If we want to describe the millennial generation with only a few words it would be the pursuit of ecocentric individualism. They love technology, and everything revolving around digital. On the other note, they want to save the planet and often opt for eco-conscious lifestyles. Millennial spending statistics show that have completely revolutionized their purchasing habits and brands have to change to meet their needs and fight their indifference. That’s why we prepared a collection of the latest stats and facts to keep you in the loop of how this influential generation likes to spend its money.
Millennial Spending Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- 72% of millennials prefer to spend money on experiences than material things. (CNBC)
- 73% of millennials are actively saving. (Finance Yahoo)
- 94% of millennials spend money on restaurants at least once a month. (Smart Insights)
- Millennials spend nearly $20 monthly on Netflix and other streaming services. (Smart Insights)
- Millennials now make over 54% of their purchases online. (Invesp)
- Over 64% of millennials have regretted their decision to buy a home. (Business Insider)
- One out of three millennials would spend up to $5,000 or more on a vacation. (Business Insider)
Some General Millennial Spending Stats
1. 82% of millennials would buy a product the first time they see it if they like it.
This generation tends to be more impulsive in shopping than Baby Boomers and Gen X. So most would buy a product straight away if they like it enough. Further 70% claim they regret purchases they made sometimes, while 64% said they often impulse shop. On the other side, they are the generation that would more often look for sales before buying an item they like.
(The Business Journals)
2. Millennial spending stats show that 72% of this generation prefer to spend money on experiences than on material things.
A recent study revealed that millennials would rather buy experiences than actual products that are there for sales only. This trend is shaping the retailing industry, forcing many companies to adapt, while creating opportunities for startups. For example, DayBreaker, an early morning weekday rave, hands out energy drinks and protein bars, while Diner en Blanc offers dressy pop-up picnics.
(CNBC)
3. 40% of retail leaders claim that they worry about millennials’ lack of loyalty.
Accenture’s research has demonstrated that a large number of retail leaders fear how they will inspire loyalty in millennials. In fact, they believe that the most common trait of this group is a lack of loyalty. Millennial brand loyalty statistics show that this generation yearns for personalized offers, authenticity, and transparency. Only then, a brand can expect a semblance of loyalty. Once that happens though, they are willing to trade even their privacy for anything that could be of value to them.
(Cartloop)
4. Nine in 10 millennials own smartphones.
Compared to Gen Xers, 3% more millennials own smartphones (93% vs 90%). Baby boomers are next on the list with 68%, followed by 40% of those from the Silent Generation, data from Pew Research Center indicates.
(Pew Research)
5. 37% of millennials are smart wearables users.
A survey from 2019 revealed some millennial statistics on technology spending. Although they are up to follow trends, the number of smart wearable users is still not as high as smartphone usage. In fact, the sum of those who are already users and those who are interested in becoming ones goes only up to 50% among those 25 to 34-year-olds. Further, it fell below that level for those between 35 and 44.
(Insider Intelligence)
6. By 2025, estimations show that millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce.
According to Gallup, there are roughly 73 million millennials in the US. In fact, they are the largest generation group in the workforce, set to rise further by 2025, millennials in the workplace statistics suggest.
(Firstup)
Millennial Financial Statistics
7. Surveyed millennials revealed they saved $480 monthly on average.
By looking at the stats about the average millennial savings, we can reach one conclusion. This generation is not as big on savings as their predecessors. As a matter of fact, 37% of millennials confirmed that they were not saving for retirement.
(LendEDU)
8. 73% of millennials are actively saving.
While not necessarily for retirement, a lot of millennials do save. Recent millennial income statistics indicate that 59% of surveyed individuals in this group had $15,000 or more in their savings accounts. Another survey revealed even more impressive results. Namely, one in four millennials (24%) had over $100,000 in savings.
(Finance Yahoo)
9. 33.67% of millennials put aside 5% or less of their income.
The millennials average savings each month vary. So, for instance, most put aside 5% or less. Next, 23% of them put aside between 6% and 10%. Further, 13.30% save 11-15% of their income, followed by 10.20% who put aside 20%. Finally, 6% put aside 16-19%. On the contrary, 13.80% said they don’t put anything into savings.
(Finty)
10. Millennials spend 65% more per month on groceries than on savings.
Based on millennial saving statistics, there are many other expenses that this generation spends money on rather than savings each month. For instance, groceries and restaurants take up 65% and 49% more budget per month than savings respectively. Coffee and alcohol each take 27% more than savings respectively. Further, clothes (32%) and online streaming (26%) are also higher expenses than savings. Other things on the list comprise tobacco (17%), events (15%), music streaming (12%), recreational marijuana (11%), and exercise (11%).
(LendEDU)
11. The median income for millennial households in the US, before taxes in 2020 was $71,566, millennial income statistics show.
Prior to the last big recession hit and many lost jobs, the average salary for millennials was $3,640 per month or around $43,700 per year. However, now if we consider that the median income for millennial households is $71,566, and spending on average hovers around $208.77 per day, the average person spent almost entire earnings, or just under the median millennial income to be precise.
(CNBC)
12. The average cost of rent for millennials is around $1,584 for a studio.
Millennial spending stats suggest that the largest bulk of this group’s income goes to cover rent. For one-bedroom apartments in the US, this cost can go to around $1,636 on average.
(CNBC)
13. 40% of millennials are donors.
Millennials are most likely to contribute in different ways to charities. For instance, they are the most likely group to contribute to work-sponsored initiatives and donate via mobile. Some 46% donate to different crowdfunding campaigns, while 26% give tribute gifts. Aside from donating through fundraising events, 55% attend them. A total of 11% of US giving actually originates from millennials. On average millennials donate $481 across 3.3 organizations annually.
(NP Source)
14. 48% of millennials have spent money they didn’t have and entered into debt.
Most millennials go into debt to keep up with their friends, a recent study reveals. Millennial debt statistics show that this figure was almost 10% smaller in 2018, for example (39%). Most members of this group spend due to rising social pressures, whether for food and drinks, tattoos, music events, or something similar. In fact, over two in five millennials (44%) are afraid to miss once-in-a-lifetime experiences. One-third (36%) further don’t want to feel like an outsider.
(Credit Karma)
15. Millennials’ credit scores saw the largest increase to 667.4 points.
Credit repair for almost all generations has increased between 2019 and 2021, reflecting the growing popularity of credit repair services. For instance, now most generations have a fair or good score, with millennials reaching the highest increase in scores. The only group that had a fall in scores between 2020 and 2021 is the Silent Generation, but they still have a higher average score than others (729.9). For reference, Gen Z has 660.5 points, Gen X 685.2, while Boomers have 724.2 points. The total US average is 695.3.
(Money)
16. Americans have $1.75 trillion amassed in student loans.
Based on data from the Federal Reserve, the US student loan debt averaged at about $28,400 in 2020. Millennial student debt statistics show that this group owes even more. Millennials averaged $38,877 in 2020. They are the first generation that had to face the issue of either having this massive debt or receiving no education. In fact, other than 45% of them cite saving for a down payment as a top priority, and 26% of millennials claim they would first pay off their loans.
(Business Insider)
17. The number one factor making millennials overspend is food, with 47%.
Most millennials have gone into FOMO (fear of missing out) kind of debt due to food. Similarly, for 41%, clothes are the second most common reason for overspending. Travel is third with 33%, followed by electronics (25%), and music event tickets (25%). Alcohol is also an important part of it (24%), followed by once-in-a-lifetime experiences (18%), jewelry (17%), wedding party duties (16%), sporting event tickets (15%), and cars (15%). Ultimately, only 11% overspend on tattoos, 9% do so for houses or condos, and 9% on recreational and sports equipment.
(Credit Karma)
Millennial Consumer Statistics
18. 86% of millennials spent more money during the holidays in 2020 than they planned to.
A recent report by American Express shows that 23 to 28 millennials exceeded their budgets for the holidays. According to the survey of millennial buying habits for this period, one in five went over the budget by $500 on average (21%). The most common gift, reasons for millennials to overspend, were electronics (69%), toys (57%), clothes (53%), jewelry (38%), drinks, and food (33%). About 88% of millennials expected to spend $100 or more on some person, most commonly spouses and partners.
(CNBC)
19. 94% of millennials claim they spend money on restaurants at least once a month.
Eating out is one of the common millennial purchasing habits, statistics indicate. Only 6% of surveyed millennials said they don’t spend money on restaurants monthly. Typically, they spend $163 on average for restaurants and dining out. Further, 49% spend more on restaurants than on savings for retirement. Those who drink adult beverages aside from eating, spend an additional $75 on this tab (around 68% of them). Other than that, they spend $281 per month on groceries.
(Smart Insights)
20. 27% of millennials don’t spend any money on coffee.
Despite the common stereotype that millennials love their pumpkin spice latte, there is a significant part of them that never spend money on coffee. Instead, they prefer home-brews or tea. However, for most millennials, purchasing habits do include coffee. Among those that spend money on it, on average it’s a figure of $38 per month or $450 per year.
(Smart Insights)
21. Millennials spend nearly $20 monthly on Netflix and other streaming services.
Netflix and other streaming platforms, for millennials, are the main choice for entertainment. Unlike some other things millennials waste money on, this is actually a better option, since cable subscriptions tend to be higher. Dropping them, is a good decision for every millennial, buying statistics confirm. Aside from streaming platforms for movies and tv shows, this generation often subscribes to likes of Spotify for music, and it costs them about $7 per month.
(Smart Insights)
22. With 20.39%, millennials between 25 and 29 years old, account for the largest number of recreational marijuana buyers.
According to recent research, millennials in the age group 25-29 years old are big on purchasing marijuana. This is one of the common spending habits of millennials aged 21 to 34 years old (51.8%). The average age of recreational marijuana customers is 37.6 years old and for females 37.4%.
(Forbes)
23. 66.3% of millennials are more likely to buy from stores where they are members of the loyalty program.
Loyalties have strong popularity among many consumers, millennials especially. As opposed to the number of millennials more likely to buy if they are loyalty program members, 33.3% of Baby boomers could say the same. For them, prices are the main driver, unlike millennials, where only 22.5% indicated millennial shopping statistics show.
(CSA)
24. 15% of millennials say loyalty points influenced their most recent purchase.
Millennials are keener on purchasing when they collect points as part of the program. For some part of the surveyed sample, points influenced their latest purchase. They are, in fact, keener to remain loyal to a brand due to rewards from loyalty programs (22%), or their reputation (15%).
(Right Time Maker)
25. 96% of millennial parents used digital coupons in 2020.
According to the millennial online shopping statistics, this group uses multiple online sources, like apps, the web, or social media. In 2020, 96% of millennial parents, and 79% of millennials in general, used coupon websites to look for discounts. For comparison, only 53% of baby boomers did the same. In fact, 86% of millennials claimed that they could be persuaded to buy from a new brand if it offered a discount.
(Coupon Follow)
26. Millennials now make over 54% of their purchases online.
As a matter of fact, 67% of this generation, based on a recent survey, prefer to shop online rather than in physical stores. One of the main reasons is because they can compare prices and products (45% claim this). Further, 81.3% of millennials shop online at least once a month.
(Invesp)
27. Almost 40% of millennials plan to spend less on pet supplies.
Millennial spending statistics indicate that they account for the biggest share of pet owners in the US. Almost a third of all people in this age group had a pet. However, while their spending on their own food is growing, 37% said they planned to decrease spending on pet food and supplies.
(Influencer Marketing Hub)
28. With 75% of millennials listing it as their favorite, Amazon is their favorite ecommerce website.
Millennials love Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. Nearly 50% of millennials said they shopped on Amazon at least once per week, while 10% reveals they shop on it seven or more times per week. One of the most important features that made Amazon stand apart from this audience is the price and review system platform. As a result, on average, millennials are willing to spend $100-$250 for a particular item, millennial spending statistics show.
(Influencer Marketing Hub)
29. 60% of Gen Z and Millennials have purchased a product on social media using the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ option.
Recently, the option to ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ is gaining more popularity, as a result of the increased shift toward online shopping. Consumers from all generations used this option, however, millennials and Gen Z are at the forefront of all users. It’s mostly since it provides higher financial flexibility to this younger group, which tends to be more limited with cash. Some 60% of millennials have used it, followed by 57% of Gen Z. Only 37% of Gen X and 19% of Baby Boomers did the same.
(SticherAds)
30. Millennial shopping statistics show that 73% of this generation are willing to pay more for goods marked sustainable.
Globally, 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, but this percentage is higher among the millennial group. This generation is coming of age in one of the most difficult economic climates in a long time, but they still opt to pay more if the goods that they purchase are sustainable.
(Inc)
Millennial Home Buying Statistics
31. Almost half of the US renters in 2019 were under 30 years old.
Millennials comprise a large group of renters in the US. Although the majority of American renters live in single-family houses, multifamily housing units are gaining popularity. Despite that, rental vacancy rates have been going down over the last decade from 40% in 2009 to 25% in 2019. Moreover, tenant screening has become easier, or at least most tenants prepare well for the rental application. The fact that speaks best in favor of this is that tenant screening results in about 14% of rejections.
(Statista, Rentdrop)
32. Over 64% of millennials have regretted their decision to buy a home.
Based on millennial statistics, real estate is an especially critical segment for spending among this generation. Namely, the majority of millennials regret buying their first home. For reference, 82% of them had owned a home and had at least one important regret about it. Today’s housing market is full of homebuyers, yet there aren’t enough homes. The national median price of a house in the US climbed to a record high, and when rushing to buy available and affordable houses, buyers didn’t realize they have made a snap decision.
(Business Insider)
33. 12.3% of millennials never plan on purchasing a house.
Unlike their predecessors, millennials don’t dream about their home and white fence anymore. More, and more renters among this generation claim they can’t afford a house on the average millennial salary.
(Rentdrop)
34. 37% of homebuyers in 2020 were millennials.
In fact, this is more than any other generation, in line with millennial homeowners statistics. Older members of this age group accounted for 23% of the purchases, while the younger part accounted for 14%. For a while, the baby boomer generation dominated the market, and in 2020, they still accounted for 32% of all new homeowners. Next was Gen X with 24% of homebuyers. Generation Z only accounted for 2% of the purchases.
(Fool)
35. Almost 50% of older millennials are purchasing houses worth $300,000 or more.
As the millennials spending power increases, they are catching up to older generations based on the amount of money spent on homes. Namely, 49% of millennials aged 31-40 paid $300,000 or more in 2020, with the median price paid in the same range.
On the other hand, younger millennials are mostly buying houses cheaper than $300,000 (70% of them). Their median home purchase price at this period was $229,000.
(Fool)
Millennial Travel Stats
36. One out of three millennials would spend up to $5,000 or more on a vacation.
Although sometimes the average income of millennials doesn’t allow them fancy vacations, most are willing to give a lot of money to travel. In fact, they would give more cash on vacation than any other age group. Gen Z seems to be down this path as well. In line with some stats from Expedia, millennials travel 35 days each year, followed by Gen Z with 29 days per year. Almost 90% of Gen Z revealed that their planning and inspiration for travel originates from social media.
(Business Insider)
37. Millennials spend around $180 billion each year on travel.
About 200,000 global tourists belong to this generation. Typically, this age group opts for the YOLO (you only live once) approach to life and travel. Some of the most popular types of vacations for millennials include alternative types of accommodations, fully digital tourism, off-the-beaten-track tourism, and creative tourism. In line with the millennial travel statistics, about 53% of tourists from this group book with an OTA, while 70% chose to stay in a hotel while vacationing.
(Hotelmize)
38. 86% of millennials travel to get the feeling of new cultures.
Experiencing new cultures is the number one reason most millennials travel. On the other side, 44% view travel as a party destination, and 28% as a chance to do shopping in new destinations. Moreover, 76% of millennials want to learn something interesting about their travel destinations. Not just that, but up to 62% of millennials have extended their business trips to add cultural and informative vacation.
(Stratos Jet Charters)
The Bottom Line
It might be that these millennial spending statistics can’t completely describe a generation, but they give a pretty good overview. They offer insights into this influential group’s purchasing habits, spending, but also saving. Moreover, these stats point to progressive growth and change of this generation that savvy entrepreneurs can potentially take advantage of.
Sources: CNBC, Finance Yahoo, Smart Insights, Invesp, Business Insider, Business Insider, The Business Journals, Cartloop, Pew Research, Insider Intelligence, Firstup, LendEDU, Finty, CNBC, NP Source, Credit Karma, Money, Business Insider, CNBC, Forbes, CSA, Right Time Maker, Coupon Follow, Influencer Marketing Hub, SticherAds, Inc, Statista, Rentdrop, Fool, Business Insider, Hotelmize, Stratos Jet Charters.
