Differences in education, income, diversity, marriage, family — the list goes on — are key elements that influence where and how junior and senior millennials spend their money. Older millennials have higher incomes, with 25- to 34-year-olds having an average household spend of $49,547 and households headed by those under 25 averaging $32,179. This makes sense considering that junior millennials are 34 percent less likely to be married or to have been married than their senior counterparts.
This income and lifestyle split has resulted in older millennials spending more on family-friendly products and items for children. Older millennials are more likely to have shopped at Babies“R”Us, The Children’s Place, Toys“R”Us and Party City.
The same study shows that senior millennials are also more likely than junior millennials to have shopped at home hardware stores like The Home Depot, and home specialty stores like Crate and Barrel, West Elm and Pottery Barn. Seniors are also far more likely to be weekly Walmart shoppers — 35 percent, compared with 27 percent of juniors.
Keep in mind that although older millennials generally have more money than younger millennials, they spend proportionally less, as saving for the future tends to weigh more heavily on their minds. In fact, 15 percent of seniors report having $10,000 or more saved, compared with eight percent of juniors.
Younger millennials tend to outspend older millennials in the areas of specialty beauty, athletic wear and experiential products. Juniors devote about 3.2 percent of their wallet share to products only available at specific stores, compared with 2.1 percent of senior millennials.
When it comes to online shopping, juniors are three percent more likely than seniors to browse and buy online, and they are less likely to head to brick-and-mortar stores. E-commerce is rapidly changing the way that we shop, and younger millennials are leading this trend. In addition, 84 percent of younger millennials say that social media influences their online shopping behaviors.