Study: Millennials do more, Gen Xers spend more time via mobile

Mobile devices grow more common every day but there is new data showing how small differences in mobile habits are setting the generations apart. For example, Millennials are doing more via mobile than ever before, but Gen Xers are spending more overall time on their mobile devices.

by Kristina Knight

Turns out brands may want to approach different generations in different ways, especially in the mobile space. According to new data out from Nielsen both Millennials and Gen Xers are doing a lot via mobile, but how they are accomplishing their tasks set them apart. For example, Millennials are multitasking more via mobile, using shorter mobile sessions to complete more tasks, but Gen Xers are spending more overall time on mobile devices.

Other interesting findings include:

• Men are most likely to access mobile on the go, women are more likely to access at home
• Men spend more overall time on mobiles, women spend more time per session on mobiles
• Boomers are most likely to know what they want at the start of a session
• 1 in 4 Millennials base buying decisions on price, 1 in 5 Boomers base purchase decisions on brand preference

"Our study provides a quintessential guide to better understand how people use mobile devices and how their habits inform their purchase decisions," said Monica Ho, SVP of Marketing at xAd, Inc. "As a media channel, mobile may just be the missing link that marketers need to influence customers and drive them to the point of purchase."

"Mobile habits vary among consumers, so ad campaigns cannot be one size fits all," said Bill Dinan, president of Telmetrics. "To capitalize on the diverse mobile experience, it is critical that mobile marketers leverage specific profile insights such as age, gender, category or device usage to drive stronger engagement."

The study was commissioned by xAd and Telmetrics.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: mcommerce, mobile marketing, mobile trends, mobile users, Nielsen, xAd