Millennials' behavior is among the most scrutinized, but don't be too quick to stereotype this generation.
Many think of this generation as the kind to waste money on fads like avocado toast, and also the kind that's resistant to buying into traditional milestone purchases like cars and houses. By many measures, though, millennials are conscientious about spending and saving.
According to a new survey from RetailMeNot, millennials have better saving habits than baby boomers. More than half (53%) of US internet users ages 18 to 34 said they “always” look for sales or promos before buying online. By contrast, 40% of those ages 55 and older agreed.
These thrifty tendencies mirror findings from other studies. Merkle and Levo found that 81% of US millennial female internet users surveyed in January 2018 characterized their spending style as occasionally indulging but making sure they get the best deal. And CouponFollow reported 84% of US millennials used coupons at least sometimes when shopping digitally, a higher rate than when shopping in-store (76%).
According to "The eMarketer Ecommerce Insights Report," conducted by Bizrate Insights in March 2018, 81.7% of US millennial internet users said coupons were important or very important to their digital purchase decisions, vs. 73.0% for total respondents.