How Millinenials discover new products

how mobile natives discover products

07.18.13

all rights reserved | 2013

dscout is a cutting-edge research platform built for a mobile and social world.



We thought a good way to understand consumer trends would be to study what millennials bought, capturing new consumers and new products in one go.

+

millennials

new productsthey discover



93%Used facebook in

the last week.

Talking

Texting

Emailing

Takeing pics

On social media

Web browsing

Gaming 26%

68%

72%

52%

76%

86%

46%

I AM CONSTANTLY

100%Smartphone

owners

So we recruited 246 millennials who relied heavily on their smartphones for a variety of tasks.



We call our recruits scouts. In this particular study, we also call them mobile natives.

66%Women

62%Employedfull time

average age

26average income

66k



Scouts downloaded our free app and used it to document five product purchases apiece. Scouts completed their mission between 05.07.13 & 05.12.13.



In total, scouts shared1,183 purchases.



This is a Jose Eber clipless curling iron. Pardon my vanity with this product, but this Iron is amazing. I have stick straight hair that has never held a curl no matter what. With all the amazing photos of long gorgeous curls on pinterest, i longed for that look. I have been looking for a good curling iron that could give me curls that would stay all day without the use of hair products. I tried just about everything. I asked me friend who is a hairdresser what she recommend an she said to get a professional clip-less iron. I did some research Online and found the best priced clip less curling iron with the highest consumer rating. This iron appealed to me because it reached a very high temperature (that's why it is considered professional), and did not have the clip (makes the iron quicker and more versatile) that traditional curling irons have.

Amber DHouston, TXThis is one such purchase.



For each purchase, we asked scouts a series of questions to help us understand:

// where it was first encountered// how much time elapsed between

discovery and purchase// purchase influences// reason for purchasing// place of purchase

Afterwards, we tagged our data rigorously to reflect product category and purchase method.


our mobile native scouts bought...



N = 1183

purchases

136food items

11eyeglasses

11phones

71shoes

7cars

6soaps

29alcoholic drinks

148electronics

3manicures

1set of juggling

knives

31bags

1kayak


Thinking about your first encounter with this find, did it happen on a...

5%Phone

4%Tablet

31%Computer

60%Offline

The first thing we noticed? Phones were almost entirely absent from the discovery process.



Which of the following things do you think influenced you to buy this?

in store

friend

ecommerce store

chance encounter

an article

a blog/ forum

advertising

social network

nothing really

classified

other 14%

1%

4%

6%

7%

10%

10%

12%

18%

23%

39%

While “friends” were perceived as hugely influential by our scouts, that did not extend to social networks.



so that’s what we didn’t see. what did we see?



Is is a 50 mil macro lens made by Canon. I work as a photographer and I love building my collection equipment. Plus macro lens are awesome! I've always known about this lens, I just needed to save up enough to purchase it. First time I came across it was on a friend's camera. I learned more about the lens from playing with it hands on and researching it online.

Brittany W Chicago, IL

photography love



I bought a new concealer. The one I've been using has not been working well ... I heard this one looks really natural and won't make you break out because it's skin clearing. I looked through all of the different concealers at target. I was worried that a lot of the drugstore brands would look cakey. I read the packaging on about five different concealers before choosing this one. I think I gravitated towards neutrogena because thy are a skin care brand (I've seen many skin care commercials for neutrogena).

concealer

Brittany B Beaverton, OR



This chair is an exact replica of a chair from a company called arhaus that cost $1600. This one was $225. I'm not kidding. I just love it. It can literally be put in any room and instantly make it pop. It's cozy and has a high back and a feel seat and who doesn't love the nail heads all over it!!!! I just can't live without it. I have been looking for a chair for our guest room foreeeeeever. Nothing crazy just simple and my friend saw this one and sent me a pic immediately and I went and picked it up!!!

the most amazing chair.


Melinda W Naperville, IL


This is a Vince Camuto Scarf from Dillard's. I found this scarf and immediately realized that I had to have it. It a really pretty light fabric that is wearable for the Spring and Summer ( in contrast to the number of of thicker scarves I have to survive the Chicago winters)... I purchased this on a whim while shopping for a dress.

a practical splurge

Davlyn T Chicago, IL



Brittany WChicago, IL

Brittany BBeaverton, OR

Melinda WNaperville, IL

Davlyn TChicago, IL

We chose these examples for a reason. Each typifies one of four modes of product discovery.


SeekA laser-focused mission to acquire something specific, right down to knowing the brand and model in advance.

25%


Sift

A deliberate search for an item in a particular product category, when requirements are clear but the landscape of available options isn’t.

24.6%


Sift 24%Seek 24%A sudden recollection that you’d meant to purchase something, only remembered after encountering that thing by chance.

Surface 23.6%


Sift 24%Seek 24% Stumble 26.6%A classic impulse purchase. See it, love it, buy it.


Seek StumbleSift Surface25% 24.6% 23.6% 26.6%


back of mind

narrow aperture

broad aperture

top of mind

Stumble Sift

Surface SeekOverall, we see two dimensions underlying our modes of discovery.

One is aperture, which is the specificity of a search. The other is mindfulness, which is the awareness of searching.

For instance, our “Seek” mode is top of mind and narrow aperture — meaning, a deliberate search for a specific product.



Seek StumbleSift Surface

48%

52%digital

physical54%

46%digital

physical60%

40%digital

physical74%

26%digital

physical

FIRST ENCOUNTER = DIGITAL / PHYSICAL

Top of mind discoveries were much more likely to have had a digital inception.


all rights reserved | 2013 65%

53%

33%

22%

Seek

Sift

Surfa

ce

Stum

ble

% OF PURCHASES MADE WITHIN HOURS OF FIRST ENCOUNTER

Top of mind discoveries were less likely to have had a short gestation period.



clothing fashion accessories food and dining

tech accessories sports & fitness

shoes & bags

top of mind

all or nothing

back of mind

home & garden health & wellness

Not all product categories exhibit the same discovery patterns.

For instance, clothing purchases are usually surfaced or stumbled — that is to say, back of mind. In contrast, electronics are usually sought or sifted — that is, top of mind.

A few categories, like shoes, tend to be stumbled or sought in equal measure.

Seek

Stumble

SiftSurface

electronics



SOURCES THAT INFLUENCED YOUR PURCHASE

Seek StumbleSift Surface

Scouts also named a few influences for each purchase.

friend

store

ecommerce

other

blog/forum

article/review

ad

social site

chance

nothing

classified 1%

5%

8%

8%

10%

13%

13%

16%

21%

23%

30% store

friend

ecommerce

other

article/review

blog/forum

chance encounter

ad

social site

nothing

classified 2%

3%

6%

8%

10%

14%

15%

16%

25%

28%

30% store

friend

ecommerce

chance encounter

other

blog/forum

article/review

social site

ad

nothing

classified 3%

5%

5%

5%

8%

10%

11%

13%

18%

18%

46% store

friend

chance encounter

other

ecommerce

ad

social site

article/review

blog/forum

nothing

classified 0%

4%

4%

6%

6%

7%

8%

12%

16%

17%

58%




Seek StumbleSift Surfacestore

friend

ecommerce

chance encounter

other

blog/forum

article/review

social site

ad

nothing

classified 3%

5%

5%

5%

8%

10%

11%

13%

18%

18%

46% store

friend

chance encounter

other

ecommerce

ad

social site

article/review

blog/forum

nothing

classified 0%

4%

4%

6%

6%

7%

8%

12%

16%

17%

58%

Mostly, scouts characterized (physical) stores and friends as influential — social sites, not so much.

store

friend

ecommerce

other

article/review

blog/forum

chance encounter

ad

social site

nothing

classified 2%

3%

6%

8%

10%

14%

15%

16%

25%

28%

30%friend

store

ecommerce

other

blog/forum

article/review

ad

social site

chance

nothing

classified 1%

5%

8%

8%

10%

13%

13%

16%

21%

23%

30%




Seek StumbleSift Surfacefriend

store

ecommerce

other

blog/forum

article/review

ad

social site

chance

nothing

classified 1%

5%

8%

8%

10%

13%

13%

16%

21%

23%

30% store

friend

ecommerce

other

article/review

blog/forum

chance encounter

ad

social site

nothing

classified 2%

3%

6%

8%

10%

14%

15%

16%

25%

28%

30% store

friend

ecommerce

chance encounter

other

blog/forum

article/review

social site

ad

nothing

classified 3%

5%

5%

5%

8%

10%

11%

13%

18%

18%

46% store

friend

chance encounter

other

ecommerce

ad

social site

article/review

blog/forum

nothing

classified 0%

4%

4%

6%

6%

7%

8%

12%

16%

17%

58%

ecommerce sites seemed to help most when scouts already had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted to purchase.



Do people seek out or sift through electronics — or any category, for that matter — because of some fundamental aspect of electronics, or because that’s the way the electronics industry targets customers?

We don’t know. But we know you should be thinking about it.

takeaways1

electronics



Any way we slice it, online media (including phones) don’t have a huge impact on back-of-mind modalities like stumbling and surfacing.

In other words, the Internet isn’t great at facilitating discovery.

takeaways

60%

40%digital

physical74%

26%digital

physical

2(a)

StumbleSurface



That said, the emergence of planned stumbling (via curated product subscriptions) is beginning to change the landscape of online discovery.

takeaways

This is a dual lip and cheek stain pencil by Mirenesse. It's a great product! It's a bright, bold, long lasting color...I loved it so much that I ordered a second color a few days after trying this one out. I received this as a sample in my monthly Birchbox subscription. It came with a card describing how to use it, and Birchbox also posts great tutorials on many of their product pages...

2(b)



A great number of purchases are socially mediated, though not necessarily by online social networks.

takeaways3

friend

social site 8%

30%

friend

social site 6%

28%

friend

social site 5%

18%

friend

social site 6%

17%



We also suspect that an enormous number of discoveries do not touch the Internet at all.

In other words, our digital metrics aren’t really measuring them.

takeaways4

back of mind

Surface

Stumble



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Health & Medicine

How Millinenials discover new products