Perpetually Connected Millennials Prefer Personal Contacts to Make Important Life Decisions

Research Shows Cohort’s Use of an Advisory Board on Critical Family, Financial and Career Decisions

A national poll conducted by Capstrat and FGI Research found that the online generation of Millennials (people between ages 22 and 30) are creating and consulting an informal advisory board of family members, spouses, friends and co-workers to make important life decisions. Overall, 73 percent of respondents prefer to obtain information through one-on-one informal conversations with their advisory boards. In total, 402 interviews were completed to understand how Millennials make decisions at key milestones, who influences those decisions and what matters most to them.

When comparing the importance of Millennial milestones, our research found that getting married is considered the most important life milestone (30 percent ranked this most important), followed by starting a career (26 percent), having children (19 percent) and buying a home (10 percent).

Additional notable research findings include:

  • Person-to-person first-hand accounts are the most common type of sought-after information (73 percent). Looking to online sources was only ranked higher than the advisory board when seeking information about buying a car (60 percent) or starting a career (52 percent).
  • Millennials prefer to consult members of their advisory board when seeking information about getting married. Parents (57 percent) and potential future spouses (55 percent) ranked first for sources of information about getting married.
  • When making decisions about having children, spouses (63 percent) and parents (50 percent) were ranked as top sources of information.

“There are many stereotypes about Millennials-that they’re a digital generation with unrealistic expectations who are ill-prepared for the real world,” says Karen Albritton, President of Capstrat. “But this research has proven that this generation is thinking and planning ahead for their major life decisions. And the way Millennials make their decisions have important implications for companies that communicate with, market to or even employ members of this generation.”

Visit additional research materials at http://www.capstrat.com/insights/millennials/.

To learn more, please contact Karen Albritton with Capstrat at (919) 882-1958 or [email protected].

About Capstrat
Capstrat, a communications agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina, solves the complex issues that health care, technology, energy/infrastructure and financial organizations face at critical moments. We blend marketing communications, interactive communications, public relations and public affairs to tell stories with power and persuasion. Visit us at www.capstrat.com.

About FGI Research
FGI Research is recognized as a leading provider of custom research, custom (proprietary) online panels, online surveys, online communities and social media monitoring services. For 29 years, FGI has been combining advanced technology with research best practices and expert personnel to create a unique ability to help clients better understand today’s illusive and ever changing customer. Contact Chris Olliff at (919) 932-8826 or [email protected]. Or visit us at www.fgiresearch.com.

Primary Contact:
Karen Albritton
(919) 882-1958
[email protected]