA GANATRA
Rupa is the Founding Partner of Millennial 20/20 the world’s first business summit series looking at the future of nextgen commerce in Singapore, New York, and London.
Rupa has also invested in several start-up businesses and won several awards including Management Today and the SundayTimes 35 under 35 Women in the UK and Top 100 in UK Tech, as well as being the Founding Board Member of the UK Guild of Entrepreneurs, the chair of the HH Women Entrepreneurs and Board Director at the Ashraya Initiative for Children charity since 2008.
To download the PDF version of this insight article, click here.
