Who will most influence tomorrow’s consumer buying trends? Today’s college students.
As college freshman head to class this month, think about what they’ll want to buy this month, next year or a decade from now? Whether you choose to co-sign your kid’s first credit card or not, s/he’ll make buying decisions that’ll influence the future of shopping.
Consider this: They were born in 1994. 53 percent of them own a smartphone, according to The Digital News Test Kitchen. 40 percent—leading with a 4-point majority over BlackBerry—of those handheld devices are iPhones. Are they using them? Yes.
This culturally diverse, mobile-ready target market has a collective spending power of about $1.72 trillion, and these students are increasingly adept at buying things online.
More than 33 percent of college students spend 10 hours or more online. Compare that to 16.6 percent of college students who spend 10 hours or more watching TV each week and 5.5 percent of college students who listen to the radio (Source: Burst).
If you’re appealing to students, you want to have a mobile-ready approach. More importantly, though, you have to figure out a way to influence students by influencing their peers. Social networking is critical in helping students make buying decisions.
22.5 million young adults learn about unfamiliar brands through social media, according to this recent study by Knowledge Networks. Peer opinions on social networks strongly influence 17.8 million young adults—a 19 percent increase form 2010 to 2011.
How do you leverage social networking to reach college students? Sears has an idea. They launched Shop Your Way earlier this year. It’s a new e-commerce site that helps students make shopping lists of which friends and family can easily view and comment.
As you consider your customers, consider their greatest influencers. These peers have the power to make or break your brand online. Let us help you stay ahead of the tweets.
