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Millennial Americans - Spending Time Outdoors Insights
American millenials desire to spend more time outdoors and in nature. Insights prove their desire to do so by their need to share experiences on social media, heightened attention on mental and physical health, millenial parents encouraging outdoor activities for their kids, value they place on high value experiences, millenials desire to be together, and high spending on outdoors products. However, millenials also spend way too much time indoors. Insights that prove this include millenials' preference for fast casual dining, large amounts of time spent on social media and financial instability.
Need to Share Experiences on Social Media
- Social media-minded millennials share moments for peer approval. They are no longer living for the experiences but simply collecting them as virtual possessions. For this reason, some outdoor activities like camping, hiking, skydiving among many others have become popular experiences and stories that millenials share on socials.
- 90.4% of Millennials are social media users. Instagram and Snapchat are two of the three most popular social media platforms among millennials after Facebook. A third of 18-34 year olds have Snapchat on their smartphones, and almost half have Instagram. In a survey done by Harris, 60% of people who have shared, posted or tweeted about their events and experiences on social media were millenials.
- According to a survey by Chase Card Services, “Three in four Millennial travelers post to social networks at least once a day while traveling.” HVS also added that, Millennials search for “something extra” as “they do not wish to Instagram a photo of a boring room to share that with their friends.”
Heightened Attention on Mental and Physical Health
- Millenials are aware of the importance of maintaining good physical and mental well-being. In a survey of 900 millennials conducted by American University in 2015, about 75% of millennials say they are open to discussing mental health topics. Also, on average, over a third of millennials exercise two to three days per week for at least 30 minutes.
- Millenials know the importance of the outdoors in combating mental disorders and keeping fit and healthy. They have come up with mindfulness training communities group wellness that often take the form of organized meditation groups. They recognize the need to hike, camp, run and basically become outdoorsy people.
Value Placed on High Value Experiences
- Millennial spending is different from that of older generations at their age since it's emphasis is on collecting experiences rather than acquiring tangible goods. More than 78% millennials would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or even overbuying something desirable and 55% of millennials say they’re spending more on events than ever before,with no signs of slowing.
- The fear of missing out propels millennials to show up, share and engage: a driving force behind the experience economy. In a survey conducted by Harris poll, nearly 69% millennials experience the fear of missing out.
Millenials Desire to Be Together
- Outdoor recreation is a great way to connect with friends and enjoy the outdoors, leading to more socially aware and environmentally engaged people.
- Millennials are highly social creatures who, according to research by HVS, a travel and hospitality consulting firm, “are more likely [than any other group] to travel socially with friends and family.” HVS also notes that more than any other generation, Millennials will travel to pursue their personal and shared group interests, such as food, entertainment, shopping and outdoor activities.
Millennial Parents Encouraging Outdoor Activities for their Kids
- As millennials start to have children, they’re more reflective of camping habits and seeing the value of getting their children outside.
- Some are looking to send their preschoolers to forest schools. The need now is not to replicate the outdoors indoors, but to get outside and be in nature.
- Millennials parents therefore show desire to spend more time outdoors with their kids since things like playtime and camping is usually done with the parent too.
High Spending on Outdoors Products
- Representing 38% of the U.S. outdoor consumer population, Millennials spend more time outside and more money on outdoor products than the average outdoor consumer, making them a valuable long-term target market for the industry.
- According to the study by Outdoor Industry Association, millenials spend $594 annually on outdoor apparel, and footwear.
- By purchasing this, they show desire to spend more time in the outdoors and nature.
Preference for Fast Casual Dining
- In 2017, popular chains like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s were forced to shutter dozens of locations amid slumping sales and lower traffic. Millenials were to blame, being a generation that allegedly no longer goes out to eat, preferring to cook or order take-out.
- Almost 40% of millennials eat meals on the go, and more than 50% want a “good deal for their money. Fast casual restaurants from Chipotle and Subway to Shake Shack and Five Guys are largely designed with these preferences in mind, with fast ordering and app-powered pickup and delivery as basic pillars of their model.
- Fast casual dining has encouraged millennials to eat and order from home at their convenience.
Large Amounts of Time Spent on Social Media
- According to a study by GlobalWeblndex, Millennials are spending about 2 hours and 38 minutes on social media each day.
- Facebook is ranked as the most used social network by millennial with a rate of 88% memberships. YouTube is ranked as the second most used social network with a rate of 83% millennial membership. The Facebook messenger comes next with a rate of 77%.
- This time spent could have been the time spent outdoors. This has really affected millennials and is a reason why they feel they spend much less time outdoors.
Financial Instability
- Almost two-thirds of millennial say they’re living paycheck to paycheck and only 38% feel financially stable, according to a new survey from Charles Schwab.
- Most outdoor activities like camping, hiking and more so live events need a certain amount of money. Generally, it becomes difficult for millennial to spend money on outdoor activities since they do no have any to spare.
Research Strategy
To identify insights that prove that both active and non-active Millennial Americans desire to spend more time in the outdoors and, insights that show they may feel that they do not currently spend as much time outside as they should, we searched through articles and publications. We focused and narrowed down to six qualitative and quantitative insights that prove that active and non-active Millennial Americans desire to spend more time in the outdoors and nature. We also focused on three qualitative and quantitative insights that show Millennial Americans feel that they do not currently spend as much time outside as they should.