Bringing Millennials in store daunting task for Canadian retailers: Nielsen

By

Jennifer Braun

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 24, 2018

Manufacturers and retailers eyeing Canadian Millenials will have to put some extra work in to pull the sought-after consumer generation into their stores, according to the latest report by Nielsen. 

 
“As Millennials age and progress in their careers, more households will be led by this dynamic consumer group, and their purchasing power will grow with them. Across generations in Canada, Millennials are the most financially optimistic, with 28 percent stating they are better off financially today than they were a year ago,” the report said.

While the generation is more financially optimistic than others, Canadian Millennials are spending less than their size suggests they should and making fewer shopping trips.  

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“In fact, they’re driving trip declines in Canada, making 43 fewer trips than the average Canadian household on an annual basis. This means manufacturers and retailers face fewer opportunities to capture shoppers at the shelf and influence decisions in-store,” the report added.

On a more positive note, Millennials are, however, spending more per trip than any other generation. 
 
“Millennials spend $55.45 per trip, up $2.11 from last year, and more than $7 above the national average.”  
 
Canadian Millennials less frequent shopping trips is partly due to their increased trips to restaurants, with Millenials leading other age cohorts in trips per capita to restaurants in 2017. 
 
To pull Millennials back into the store the report suggested manufacturers and retailers diversify their products and partner-up with fellow brands and restaurants for in-store events and other shopping experiences that encourages consumers to spend. 
 
“One strategy involves identifying what Millennials are seeking outside the store and finding ways to meet those desires in store,” the report explained.  

The news comes as Canada experienced a five-month retail sales high for the month of March. 

According to Statistics Canada, total Canadian retail sales rose 0.6%, driven by higher spending on vehicles and clothing, the latter jumping up 2.5%.