What is a Millennial? They’re big news and vital to ecommerce and they’re probably younger than you.
Millennials are those people born after about 1990 who have always has the the Internet in their lives. They’re au fait with social media and smartphones and hopefully have a load of wedge to spare too to spend online.
As Metapack says: “Put simply, UK consumers aged 18-24 want their delivery fast and on their terms. Digital natives, who have grown up with fast and cheap internet access, expect their deliveries to operate in a similar manner, with 55% saying they value free delivery most and 33% stating that, for them, it’s all about speed.
UK parcel deliveries are likely to cross the 1 billion mark by the end of 2015 and consumer attitudes are rapidly changing. Gone are the days when consumers were willing to wait weeks for a package to arrive, especially among the new generation of consumers. Today’s 18-24 year olds increasingly want same-day delivery and 82% are keen to try it over the next year.”
Check out the infographic.
One Response
“UK consumers aged 18-24 want their delivery fast and on their terms”
Let’s focus on the last 3 words, “on their terms”.
There is the Law, then there is what is referred to as ‘soft’ law (an appeal process for a primary school place for example) and this dramatic increase in online sales is evolving yet another layer of redress for buyers.
As sellers, we have all had cases where it was simply easier to give in to a less than valid claim. This may sound like old fashion goodwill but I suggest it is more than that.
When eBay/Amazon consider a claim, part of their concern is the reputation of the platform itself and the brand. While we may not like a decision to go against us, the underlying concern is valid. I will do less well on eBay if eBay itself is out of favour with the public.
This is quite a profound thing with a long history…
“the comyn wele of the realme of Ingelonde” c1469
The ‘Common Weal’ or prosperity of the community depends on us all taking a hit from time to time to maintain the brand we sell under.
In turn, this will have an effect on the Law in that a great deal of consumer sales legislation uses words like ‘reasonable’, ‘fair etc and what is reasonable or fair is subjective and changes with the times. If it becomes commonplace to get a full refund for, well, almost anything, then that has a chance of becoming the new ‘reasonable’ or ‘fair’.
If buyers (and remember that we are all buyers as well) want things “on their terms” they will have to pay for the privilege as businesses factor this Common Weal or Reputational Levy into their prices.