Profiling Nigeria’s Millennials

Introduction

Those with birth years ranging from 1980 to the early 1990s are referred to as millennials, Generation Y-ers or Gen Y. Currently aged between 25 and 35, they make up 39% of Nigeria’s consumer market and have a lot of power when it comes to purchasing decisions.

Based on Nigeria’s last population census, the number of millennials in the country is about 67 million (Which is equivalent to the combined population of Ghana, Cameroon and Niger).

Nigerian millennials also make up a fairly high portion of the country’s workforce. Millennials are in early adulthood and are therefore making decisions around jobs, starting and growing their own families and making investments.

For retailers, product and service developers and marketers, understanding the behavior and preferences of this class of consumers could determine who dominates the business landscape.

As part of our quest to understand the behavior of Nigerian consumers, BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), a consultancy within the BusinessDay Group, conducted a nationwide survey. Part of the results specific to millennials is reported below.

Among other things, the survey was designed to find out what influences the purchasing decisions of millennials, how they use new and conventional media and get entertained. It also focused on what millennials earning, save and their consumption pattern.

Income, consumption and savings habits

Most millennials earn a salary or sustain themselves by running small businesses. Their average monthly earning is between N41,000 and N100,000. Thirty-five percent of those we surveyed earn in that range.

Overall, while 70 percent earn incomes either as wages or salaries, 14 percent have a part of their income coming from return on investment. But a few still depend on grants from parents, friends and other sources to survive.

As expected, there is a strong correlation between income and savings. The monthly saving of those we surveyed clusters around N5,000  and N10,000 ; Forty percent of them save within this range, while a few outliers save as much as between N40,000 and N100,000 monthly (See Chart 2).

Most millennials do not make purchases because of celebrity endorsements. They however warm up to products that conform to their convictions.

They are especially drawn to products and services that are provided by companies that are environmentally friendly and respect the wellbeing of people in their business environment. They also value companies that are committed to CSR (See charts 3 and 10).

Their purchasing priorities include food, clothing, household utilities, mobile devices, electronics and major items like cars or saving for mortgage.

Half of those who took the survey say they have shopped on the internet in the past one year. Their major purchases online include clothing (28%), home appliances and electronics (22%), phones and cameras (17%), music (16%) and books and educational material (14%).

Comparing gender with online purchasing habits, a higher percentage of females purchase clothing online than males, while a greater percentage of males purchase phones and electronic appliances online. Few buy food items through this medium.

The most popular online retailers among those surveyed are Jumia (77%), Konga (50%), Dealdey (45%), and Amazone (22%). Respondents say they have transacted with these retailers at least once in the last 12 months (see chart 4 and 5).

Millennials and the new global campfire

It is now indisputable that millennials have a new global campfire which brings them together daily: the internet. But certain aspects of the internet attract more millennials than others.

When we asked the millennials what they are most likely to be doing on the internet on any day, 77 percent said “checking out social media,”63 per cent said “catching up on local and international news,” half of them said, “official work,” while 26 percent and 34 percent respectively said either “checking out entertainment/celebrity gossip” or “catching up on sports.” (See Chart 6)

The social media outlets of choice include, new entrant, What’sApp, as well as well established players like facebook, twitter and BBM. Facebook remains the most popular and potent “mass appeal” advertising social media platform, based on the number of Nigerians on it.

At present at least 17.5 million Nigerians are active on facebook monthly. (Of this number, 34 percent are females while 66 per cent are males.) Millennials make up 38% of Nigeria’s monthly facebook traffic.

Specifically, 2.38 million male and 4.3 million female who are millanials from Nigeria are active on facebook. The only age group that exceeds the number of active millennials on facebook is the 18-23 year olds age bracket (There are 6.8 million 18-23 year olds on facebook in Nigeria). As a corollary, Ghana’s total active population on facebook is just 3.75 million.

Lagos accounts for 35 percent of all facebook users in Nigeria while Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Benin City come next accounting for 9 percent, 5 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent of activity respectively.

Apart from social media sites, the survey gives indication of the consumption pattern for other websites across gender. While 37 percent of males sampled resort to websites for news on sports, only 19 per cent of their female counterparts do so.

On the other hand, while 36 percent of females resort to checking websites for celebrity gossip and entertainment news, only 26 per cent of their male counterparts do the same. There is however a balanced percentage of usage across gender when it comes official work and research (see Chart 7).

There is evidence than unlike a few years ago, more millennials are on the internet for longer. The average millennials who has internet access is online for at least five hours daily based on the survey, while 22 percent of them are online throughout the day.

Only 17 per cent have less than two hours of internet access daily. Based on the comments of respondents, most of them would like to be on the internet for longer, but cost remains a major constraint.

Millennials and conventional media

Traditional media still plays a major role in informing millennials. While television is still the prime source of local news, radio, blogs and other websites are equally important.

Mornings and evening are the major times millennials are attentive to mainstream media. Therefore advertises can maximize Ad. spend by targeting them on both television and radio within this time frame. In the afternoons, the internet may be a better alternative, especially for the working class.

A larger portion of those we surveyed listen to the radio when they are commuting, while they watch television in the evenings. Few watch TV in the afternoon.

Leisure and entertainment

The number of recreational outlet available to most Nigerians is limited, coupled with the current economic realities, a high proportion of millennials resort to getting entertained by either watching television or movies.  Also, a high percentage just listen to music to unwind.

It is amazing to note that fewer millennials club that it would appear on the surface. Chatting on social media and attending events also hold a strong position in the scheme of things (see chart 13).

Since television and movies play a major role in entertaining millennials, we tried to find out the kind of movies they like and what attracts them to a Nigerian movie.

The most preferred kind of movie are action movies. This is true for both males and females. Romance, crime, and historical movies are also considered highly. But horror movies are the least preferred (see Chart 13).

With particular reference to Nigerian movies, there are a number of factors which attract millenials. The most potent of which is the cast. What we discovered is that there is the assumption that a movie is good if a particular actor or actress features in it.

The story line is equally very important, while quality of sound and picture also go a long way in attracting interest. The name of the producer is less important (See chart 15). The survey contains many other important bits of information which are relevant to advertisers, product developers and research.

Survey Methodology

The information provided above is based on analysis of data gotten from distributed questionnaires and focus group discussions. The research process was completed between July 10 and August 15, 2015.

A random sample of 1,000 adults, aged 18+, living in Nigeria were handed questionniares. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

What is published above specifically refers to the information gathered from those within the 25-35 years age bracket. Results for other age classes will be released subsequently.

Several factors were put into consideration in selecting individuals who took the survey, care was taken to minimize sampling bias by making the selection process random. Analysis was done using SPSS and Microsoft Excel.

Questionnaire distribution and analysis was undertaken by researchers at BRIU, which is a consultancy within the BusinessDay Group. BRIU conducts focus group discussions, surveys, writes business plans and conducts other forms of marketing research for clients. We can be reached on [email protected]/en.

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