• by Holly Pavlika , Columnist, January 2, 2015

Looking to reach your fair share of the 80 million Millennials in the U.S.? You should because they make up 25% of the population and will have more than $200 billion in spending power by 2017 according to Advertising Age. So how can you tap into these adventure seeking, tech-savvy, always-on social media maven’s wallets? Particularly when Millennials are moving away from the traditional grocery chains their parents shop in and opting towards specialty, mass retailer, club and convenience stores, as reported by Barkely.

Let Millennials participate in your marketing.

Millennials like to be co-creators. Invite them into your stores and listen to their ideas. Hire Millennial bloggers to create content other Millennials can relate to and publish it on your owned channels. Use platforms such as Pinterest where many Millennial shoppers check for “what’s for dinner” ideas. Make sure you have a variety of ideas that fit their diverse needs: healthy, spontaneous, easy, and adventurous. Take full advantage of the platform, integrate Pinterest and in store shopping by pointing the customer to recipes online, while using online recipes to drive traffic in-store.

Millennials want to lead healthy lifestylesand crave adventure.

According to Barkely, “Millennials walk the line between a love of cooking and being adventurous
in the kitchen and an on-the-go lifestyle that often means they’re eating on the run.” Thirty-nine percent of them say they prefer picking up quick meals to actually cooking meals. However, 64% say they love to cook and enjoy being creative in the kitchen. Millennials want to lead healthy life styles, which is incredibly hard while on the run.

Mobile can solve so many of the wants of a Millennial shopper. A mobile app with a daily dish can keep your brand top of mind, whether that dish is something that can be picked up or created. Grocery lists can alert users if the ingredients are high in calories or not gluten-free.. Many grocery apps focus on coupons and making grocery lists, not the content a Millennial craves. Set your app up for success by allowing Millennials the options to customize the app to deliver exactly what they want. Better yet, invite Millennials in to crowd source the features. 

Millennials want amenities.
They also enjoy experiences with the brands, and they don’t like to shop alone. Invite your Millennial shoppers to in-store events, store openings and seasonal promotions. Allow them to experiment, test new and old products and interact with store clerks and other shoppers. Turn the every day shopping trip into an event, appealing to this experience driven generation.

It will be interesting to see how grocery stores evolve in 2015 to meet the needs of this popular target market.