Generation Y is a demographic coveted by retailers and marketers for their purchasing power. Millennials, the generation born between 1980-2000, will spend more than $200 billion annually starting in 2017, and $10 trillion in their lifetimes. Today, Animoto, the leading online video creation application that empowers anyone to create and share extraordinary videos, announced new data from the 2015 Animoto Online and Social Video Marketing Study that revealed video is no longer optional for brands and businesses looking to market to millennials. The study revealed seven in 10 millennials are likely to watch a video when shopping online and 80 percent of millennials find video helpful when researching a purchase decision online.

In an era defined by instant access, powerful consumer voices and expectations of brand transparency, millennials’ standards are higher for businesses than ever before. Brands must use new mediums and know not only how to reach millennials where they are online, but also according to their preferences in order to tap into that spending power. Animoto surveyed 1,051 U.S. consumers and published an infographic in conjunction with the study.

“There are 80 million millennials in the U.S. alone and their craving for online video as a preferred communication channel is growing” said Brad Jefferson, CEO and co-founder, Animoto. “Video is an effective way for businesses to share their brand voice and story. With accessible video creation tools and platforms, companies of any size can create professional-grade videos to reach the millennial audience and increase business.”

Millennials Use Video to Make Purchase Decisions
Increasing exposure to video has impacted Gen Y’s view on video in the purchasing process. Compared to Baby Boomers, Millennials are 150 percent more likely to comparison shop with video while in-store, and 146 percent more likely to watch a video if it’s available on a company’s site while shopping online, and four in every five millennials find video helpful during initial research for a purchase decision. Brands must strategically incorporate video into their online presence to assist millennials throughout the purchase cycle.

• 85 percent of millennials find product demo videos helpful
• Nearly three-quarters of millennials find video helpful when comparison shopping
• Seven in 10 millennials are likely to watch a company video when shopping online
• 69 percent of millennials find video helpful post-purchase to research additional items from the same company
• Nearly one-third of millennials find it helpful to watch video to learn more about a company before making a purchase
• Millennials are 264 percent more likely to share videos about a product, service or company while shopping online than baby boomers

Video Improves Traditional Marketing to Millennials
Nearly two-thirds of millennials (62 percent) prefer to watch a video from a company instead of reading text, and more than half of millennials are likely to watch a video from a brand if they receive it in an email. With this directive, businesses can incorporate video into traditional components of the marketing mix to effectively reach Gen Y-ers.

• Six in 10 millennials prefer to watch a company video over reading a company newsletter
• 53 percent of millennials are more likely to read a newsletter from a company if video is included

Millennials Connect With Brands On Social Media and Mobile

Businesses must ensure video content is optimized across the devices and channels millennials frequent most. Nearly half of millennials (48 percent) only watch videos on their mobile device. Millennial engagement with brands on social media is high; on Facebook, 84 percent of millennials follow brands.

• 76 percent of millennials follow companies on YouTube
• Nearly half of millennials (47 percent) follow companies or brands on Twitter
• 45 percent of millennials prefer to watch video on their mobile device rather than on a laptop or desktop
• Four in 10 millennials (42 percent) follow companies or brands on Instagram

Animoto makes it easy for businesses to create powerful, professional videos within minutes with no video editing experience. Businesses use Animoto to enhance and promote their brands, drive website traffic, increase sales and create dynamic email, social and online marketing campaigns. For more information go to: http://animoto.com/business.

Animoto Online and Mobile Video Study

Animoto surveyed a representative sample of U.S. adult consumers to learn about their perception and experiences with video marketing as a promotional medium. The web-based survey was fielded February 9-11, 2015 with a sample size of 1,051 (Margin of error +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level). Animoto published additional survey results in a previous report that detailed the steady growth of video marketing.

About Animoto:

Animoto’s award-winning online video maker makes it easy for anyone to create professional video. Used by millions of consumers, businesses, photographers and educators throughout the world, Animoto is deeply rooted in the belief that making videos should be simple, cost-effective, and accessible to everyone. Founded in 2006, Animoto has offices in New York City and San Francisco. For more information about Animoto’s apps for web and mobile, visit animoto.com.

Animoto and Cinematic Technology are registered trademarks of Animoto Inc.