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ways in which millennial priorities and
realities are unique to previous genera-
tions. All generations are unique, and
Generation Z will likely bring entirely new
characteristics to marketers’ attention.
Rather, it’s an acknowledgement of how
younger generations are almost always
viewed by their elders as “different,” if
not “weird and demented.” So we have
to wonder how much of millennial behav-
ior, beyond new-technology-driven differ-
ences, so far can be attributed largely to
youth, or the realities and perceptions of
youth versus those of adulthood.
Nonetheless, the possibility of
America’s largest generation settling
into homes and having children could
be great news for outdoor participation.
For starters, the rate of participation in
outdoor activities among U.S. female
adults hits a peak around the ages of
26 to 30 years old. For adult males,
participation rates peak around 31 to 35
years old, show the Outdoor Industry
Association’s latest figures. OIA data
also shows that adults with children in
their households participate in out-
door recreation at a higher rate (54
percent) than adults without children
(40 percent), and parents with children
ages six to 12 participated at a slightly
higher rate than parents of other aged
kids. Make no mistake, huge numbers
of potential participants will be added to
those age groups as millennials age.
What’s more, it’s been pretty well
established that most people initially get
introduced to outdoor activities by their
parents, so a growing base of millennial
parents brings with it a growing group
of potential, young participants. And it
shouldn’t be hard to make the case to new
and concerned millennial parents how
nature-based time and recreation posi-
tively impact childhood development.
Studies have shown that children who
spend time in natural or “green” settings
not only are fitter and leaner, but they
develop stronger immune systems along
with reduced cases of myopia (near sight-
edness), play more creatively, test better
in school, are more socially adjusted
and deal with stress better. Research
published in the American Journal of Pub-
lic Health also linked outdoor activities to
reduced ADHD symptoms.
Already within the industry, there is a
movement to position outdoor recreation
as preventive health care. Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Alabama and BlueCross
BlueShield of Tennessee, as examples,
are sponsoring content on RootsRated
in their respective states in the hopes of
encouraging subscribers to get outside
and be active, thereby helping to reduce
many common health ailments com-
pounded by lack of exercise. Similarly,
a recent article in
National Geographic
highlighted Dr. Nooshin Razani, a
pediatric physician at Children’s Hospi-
tal in Oakland, Calif., who has noted a
connection between nature experiences
and health. Nooshin is training pedia-
tricians in an outpatient clinic to write
prescriptions for young patients and their
families to visit nearby parks.
No doubt these are compelling mes-
sages to a group of consumers whose
priorities are shifting from self-expres-
sion and wanderlust to rearing healthy
and happy offspring.
Services such as Uber and Spotify and the emergence of concept such as
the sharing and experiential economies certainly have changed the need or
desire for some young people to buy and own lots of stuff. Even so, as this
feature article illustrates, surveys suggest millennials still hold desires to own
the biggest item of all: a house.
Millennials are also buying more cars as they move into adulthood. The
Echo Boomer generation purchased 4 million cars and trucks last year,
according to the Associated Press, and their share of the new-car market is at
a record 28 percent.
What’s more, a look at spending by category shows only nominal variation
between millennials and other generations, according to data compiled by
JP Morgan. Perhaps the biggest difference is the percentage of dollars going
toward groceries versus restaurants, part of Americans’ ongoing shift from
cooking at home toward dining out. Otherwise, millennials spend noticeably
less on home improvement, but economist expect that to change as more
millennials approach home-buying age and the financial security to take on a
mortgage. And those home improvement dollars are expected to move largely
from the dining and entertainment (experience) categories.
Millennial
Purchasing Myth
Source: Outdoor Industry Association
Average annual spend per customer
Source: OIA
20%
10%
0%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2015 Participation in Outdoor Activities, by Ag
Males
Females
6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40
Age
41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-66 66+
Source: JPMorgan
Spend category distribution by generation
(credit + debit cards, 2015)
Travel
Experiences
34%
28%
Entertainment
Dining
Home improvement
Transportation/fuel
Grocery
Retail
Other
Millennials
$20.0k
Non-Millennials
$24.8k
6%
12%
16%
3%
12%
15%
19%
17%
7%
10%
11%
6%
11%
18%
20%
19%
Inside
Outdoor
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Winter
2017
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