Target Market Research: Millennials and Late Generation X

 This post will contain my research into my target market for my jewellery project. Since my collection will be sold in the library, which is part of the community hub, I will have to take into account what age group visits the library most. 

There are a variety of reasons as to why one might visit a library, it does not have to be to borrow books specifically. One might visit a library to study, to work, to print, to use a pc or simply for social reasons (GOV.UK, 2020). 

Fig. 1. Statista, Public Library Usage in the UK, 2020

This graph shows that for years, the age group 25 to 44 years uses the library most. This means that this particular age group falls into both the millennial and generation x group (Dimock, 2019). I will focus more on this later in this post. 

Library visits have been going down steadily over the years, however, this does not mean that libraries are dying. The motivations for visiting a library has merely shifted for certain groups. With the loss of free time, the rising popularity of e-books and decrease in book pricing, the group that visited the library for the purpose of recreation has decreased in size (Miller-Bakewell, 2016). It can be seen in the graph that the next largest age group is those in early retirement (Age UK, 2024), a group that has acquired more free time, confirming the most common reason behind the decrease in library usage. 

Fig. 2. Peachey, J., Library Use by Households with Children, 2017

Although I can find no concrete evidence on a reason why 25 to 44 year olds use libraries more than any other age group, I was able to find a link between the age of first time parents and the percentage of parents with younger children visiting the library more. First of all, parents with younger children visit the library more often and more frequently (Peachey, 2017), with the percentage of women visiting the library being higher than that of men (Cudworth and Fortnum, 2017). Secondly, the average age of first time mothers is 31 and that of first time fathers 34 (Office for National Statistics, 2024), this falls in the age range of the group that uses the library most. This means that the motivation for this age group to visit the library is having young children. For my target market research, this means that my target market is essentially millennial parents. 

I have done target market research on millennials for my first and second project. From that research I gathered that millennials care about sustainability and are most likely to recommend items to other people. Additionally, millennials are the largest group of buyers on Etsy, a popular online e-commerce platform. The top selling jewellery on Etsy are minimalist jewellery pieces which usually have an option for personalisation, such as adding text or different colours (Alura, 2024). This assures me that aiming for a minimalist style will fall within the millennial taste. The purchasing power of millennials is growing, however, they prefer to spend more on experiences rather than items (Experian, 2019). This means that items should remain affordable, including my jewellery collection, for millennials to be interested in spending money on them. The purchasing power of millennial parents is significantly lower as the cost of living is crippling to them (Office for National Statistics, 2022). However, people from a higher socio-economic group visit libraries more often (Peachey, 2017), meaning that their purchasing power is higher.

 Generation x has a lot more purchasing power and are not afraid to use it. This generation has the highest  amount of disposable income out of all the generations and show the largest percentage of spending (Experian, 2019). This generation still prefers to shop in person, in contrary to millennials (Koufogazos, 2024). Additionally, gen x strives to support local brands (Savage, 2023). This will benefit setting up shop in a library.

 This research shows that I should focus on millenials and late generation x as my target market. Millennials and generation x visit libraries more frequently and have more and increasing purchasing power. As always, I should focus on sustainability and spending as little as possible on materials to keep the final price down. This can be done by sourcing my materials from charity shops and upcycling. 

Update:

An article by J.B. Horrigan for Pew Research Center (2016) confirms that the results of my research are similar in the US.

 References:

 Age UK (2024). The new State Pension | Pensions | Age Cymru. [online] Age UK. Available at: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/cymru/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/state-pension/#:~:text=From%20April%202021%2C%20State%20Pension [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Alura (2024). Best Selling Etsy Jewelry Items - Updated today. [online] www.alura.io. Available at: https://www.alura.io/best-selling-etsy-items/jewelry [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Cudworth, K. and Fortnum, J. (2017). Evidencing Libraries Audience Reach Research findings and analysis. [online] The Audience Agency. Available at: https://www.theaudienceagency.org/asset/1998 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024]. 

Experian (2019). Spending Power Index 2019. [online] Available at: https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/product-factsheets/Experian_SpendingPowerIndex_whitepaper.pdf [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

GOV.UK (2020). Libraries - Taking Part Survey 2019/20. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taking-part-201920-libraries/libraries-taking-part-survey-201920 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024]. 

Koufogazos, M. (2024). Millennials vs. Gen X: Shopping Habits | Salsify. [online] www.salsify.com. Available at: https://www.salsify.com/blog/shopping-habits-millennials-vs.-gen-x [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Miller-Bakewell, H. (2016). Changing patterns of library use - DCMS Libraries. [online] dcmslibraries.blog.gov.uk. Available at: https://dcmslibraries.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/10/changing-patterns-of-library-use/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2024). Birth characteristics in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics. [online] www.ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/birthcharacteristicsinenglandandwales/2022 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024]. 

Office for National Statistics (2022). Parents more likely to report increases in their cost of living - Office for National Statistics. [online] www.ons.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure/articles/parentsmorelikelytoreportincreasesintheircostofliving/2022-09-07 [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Peachey, J. (2017). English data about attitudes to and use of public libraries 2011–2016. [online] Carnegie UK. Available at: https://d1ssu070pg2v9i.cloudfront.net/pex/carnegie_uk_trust/2017/04/England-Shining-a-Light.pdf [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024]. 

Horrigan, J.B. (2016). Library usage and engagement by Americans. [online] Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/09/library-usage-and-engagement/ [Accessed 14 Aug. 2024].

Savage, M. (2023). Whatever, Nevermind: Gen X years, stats, work, spending trends. [online] The Future of Commerce. Available at: https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2023/11/01/generation-x-definition-years-stats-work-spending-trends/ [Accessed 2 Aug. 2024].

Image References:

Fig. 1. Statista (2020). Public library usage in England 2011-2019, by age . Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/295285/public-library-usage-uk-england-by-age/ [Accessed 14 Aug. 2024].

Fig. 2. Peachey, J. (2017). Library Use by Households with Children. Carnegie UK. Available at: https://d1ssu070pg2v9i.cloudfront.net/pex/carnegie_uk_trust/2017/04/England-Shining-a-Light.pdf [Accessed 14 Aug. 2024].