Earlier this year, population projections said millennials would outnumber baby boomers in 2015, meaning those aged 18-34 this calendar year would–for the first time–be a larger part of the population than those aged 51-69, based on the Pew Research Center’s definitions for each group.
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But the way millennials–who are often defined by their lifetime use of technology–will use tech in their everyday lives could likely change, according to a new analysis in the Wall Street Journal, with some companies poised to find more success with the aging demographic and others expected to face challenges.
One example given is that people ages 30-34 are 20% more likely than those 26-29 to buy an iPhone and that most are switching from a Google Android to an Apple device. With iPhones costing more, this could reflect a willingness on the part of consumers in this growing age group to spend more on their mobile devices. That means Apple could see more profits and purchases with this block. It could also suggest that Androids could see a jump in price or perhaps even more expensive offerings.
But, the article notes, millennials are a generation that will have high levels of student debt and faces a tough employment landscape that has spawned the heavily adopted “disrupted†or on-demand economy. They will be considered a “piecemeal labor force,†the article says, which is the result of “many of the tech-related behaviors we associate with millennials–connecting over social networks rather than in real life, buying smartphones instead of cars–(and) should be viewed as adaptations to difficult economic circumstances as much as an embrace of the shiny and new,†according to Danah Boyd, a principal researcher at Microsoft Research.
It’s an interesting blend of traits for those who are willing to shell out big bucks for a phone, but are just as likely to hitch a ride through Uber, but one that could further cement the success of on-demand apps and Apple.