As a consumer group, millennials account for an outsized percentage of retail spending. This generation represents 25.5% of the Wilmington area population but almost one-third of metro-area sales.
All in, Wilmington millennials are expected to ring up more than $5.1 billion in purchases during 2021. You name it, millennials are planning to buy it.
According to Nielsen, over the next 12 months, Wilmington millennials will show up in huge numbers at auto dealerships, furniture stores, mattress stores, appliance stores, home improvement stores, and scores of other area retailers and service providers.
To earn a meaningful share of millennial spending, Wilmington area retailers and small business owners will need to advertise.
“Think you have a great product?” asks the US Small Business Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”
“Advertising, if done correctly," says the SBA, "can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.”
By almost any measurements, the best way to reach local millennials with advertising is on Wilmington radio.
Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington radio reaches nearly 90% of all millennials. This is remarkably more than watch local TV, cable, or streaming video. It's more than use social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. It's more than listen to streaming audio from Pandora and Spotify.
The number of different Wilmington consumers reached by an advertising campaign is crucial to success.
A study, Nielsen discovered the elements of an advertising campaign that had the most potent effect on purchase behavior. The results indicate that reach (the number of different consumers exposed to a campaign) was responsible for driving more sales for the advertiser than branding, recency, context, or targeting. Only the message itself (creative) was more potent.
In addition to superior reach, advertising on Wilmington radio also delivers an extraordinary return-on-investment.
Between April 30 and May 27 of last year, Nielsen analyzed the sales results of a retailer who conducted an advertising campaign during that period using both radio and TV.*
The bottom line of this study: Radio advertising produced a $28,000 increase in sales for every $1000 the retailer spent.
These findings confirm 21 previous studies by Nielsen, which demonstrate that, on average, radio advertising returns $10,000 in advertising for every $1000 invested. The chart below shows the range of returns from each study.
Wilmington millennials defy the stereotypes foisted upon their generation. They are, in fact, hardworking homeowners with families and jobs. But most importantly, these 25-40-year-olds are shaping Wilmington's retail economy.
*Study conducted by Nielsen and commissioned by Cumulus/Westwood One