There are more than 72 million millennials in the US, and roughly half of them are women. Over half—55 percent—of these millennial women have given birth, placing the number of Millennial Moms in the 10s of millions. This impressive number of moms has plenty of spending power, and it pays to court this audience. In fact, millennials spend around $47,000 on average every year, and if you bring a little intention to your marketing practices, you can start and maintain relationships with these changemakers.
Here at Brainchild Studios, we conduct a survey every year to better understand Millennial Moms’ preferences, behaviors, and values, which we use to provide our clients the foundation for more intentional marketing. One of the four core areas of research we include in our survey is financial decision-making. By having a finger on the pulse of household income, saving strategies, financial goals, and pain points, we can paint a picture of how Millennial Moms feel about and interact with their hard-earned money. This insight, in turn, gives companies targeting Millennial Moms a depth and breadth of understanding to infuse their business strategy.
Let’s talk through our top insights from 2021’s Millennial Mom Survey: Financial Decision Making.
Millennial Moms Wear the Pants
We found that around 87% of Millennial Moms are directly involved in managing their household’s finances. And 1 in 4 of the moms surveyed said they felt confident in their abilities. But, for the remaining 3 out of 4 Millennial Moms, there’s room for financial empowerment. Millennial Moms have the pin to the debit cards, but they wish they had learned more about financial decision-making during their formal schooling years. Take it from one of our respondents:
I wish there was earlier GOOD advice for 18-year-olds on how to be more financially independent. I wish I would have known more and started younger.
Many Millennial Moms find themselves in key decision-making positions in their families, and they’re primed to broach the subject of purchases, big and small. If you want to get on their radar, you have to cater your language and content; speak directly to them. This trend ain’t going anywhere. As we note in our annual report:
The percentage of Millennial Moms managing their household’s finances by themselves increased by 17% from 2020-2021, adding another set of responsibilities to the serving trough of things Millennial Moms have to do to keep their family’s ship afloat.
It’s not enough to just know Millennial Moms are spending; you have to understand how they’re saving as well.
Super Savers
There’s a trend throughout our survey that transcends the boundaries of our four categories of inquiry: Millennial Moms aim to save. We outline how their thrifty reality contradicts the media articles about millennial habits:
It’s time to address the dreaded avocado toast in the room. There’s a public dialogue about millennials that goes a little something like this: millennials are entitled brats who grew up with shelves upon shelves of participation trophies and spent their days frivolously spending money on Starbucks frappuccinos and weekend brunches.
No wonder they’re broke.
Well, that story is wrong, and our data directly contradicts it.
About 60% of Millennial Moms seek out coupons and discounts to save money over time. And 1 in 2 automatically fund a savings account with portions of their paychecks. Another 1 in 2 makes drinks or food at home to save some bucks. The truth is Millennial Moms are cost-conscious and looking for ways to save. Connecting with them requires an awareness of this drive and strategies to show them you see them: coupons, discount codes, sales, and above all, showing them your product or service is worth their money.
Champions of Education
As one of the most educated generations, millennials seek opportunities to learn and grow, but they also seek opportunities for their children. When we asked Millennial Moms about their top financial goals, 7 in 10 said they’re saving for their children’s higher education, which was our top response for that particular inquiry. Millennial Moms highly value their role as parents and seek to pass their values down to their children, encouraging them to be curious, educated, and lifelong learners, just like their parents.
Same Dreams, Different Economy
Millennials have less wealth than previous generations. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the Great Recession did some damage to this generation as they were emerging from college and entering the workforce. Just because they are buying fewer homes and cars doesn’t mean they don’t want them; millennials haven’t thrown traditional adulthood goals out the window just yet. They want to have children, settle down, and create a stable life for themselves. It’s just harder to do so. But our data shows that they’re doing what it takes to get there:
When we look at what Millennial Moms are saving for, homeownership came out on top. Even though smaller percentages of millennials own homes, they still covet them.
Nearly 1 in 2 of our respondents said they were actively saving to buy a home. Millennial Moms won’t let their dreams die; they make them happen.
Connections Matter: Building Trust
When it comes to who Millennial Moms trust for advice—financial or otherwise—they turn to the people they know and love to be guiding lights as they navigate their lives. Here’s what our data showed:
Relationships are a big deal for Millennial Moms, and about half our respondents trust their spouses more than any other source of information when it comes to financial advice. Following closely behind are their parents and financial advisors, in equal measure.
If they reach outside their families for advice, they look to professionals and experts to provide insight. Even though they regularly use social media and consume content, like blogs, they don’t trust these sources as much as a familiar face and name. Humanizing your brand and content works wonders with this demographic.
Why Millennial Moms
Millennial Moms are kind of our thing. It’s a cause dear to our hearts, as many of us are millennials and moms ourselves. Our annual Millennial Mom survey provides statistically significant backing to our lived experiences. Through conducting this survey, we can gather hundreds of quantitative data points to support companies in connecting with Millennial Moms, getting a superior ROI, and building relationships that last. Everybody wins.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into our survey results, you can peruse our greatest hits version of the Millennial Moms Annual Report today—the Millennial Moms Quick Guide Report. Click the link to download and learn more about this influential demographic.
And for the data nerds and marketing gurus out there, we have a full report with additional data points and key insights available for a cost. Interested? Email [email protected] and let’s talk audience research.
The post Bosses At Home: 5 Millennial Mom Financial Decision Making Insights appeared first on Brainchild Studios®.
