Gen-Y women have emerged as a distinct and influential consumer demographic, and they wield significant brand influence over older Gen-X women, according to a study conducted by Radar Research for Sugar Inc. Fully two-thirds (67%) of Gen X women say they view Gen-Y women as trendsetters.
Below, additional findings from the study, which compares and contrasts the attitudes and characteristics of Gen-Y and Gen-X women.
Trust in Internet, Online Reviews, Blogs
Gen-Y women are technologically savvy, and their perception of the world around them has been shaped by the Internet. They are more likely than their Gen-X counterparts to turn to online peers—reviewers, bloggers, or contributors—for information, even if they don't have a personal relationship with those peers.
- 68% of Gen-Y women get most of their updates on news, business, political, celebrity gossip, and sports from online sources, compared with 54% of Gen-X women.
- 32% of Gen-Y women say they trust advice from online forums, compared with 18% of Gen-X women.
- 31% of Gen-Y women say they have a favorite blog that they read regularly, compared with 19% of Gen-X women.
When researching products, Gen-Y women rely on a range of sources, as do Gen-X women. But Gen-Y women tend to trust online reviews more than their older counterparts:
- 59% of Gen-Y women rely on friends and family recommendations, compared with 55% of Gen-X women.
- 58% of Gen-Y women visit company websites for information, compared with 57% of Gen-X women.
- 38% of Gen-Y women turn to online user reviews, compared with 32% of Gen-X women.
A Broadly Defined Peer Group
A key characteristic of Gen-Y women is their redefinition of peer group to include not only real-life coworkers and classmates but also online friends, bloggers, and anonymous reviewers.
Gen-Y women are also deeply influenced by social networking platforms, and they depend on their broad peer group for product referrals, style cues, and brand discovery. Gen-Y women are far more likely to use blogs and social networks for brand discovery than Gen-X women:
- 42% of Gen-Y women say they have discovered a new brand or product through a friend's social media profile or statutes update, compared with 22% of Gen-X women.
- 28 % of Gen-Y women say they have used blogs for brand discovery, compared with 16% of Gen-X women.
Searching for Authentic Brands
Gen-Y women have grown up media and marketing-savvy. They tend to be skeptical of marketing messages, and respond to brands and messages they perceive as "authentic." Although they pay attention to advertising, they are less likely to click on ads. Almost two in five Gen-Y women, or 38%, report having discovered a product online they did not click on, compared with 28% of Gen-X women.
Online Brand Advocates
Gen-Y women are also far more likely to advocate for their favorite brands online than their Gen-X counterparts: 28% of Gen-Y women say they share product information on social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Linked-In, compared with 15% of Gen-X women.
Gen-Y More Brand Loyal Than Marketers Assume
Marketers have viewed Gen-Y women as among the most fickle consumers. However, Gen-Y women are more brand loyal than marketers have assumed: 79% of Gen-Y women say they are loyal to a particular brand, once they have found one they like, compared with 84% of Gen-X women.
About the findings: The Why Y Women study was conducted by Radar Research in September 2009 on behalf of PopSugar Media, based on an online survey of 1,018 Gen-X and Y-women, age 18-49, from a demographically representative sample of women who access the Internet at least once a day.
