By 2017, Millennials will have more spending power than any other age group. For retailers, catering to Millennials is critical because they are setting the agenda for the food retailing industry. So what factors influence Millennials’ purchasing decisions?

• Millennials shop for low prices. Millennials are more in debt than any other generation. We’re paying off massive college loans, so saving money and budgeting is important to us. 85% of Millennials will change brands based on price and 56% will switch brands to save money off coupons.
• Convenient location is a major factor for Millennials as most shop at the grocery store closest to their residence or place of work. Very few Millennials will go out of their way to shop at a particular grocery store that is not located nearby.
• Millennials spend an average of 3 hours and 34 minutes browsing the Internet per day, so a retailer’s web presence is important. Not only should you have a website for your store, you should have a good website with an interactive weekly ad, shopping list, coupons, recipes, and more.

• Retailers should also have social media pages for their business. Millennials spend 3 hours and 12 minutes per day, on average, social networking. As of Spring 2014, 84% of Millennials had a Facebook account, 40% on Twitter, 35% on Instagram and 33% on Pinterest. Millennials like to engage online; we place a lot of value in our friends’ opinions, and social media is frequently used to ask our friends advice on where to shop and what brands or products to buy.

• Millennials are constantly buried in their phones, even when they’re grocery shopping. There are two great ways to reach Millennials on the device that is always with them: text-message marketing and mobile apps.
• 94% of text messages are opened within 3 minutes. With text marketing you can send coupon deals and reminders to your customers who opt in to receive updates.
• A retailer mobile app enables your customers to view your weekly ad, look for coupons, and create a shopping list right on their phone. Since Millennials are all about convenience, a mobile app is an excellent way to reach this audience.

• Millennials want their food to be fresh and fun. That old saying, “If it tastes good spit it out because it can’t be good for you,” does not ring true for Millennials who look for foods that are flavorful, good for you and interesting, all at the same time.
• How Millennials define ‘healthy’ is different than past generations. Instead of cutting fat, carbs or calories from their diets, Millennials focus on eating foods that provide positive attributes like Vitamins, Fiber and Protein. Millennials look for minimally processed foods with a short list of ingredients they recognize. They also shop for foods that are locally grown and place more emphasis on organic than baby boomers.

• Millennials want to know where their food comes from. We’ve been inundated with big brand marketing since we were born. Millennials look for brands with a good story to tell and opportunities to engage with other consumers. For example, an artisan tea maker from Oregon called Steven Smith Tea prints batch codes on their tea boxes so consumers can look up the provenance of their cup of tea, “meet the teamakers” by viewing profiles, and learn more about the ingredients used to make the tea.
• Most Millennials make a grocery list before shopping but they usually take a last-minute approach. 48% say they always make a list and 50% say they occasionally do, with 37% saying they only make a list right before going to the store. Recipes play a key role in Millennials grocery lists as most Millennials shop for ingredients to make a particular meal or recipe. They are less likely to stock up on the same staples every week.

For more tips on how to reach the Millennial audience, contact our AWG marketing team.

Images from the Wall Street Journal, Statista, Beta News and the Consumerist.