Gen Y happy to share data... if rewarded
Members of Britain's Generation Y are willing to go the extra mile in engaging with and promoting the brands they like, as long as they are rewarded for their efforts, according to research by Aimia, parent company of the Nectar coalition loyalty programme.
The study, entitled 'Born this way: The UK Millennial Loyalty Survey', found that more than half of 19-29 year olds in the UK (58%) are willing to promote products or brands through social media in exchange for rewards.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of this age group are more likely to choose a brand that offers a loyalty or reward programme over a brand that doesn't offer one. In addition, participants in the research study rated loyalty rewards as the top incentive they look for in exchange for sharing personal information with marketers.
The research also revealed the extent to which younger consumers are leading the way when it comes to adoption of new technologies, such as mobile. More than one-quarter of Millennials (27%) said they were interested in using a mobile device as a substitute for carrying a plastic loyalty card.
Similarly, UK members of Generation Y are significantly more likely than older consumers to engage with brands and companies through smart phone applications with 42% saying they do so regularly.
While young consumers are sharing more data with brands, they are also becoming increasingly demanding about what they should receive in return for information and when. Generation Y participants in loyalty programmes expect instant gratification from the schemes in which they participate, much more so than non Generation Y participants: approximately half (48%) expect to see rewards within one month, compared to one third (32%) of older participants.
Privacy remains an important consideration when 19-29 year olds make decisions about how to interact with brands. In fact, 19-29 year olds in the UK have a greater level of awareness and concern about these issues compared to their counterparts of the same age in the US and Canada. However, loyalty and reward schemes are perceived as the most privacy-friendly of the named marketing channels by Generation Y in the UK: only 19% are concerned about sharing personal information with loyalty programme providers and over half (58%) of Generation Y who were surveyed agreed that they're more likely to share personal details with a brand that offers loyalty and reward incentives.
According to Rick Ferguson, vice president of knowledge development for Aimia, "The central question that loyalty marketers will need to answer for this consumer group is not 'how' or 'what' but rather 'why'. Why should a Millennial consumer raise their hand and ask to be identified through your loyalty or reward initiative? Why should they download your iPhone app? Why should they respond to your location-based offer? Most importantly, what's in it for them?"
Previously known as Groupe Aeroplan, Aimia owns and operates Canada's Aeroplan coalition loyalty scheme and the UK's Nectar programme, as well as having majority equity stakes in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia, and a minority stake in Mexican loyalty coalition, Club Premier.
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