TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MENAs Sort-of-Grownups, as Digital Users, as Consumers

SEPTEMBER 2013

Mark Dolliver

Contributors: Christine Bittar, Jennifer Pearson, Monica Peart

Read this on eMarketer for iPad

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2

CONTENTS2 Executive Summary

3 More ‘Young’ Than ‘Men’?

5 A Digital Cohort

8 Millennial Men as Shoppers

13 Conclusions

13 eMarketer Interviews

14 Related eMarketer Reports

14 Related Links

14 Editorial and Production Contributors

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Millennial males in the US have earned a reputation

as laggards—less educated than young women of

their generation, less ambitious than men of prior

generations and seemingly content to drift through

a prolonged adolescence. To their elders (and to

many exasperated young women), they’re lazy, if not

outright losers.

But that’s not how today’s young men regard themselves. Currently earning more on average than their female counterparts (a state of affairs that likely won’t last), they are generally happier with their careers than are women their age. And amid much talk about struggles with the breakdown of traditional gender roles, plenty of millennial men seem happy to encroach on once-female precincts like cooking and fashion. Moreover, digital knowhow is important to young men, a proficiency many have come to see as a modern-day form of male prowess. Gluttons for entertainment, young men consume much of it in digital form. And they also deploy digital technologies as shoppers, capitalizing on the convenience they offer.

This report will examine the basic state of millennial males, as others see it and as they feel it themselves. It will look at this cohort’s digital usage, notably in its mobile and social networking aspects. And it will examine young men’s shopping behavior, including how they feel about marketing content aimed at them.

KEY QUESTIONS ■ Are young men really lagging behind young

women? Do they care?

■ What role do digital technologies play in millennial

men’s lives? Have online pursuits shoved offline

pastimes aside?

■ How do young men feel about shopping? How

do online and mobile shopping fit into their

purchase practices?

millions and % of male population ages 18-34

Key eMarketer Numbers: US Males Ages 18-34, 2013 & 2017

Internet users34.7 (91.9%)

36.8 (95.4%)

Social network users29.8 (78.8%)

33.3 (86.4%)

Smartphone users26.4 (70.0%)

35.5 (92.1%)

Tablet users18.7 (49.6%)

22.0 (57.2%)

2013 2017

Note: internet users are individuals who use the internet from any locationvia any device at least once per month; social network users are internetusers who use social networks via any device at least once per month;smartphone users are individuals who own at least one smartphone anduse the smartphone(s) at least once per month; tablet users are individualswho use a tablet at least once per monthSource: eMarketer, Sep 2013163259 www.eMarketer.com

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3

MORE ‘YOUNG’ THAN ‘MEN’?

When people say “30 is the new 20,” it is seldom

meant as a compliment to today’s young men. A

whole academic discipline of “emerging adulthood”

has grown up around young men’s apparent

disinclination to grow up. Even Hollywood has gotten

into the act, with movies that mine humor from

millennial males’ extended adolescence.

It is all too easy to accumulate data that shows young men in the US falling by the wayside. The US Department of Education found men receiving just 41% of the bachelor’s degrees conferred in the US in the academic year 2012 to 2013, turning what had been a minor disparity a generation ago into a yawning gap. An August 2013 Pew Research Center report, citing 2012 data, said 40% of US men ages 18 to 31, vs. 32% of US women in that same age group, were living in their parents’ home—a figure Pew described as “the highest share in at least four decades.” A 2012 Pew report, based on 2010 and 2011 polling, noted that US men ages 18 to 34 were less likely than US women their age (59% vs. 66%) to say “being successful in a high-paying career or profession” was a priority.

Then there’s 2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing young men less likely than young women in the US to have health insurance (33% vs. 24% in the 25-to-34 age bracket) and more likely to indulge in binge drinking (39% vs. 25% in the 18-to-24 age cohort). Consistent with all of the above, a February 2013 survey for FleishmanHillard and Hearst Magazines found US men in the 21-to-34 age group less likely than US women in that age group (54% vs. 70%) to describe themselves as “smart.”

“They don’t see the same opportunities their dads and grandfathers did,” said Barbara Ray, founder of HiredPen, a policy research communications company, and co-author of the book “Not Quite Adults: Why 20-Somethings Are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood, and Why It’s Good for All Of Us.” “I think they feel the rug has been pulled out from under them on some levels.” Young women “have surged ahead” because they’re a better fit for a postindustrial era, which rewards “nose-to-the-grindstone education,” Ray added.

Even before entering the workforce, today’s young men may have felt like their generation’s also-rans. “When they were going through their formative years, there was so much emphasis on the other gender,” said Jessica Blumenthal, managing editor of The Trendera Files trend study, which publishes a weekly email newsletter. (Trendera is a marketing and research company that specializes in analyzing younger adults.) She sees millennial men “really trying to figure out what it means to be a man in today’s society when there was so much emphasis placed on women when they were growing up and going through school.”

DOWN, BUT NOT OUT Not all of the data about young men in the US points in a sorry direction, however. Though they suffered badly during the recent “mancession”—when the US financial downturn wreaked havoc on male-dominated employment sectors—many have regained jobs since then. In the 25-to-34 age group, unemployment for US men has been on par with that of US women in recent months, though it has remained higher for men ages 20 to 24. Nine in 10 US men ages 25 to 34 (i.e., those beyond the traditional college age) were in the workforce as of 2010, according to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, vs. about three-quarters of US women in that same age group.

Moreover, the most recent gender-and-age breakdown from the BLS shows median weekly income for young men in the US is significantly higher than for young women. This may not last, as the female skew in educational attainment exerts its long-term effects on average earnings. But for now, young men can feel they’re holding their own.

Median Weekly Earnings of US Workers, by Demographic, Q2 2013

Male Female Total

16-19

20-24

25-34

Total (16+)

Number ofworkers(millions)

0.6

4.7

14.2

58.2

Medianweekly

earnings

$373

$492

$731

$860

Number ofworkers(millions)

0.4

3.6

10.8

46.0

Medianweekly

earnings

$326

$440

$670

$707

Number ofworkers(millions)

1.1

8.3

25.0

104.2

Medianweekly

earnings

$362

$472

$706

$776

Note: full-time wage and salary workers; not seasonally adjusted; excludesself-employment incomeSource: US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Usual WeeklyEarnings of Wage and Salary Workers, Second Quarter 2013," July 18, 2013162238 www.eMarketer.com

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 4

The higher paycheck also yields higher job satisfaction. In the FleishmanHillard/Hearst Magazines survey, 54% of young men rated themselves as extremely or very satisfied with their careers, compared with 35% of young women. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll, data collected between February 2012 and August 2012 showed 31% of US men ages 18 to 29 agreeing “strongly” and 28% agreeing “somewhat” with the statement, “I believe I will be more successful than my parents were.” The figures were somewhat lower for young women, with 25% agreeing strongly and 27% agreeing somewhat to the above sentiment. So while millennial men may seem naïve about their long-term prospects, they’re not exactly lacking in confidence or wallowing in despair.

In fact, Clark University’s April 2012 polling of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US found the women more prone than the men to feel low. Twenty-seven percent of the males and 37% of the females said they “often feel depressed”; 53% of the men and 58% of the women “often feel anxious.” The report also found somewhat more emotional neediness among women in their digital behavior: 56% of them, vs. 47% of the men, “rely a lot on the support I get from friends and family through email, texting and social networking websites.”

Older people might assume a 28-year-old man who lives with his parents feels like a loser. But that’s not necessarily the case nowadays. “This is the older generation imposing our own horror at the idea of living with our parents,” Ray said. In fact, young men (and women) may see living at the parental home as a sign of financial acumen. “They’re staying at home not necessarily because they have to, but because it’s a smart approach for them,” said Alex Abraham, senior vice president at public relations firm Edelman and director of its 8095 Millennial Insights Group. “They can save more money that way, pay off debts that way, learn from some of those mistakes their parents perhaps made and better position themselves for success.”

ENJOYING THE NEW MASCULINITY No doubt some young men are filled with angst about shifting ideas of what masculinity means today. There are also indications, though, that many are comfortable with the evolution of gender roles.

“It’s really about the rise of gender neutrality,” said Joe Kessler, president of Creative Artists Agency-owned research firm The Intelligence Group, which publishes the Cassandra Report on young consumers. The erosion of hard-and-fast notions of gender enables today’s young adults to “curate their own identity,” he said. “They have the opportunity to create their own mosaic as it relates to how they want to project their own personality, particularly through social media, but also in the things they wear, the actions they take and the experiences they invest in.”

One sees this as young men enjoy activities that used to be largely the province of women. Cooking is a prime example. In an interview with JWTIntelligence, Jon Berry, vice president of GfK Consumer Trends, cited research from his firm that showed food and cooking had nearly caught up with cars in the hierarchy of men’s interests. “So, in a sense, what’s happening is that the garage has moved inside, and it’s the kitchen now where men are finding expressions of masculinity,” he said.

Just as striking has been young men’s embrace of fashion and grooming as suitable areas of masculine interest. A JWTIntelligence survey in May 2013 found young male internet users in the US more open than their older male counterparts to a range of nontraditional men’s grooming products and practices.

% of respondents in each group

Acceptable* Grooming Habits According to US MaleInternet Users, by Generation, May 2013

Baby boomer(48-67)

Skincare 48%

Waxing/hair removal 24%

Facials 21%

Foundation 4%

Eyeliner 1%

None of these

Millennial(18-34)

62%

48%

31%

17%

8%

14%

Gen X(35-47)

47%

36%

20%

2%

5%

27% 25%

Note: not all responses included; responses omitted were bronzer,concealer, eyebrow waxing, fake tan, lip balm, nail varnish; *for men to useor doSource: JWTIntelligence, "The State of Men," June 5, 2013161452 www.eMarketer.com

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All in all, young men in the US as a group don’t appear to feel beaten down, even if their elders think they should feel that way. Their relative contentment with life might mean they have lower standards than young women and other people, but it’s contentment nonetheless. This is clearly not “a man’s world” in the way it used to be. Young men’s lag in educational attainment today will likely exact its toll over the next several decades. Still, they may not mind letting “leaning-in” women be the ones to develop ulcers and keel over with early coronaries, as ambitious men have done for generations. On their own terms, they may feel it’s still a man’s world after all.

A DIGITAL COHORT

Young men in the US haven’t been slow to adopt

digital technologies. Indeed, digital proficiency is a

trait by which many define themselves.

In February 2013 polling by Telefonica and the Financial Times among 18- to 30-year-olds in North America, men were more likely than women to see themselves on the “cutting edge” of technology.

% of total

Internet Users Ages 18-30 in North America WhoConsider Themselves on the "Cutting Edge" ofTechnology, by Gender, Feb 2013

Female17% 53% 25% 5%

Strongly agreeSomewhat agree

Somewhat disagreeStrongly disagree

Source: Telefonica and the Financial Times, "Global Millennial Survey," June 4, 2013162421 www.eMarketer.com

Male29% 58% 12%1%

Along with young women, young men are in the vanguard of mobile and social adoption. They also devote plenty of attention—too much, their detractors would say—to digital games and video. More broadly, October 2012 polling by Harris Interactive for nRelate found US male internet users ages 18 to 34 more likely than US female internet users in that age group (45% vs. 30%) to spend at least six hours per week seeking digital content that interested them.

THOSE MOBILE YOUNG MEN Young men are far more likely than adults in general to have a smartphone, though a shade less likely than young women. eMarketer estimates that by the end of this year, seven in 10 US men ages 18 to 34 will be smartphone users.

% of population in each group

US Smartphone User Penetration for Females andMales Ages 18-34 vs. Total Adults, 2013

Female 18-34 71.8%

Male 18-34 70.0%

Total 18+ 52.6%

Note: individuals who own at least one smartphone and use thesmartphone(s) at least once per monthSource: eMarketer, Sep 2013163238 www.eMarketer.com

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Mere penetration numbers, however, don’t express the degree to which young men (and young women) have integrated smartphone usage into their lives. February 2013 polling by Ipsos MediaCT and TNS Infratest on behalf of Google gave a detailed picture of the many activities US male smartphone owners regularly perform on those devices. During the seven days before being queried, 67% of 18- to 24-year-old males and 56% of 25- to 34-year-old males accessed a social network; those same age groups also browsed the internet (78% and 68%, respectively) and searched for restaurants and bars (39% and 30%).

App usage also reflects young men’s reliance on smartphones. Among the male respondents ages 18 to 24, the average number of apps on their smartphone was 35, of which they actively used 14. In the 25-to-34 group, men with smartphones had an average of 35 apps and actively used 13.

For a sizeable minority of young men in the US, smartphone ownership has not sated the desire for electronic gadgetry. One-third of US male internet users ages 18 to 34 were tablet owners in June 2013, according to a survey for Viamedia by Harris Interactive.

% of respondents in each group

Mobile Device Ownership Among US MillennialInternet Users, by Gender, June 2013

Female Male Total

Smartphone 80% 72% 76%

Tablet 32% 34% 33%

Standard mobile phone 18% 26% 22%

Ereader 20% 20% 20%

Other 5% 8% 7%

None 3% 6% 5%

Note: ages 18-34Source: Viamedia, "2013 Television & Advertising Survey" conducted byHarris Interactive, July 17, 2013161521 www.eMarketer.com

There’s no reason to think those tablets are gathering dust. When polling for Belkin by Harris Interactive in December 2012 asked US millennial internet users about the device they anticipated using most during 2013, 23% of males picked the tablet.

THEY’RE SOCIAL, TOO As with smartphone adoption, young men in the US are much more likely than US adults in general to use social networks, although a bit less likely than the country’s young women to do so. eMarketer estimates that nearly eight in 10 US men ages 18 to 34 will be social networkers by the end of this year.

% of population in each group

US Social Network User Penetration for Females andMales Ages 18-34 vs. Total Adults, 2013

Female 18-34 84.2%

Male 18-34 78.8%

Total 18+ 57.4%

Note: social network users are internet users who use social networks viaany device at least once per monthSource: eMarketer, Sep 2013163252 www.eMarketer.com

Both sides of that story are evident in the Reuters/Ipsos poll. Looking at the results for February through early August 2013, one sees few male internet users ages 18 to 29 shunning Facebook, while more than four in 10 used it “throughout the day.” Large as that latter number is, though, it’s considerably smaller than the proportion of young women (six in 10) who said the same. There was a narrower gap between the numbers of young men and women using it at least once a month.

% of respondents

Frequency with Which US Millennial Internet UsersAccess Facebook, by Gender, Aug 2013

Female Male

Continuously throughout the day 60.7% 43.8%

Once a day 15.8% 18.2%

A few times a week 7.6% 10.9%

Once a week 2.9% 5.4%

A few times a month 2.5% 3.8%

Once a month 1.1% 1.5%

Less than once a month 2.1% 3.0%

Don't use 7.4% 13.4%

Total

53.1%

16.9%

9.0%

4.0%

3.1%

1.3%

2.5%

10.1%

Note: ages 18-29; numbers may not add up to 100% due to roundingSource: Reuters and Ipsos, Aug 9, 2013163101 www.eMarketer.com

The same survey found young men a shade more likely than young women to say they used Twitter throughout the day, at 16.8% vs. 14.4%. Frequent Twitter usage is not the norm, though, even in this age group: 45.9% of the men and 50.6% of the women reported not using it at all.

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Young men skip some social networks that have a substantial following among young women. Polling by Burst Media in March 2013 among US internet users found 25.5% of women ages 18 to 34 had a Pinterest account, vs. 3.6% of men that age. Likewise, 20.8% of the young women said they used Instagram, vs. 8.4% of the young men.

There are also stylistic differences in the ways younger males and females use social networks. “One reason young men go to social media is to prove to their friends that they’re funny,” Trendera’s Blumenthal said. By contrast, she said, young women “are looking for a sense of connection” in their social usage. “They don’t see social media primarily as a platform to prove that they’re funny.”

February 2013 polling from the Urban Land Institute and ULI Foundation of 18- to 35-year-old internet users in the US yielded another perspective on the space social networking occupies in young men’s lives. Asked to identify the free-time activities they engaged in most frequently, 28% of men (along with 33% of women) cited online social networking.

% of respondents in each group

Most Frequent Free-Time Activities According to USMillennial Internet Users, by Gender, Feb 2013

Male Female

Watch TV 58% 54%

Listen to/play music 43% 39%

Play computer games 42% 21%

Spend time with friends 41% 43%

Spend time with family 38% 57%

Read 29% 47%

Online social networking 28% 33%

Go to the gym, exercise, indoor sports 25% 17%

Cooking 16% 29%

Shop online 16% 21%

Shop in stores 11% 24%

Note: male n=617; female n=634; ages 18-35; activities listed were cited byat least 20% of the total sample; respondents could choose up to fiveactivitiesSource: Urban Land Institute and ULI Foundation, "Generation Y: Shoppingand Entertainment in the Digital Age," May 17, 2013161458 www.eMarketer.com

As one would expect, there is a strong mobile component to young men’s social networking: In the Burst Media survey, 46.2% of male respondents said a mobile device was their “primary” means of access to social accounts. More specifically, 49.5% said they used smartphones to access their social accounts.

KEEPING THEMSELVES ENTERTAINED Millennial men are voracious consumers of entertainment, and they rely on digital technology to provide plenty of it. Electronic games and digital video are conspicuous examples of this.

True to stereotype, today’s young men were twice as likely as young women (42% vs. 21%) to cite playing computer games among their frequent free-time activities in the Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation survey. On the simpler question of whether one is a gamer, young men have ceased to be outliers, as gaming has caught on with both sexes and (to some extent) across the age spectrum. A survey for payment company PlaySpan last December by Frank N. Magid Associates found young men overindexing as a share of the total US gamer population, but not by a vast margin.

% of total

Demographic Profile of US Video Gamers vs.Nongamers, Dec 2012

Gamers(n=601)

Nongamers(n=115)

Total(n=743)

Male13-17 7% 1% 6%

18-24 9% 6% 8%

25-34 14% 3% 12%

35-44 12% 11% 11%

45-54 10% 22% 12%

Female13-17 6% 3% 6%

18-24 8% 7% 8%

25-34 12% 9% 12%

35-44 11% 15% 11%

45-54 11% 24% 14%

Race/ethnicityWhite 62% 77% 64%

Hispanic 18% 10% 17%

Black 12% 4% 11%

Asian 5% 3% 5%

Other 3% 5% 3%

Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to roundingSource: PlaySpan, "Video Game Business Models and Emerging TrendsAmong Consumers" conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, March 27,2013155018 www.eMarketer.com

When it comes to viewing digital video, young men (and young women) in the US overindex for that practice, too. In the Google polling of US smartphone owners, 35% of 18- to 24-year-old men and 40% of women in that same age group said they watched video on their smartphone daily. In the 25-to-34 group, the figure rose to 44% among men but fell to 27% among women.

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Further indication of young men’s interest in digital video is apparent in the nRelate/Harris Interactive survey. In that study, men ages 18 to 34 watched an average of 2.6 videos per session, vs. 2.0 for 18- to 34-year-old women and 1.7 for total respondents.

While young men have a hearty appetite for digital diversions, they have not cloistered themselves with virtual pursuits and abandoned the real world. In the Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation survey, men were more likely than women (44% vs. 27%) to report going out to the movies at least a couple times a month. Similarly, men were more likely than the women (34% vs. 18%) to dine out “with your spouse/partner and/or friends” at least several times a week.

Young men, it seems, are omnivores in the ways they keep themselves entertained, layering the online atop the offline.

MILLENNIAL MEN AS SHOPPERS

As the average age of first marriage increases, US

men are spending more of their lives as the primary

(or sole) shopper in their households. While they may

eventually turn shopping duties over to a spouse—or

try to—that day has yet to come for many.

It’s just as well, then, that young men do not hate shopping. In DDB Worldwide data from January 2013, cited in Adweek, 52% of US men ages 18 to 34 characterized shopping as “a form of entertainment.” The Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation survey of millennial internet users found that while males were less likely than females to “love” shopping, a majority said they found it enjoyable.

% of respondents

Primary Attitude Toward Shopping According to USMillennial Internet Users, by Gender, Feb 2013

Male29% 51% 15% 5%

Love to shopShop when necessary, and I enjoy itShopping is a necessary chore; I can deal with itHate shopping

Note: n=1,251 ages 18-35; numbers may not add up to 100% due toroundingSource: Urban Land Institute and ULI Foundation, "Generation Y: Shoppingand Entertainment in the Digital Age," May 17, 2013161457 www.eMarketer.com

Female44% 45% 9%

3%

Total37% 48% 12%

4%

This needn’t mean millennial men spend endless hours in stores. Summing up findings of its “2012–2013 Consumer Food Shopping Survey,” CBD Marketing offered this observation on young men vs. young women: “Millennial men are significantly more likely to shop quickly and spontaneously, largely driven by convenience.” In the Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation survey, just 11% of millennial males (vs. 24% of millennial females) cited “shop in stores” when listing their most frequent free-time activities. The tally was closer in the numbers citing “shop online”—16% of the men and 21% of the women.

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 9

Amid differences in shopping style, one thing many young men and women in the US share is an aversion to spending freely. “This is not a spendthrift generation,” HiredPen’s Ray said. The recession had a “sobering” effect, she noted, explaining: “The value of a dollar suddenly became very clear to them.” Moreover, millennials’ caution about money sometimes takes the form of avoiding credit cards. “A lot of them are rejecting the idea of credit cards,” The Intelligence Group’s Kessler said, which often means “they don’t have a credit rating.”

Meanwhile, their facility with digital technology gives millennials the tools to get the most for their money. “They have a lot more resources at their fingertips to be frugal,” said Jen Handley, co-creator and COO of research firm Fizziology. “So it’s not about going from physical store to physical store. It’s about shopping from site to site and finding the best deal.”

Economizing makes brand loyalty an iffy proposition among today’s young men. And money aside, they’re open to taking a look at whatever catches their eye. That’s what Ryan McIntyre, executive vice president of marketing at Thrillist Media Group, has seen at JackThreads, an ecommerce arm of Thrillist’s young men’s lifestyle website.

“If we have a well-known brand up against a potentially unknown brand, but the unknown brand looks better or is more on-trend, the unknown brand will sell better,” McIntyre said.

Handley noted variation from category to category in young men’s likelihood of being brand-loyal: “If it’s something of particular interest to them—if they have an interest or hobby—they will be loyal to the brand, and they’ll spend money on whatever gear or equipment it requires. Otherwise, they’re going to look for bargains.”

THE APPEAL OF ECOMMERCE Online shopping’s convenience wins it a large constituency among young men. In the DDB Worldwide survey of US internet users, 40% of the young men (and 33% of the young women) subscribed to the statement, “Ideally, I would buy everything online.”

Some may already be approaching that state, judging by one finding from the Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation survey. Young men were more likely than young women to spend at least two hours a day shopping online, with one in five saying they did so. The report added that young men were especially likely to make online purchases of electronics and computer equipment, sporting goods and liquor. It also found the men more apt than the women to be big spenders online: 20% of the male respondents, vs. 7% of the female respondents, reported spending more than $100 per week on online purchases.

Millennial males might buy even more if the process were more streamlined. In Optimizely’s June 2013 survey of US internet users conducted by Harris Interactive, nearly six in 10 men in the 18-to-34 age group agreed at least somewhat that they would shop online more if the online purchase process were quicker.

% of respondents in each group

US Internet Users Who Would Shop More Online if ItWere Faster to Make a Purchase, by Demographic,June 2013

18-3458%

52%

35-4447%

35%

45-5450%

32%

55+37%

29%

Male Female

Note: "somewhat" or "strongly agree"Source: Optimizely conducted by Harris Interactive, July 25, 2013162302 www.eMarketer.com

For older consumers, ecommerce is likely to be a solitary activity. That’s not true of young men and women, according to Edelman’s Abraham. Prone to shopping in groups at physical stores, they somewhat replicate that experience when buying digitally. “Even if they are home buying something online, we know that they are likely texting, tweeting, emailing friends, calling friends, asking for opinions there,” he said.

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THE MOBILE ELEMENT If online is good for young male shoppers, mobile is even better. In a Jumio survey conducted in March 2013 by Harris Interactive, 86% of 18- to 34-year-old males who owned mobile devices said they had tried to buy something on their smartphone or tablet. In the DDB Worldwide survey, young men overindexed for mobile shopping activities that ranged from usage of retail store apps to price checking via mobile phone.

% of respondents in each group

Attitudes Toward Ecommerce Among US InternetUsers, by Demographic, Jan 2013

Male Female

Typically shop on auction sites

Ideally would buy everythingonline

Typically use shopping appson mobile phone

An extreme couponer

Typically use retailstore apps

Have requested a price matchusing mobile phone

Typically use mobile phone toscan and find the best price in town for a specific item

Typically shop for and buy items on mobile phone

18-3443%

40%

30%

22%

27%

25%

25%

24%

35-6431%

29%

15%

17%

15%

15%

15%

13%

Total*33%

31%

19%

18%

18%

17%

17%

15%

18-3431%

33%

28%

23%

24%

21%

20%

19%

35-6427%

26%

13%

23%

12%

9%

11%

7%

Total*26%

27%

15%

23%

14%

11%

12%

9%

Note: respondents who agreed with the statement (either that they engagein the behavior or the statement describes their attitudes); *ages 18+Source: DDB Worldwide, "DDB Life Style Study" as cited by Adweek, April 24, 2013156449 www.eMarketer.com

Young men use their smartphones for prepurchase research. But they are less inclined to access coupons through the device, perhaps because that would compromise the convenience and spontaneity that make mobile purchasing attractive to them. The Google survey found just 18% of smartphone-using men in the 18-to-24 age bracket and 20% of men in the 25-to-34 bracket saying they had used online/mobile coupons for shopping in the week before being queried.

% of respondents in each group

Mcommerce Activities Conducted Among USMillennial Smartphone Users, by Demographic, Feb 2013

Used a search engine for product search57%

56%

Purchased a product or service24%

19%

Used online/mobile coupons for shopping18%

24%

Used a search engine for product search

18-24

25-34

42%

51%

Purchased a product or service14%

21%

Used online/mobile coupons for shopping20%

25%

Male Female

Note: in the past 7 daysSource: Google, "Our Mobile Planet" conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and TNSInfratest, May 1, 2013161673 www.eMarketer.com

RENTERS OR OWNERS? Some of the shopping that young men do is not aimed at actually owning the product in question. Millennials are at the center of the “sharing economy” that has attracted attention in recent years. Short on capital and long on flexibility, these consumers may be disinclined to own items they need only occasionally.

Edelman’s Abraham thinks the recession affected rent-vs.-buy attitudes as young people saw parents struggle with overextended finances. “Millennials are putting off some of those traditional purchases their parents bought, somewhat because they don’t necessarily have the money, but also because they’re more savvy,” he said. “They’ve seen how purchasing things is not necessarily the ideal anymore, and ‘collaborative consumption’ is a big way to go,” he noted, citing examples like car-sharing service Zipcar and urban bike-sharing programs. The Urban Land Institute/ULI Foundation report said millennial men in the US “are somewhat more inclined than women to try renting,” adding that “one-fifth of Gen Y males have rented business clothes for interviews or special meetings/presentations.”

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11

In a survey conducted in May 2013 by Harris Interactive for Sunrun, a company that leases solar energy setups to homeowners, US men ages 18 to 34 expressed interest in “disownership” (i.e., renting, leasing or borrowing) of a range of items. Asked about their plans for the summer, 27% said they expected to “disown” cars; 21% said the same about bikes and 19% about boats.

HOW THEY REACT TO ADVERTISING Young men give mixed signals about the kind of advertising content that appeals to them. In a July 2012 study, Break Media found men saying that advertising, TV shows and movies presented “too many macho men, skirt chasers and metrosexuals and not enough good-hearted, self-sacrificing, hard-working, fatherly men.” (One caveat: This survey’s respondent pool included men up to age 49.)

But an online survey prior to 2013’s Super Bowl by media and communications agency PHD found young men enthusing about advertising that catered to their less-virtuous side. Asked to pick elements that “make a Super Bowl ad most enjoyable to you,” 6% of men ages 18 to 34 chose “family themes.” They were far outnumbered by the 45% who looked forward to ads showing “half-naked women” and the 37% endorsing “sexy imagery or innuendo.”

Half-nakedness aside, young men do have a taste for advertising their elders might shun. A June 2013 report from Nielsen said, “For millennial males, extreme, off-beat and sports-related situations really resonate.”

There is also an openness to advertising that lampoons old-fashioned notions of masculine prowess. “If you look at the successful marketing campaigns among millennial men, you look at a brand like Old Spice or Dos Equis talking about these fantastical, amazing men,” Trendera’s Blumenthal said. “They make these ridiculous statements about how great this man is, and men think it’s hilarious.” Thrillist’s McIntyre said humor is especially effective because young men are inclined to share that sort of content with their pals. “The humor angle, especially if it’s intrinsic to your brand, can drive a higher level of engagement,” he said.

With young men routinely sharing opinions and information via digital technology, the old norms of demographic targeting may not quite apply. “Even if it’s a guy picking up a product off the shelf that’s been marketed to him, he needs to be able to almost justify or explain to the folks around him—whether it’s his girlfriend or friends of all genders—why he’s picking up that product,” Abraham said. “We need to think about our target, but also the influencers of our target, and talk to them in a relevant way as well.”

Since mobile device usage is a prime activity for many young men, their attitude toward mobile advertising is of special interest for brands. Advertisers will welcome the findings of the Google polling on the basic question of whether young men notice mobile ads. Six in 10 US male smartphone users in the 18-to-24 age bracket said they did so at least most of the time, as did half of those in the 25-to-34 cohort.

% of respondents in each group

Frequency with Which US Millennial SmartphoneUsers Notice Ads on Their Smartphone, by Demographic, Feb 2013

All the time30%

22%

Most of the time17%

38%

All the time

18-24

25-34

22%

23%

Most of the time27%

27%

Female Male

Source: Google, "Our Mobile Planet" conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and TNSInfratest, May 1, 2013161674 www.eMarketer.com

Getting noticed is not helpful, though, if young men notice ads but wish they were not there. On that matter, the Google survey yielded a mixed verdict at best. Slightly fewer than half of the young men—46% of the 18- to 24-year-olds and 45% of the 25- to 34-year-olds—said they would be open to receiving mobile ads if this entailed getting “freebies.” Still, that was a bit higher than the proportion of total respondents (about four in 10) who expressed such conditional willingness.

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 12

There’s a similar what’s-in-it-for-me attitude toward advertising in on-demand video. In the Viamedia/Harris Interactive survey, two-thirds of young male video-on-demand (VOD) programming viewers said they were accepting of commercials in on-demand programming if it meant such content was free or less expensive than it would otherwise be.

% of respondents

US Video-on-Demand Programming Viewers Who Think It Is OK to Air Commercials During On-Demand Programming, by Demographic, June 2013

Female

Ever

—When it makes the on-demandprogram completely free

—When it reduces the on-demand costof the program

—Other

It’s never OK

Male

Ever

—When it makes the on-demandprogram completely free

—When it reduces the on-demand costof the program

—Other

It’s never OK

18-34

81%

61%

16%

5%

19%

73%

49%

17%

7%

27%

35-44

71%

38%

27%

6%

29%

68%

50%

13%

5%

32%

45-54

69%

52%

13%

4%

31%

67%

53%

11%

3%

33%

55+

69%

52%

14%

2%

31%

52%

41%

9%

2%

48%

Total

74%

53%

17%

4%

26%

65%

47%

13%

4%

35%

Note: numbers may not add up to total due to roundingSource: Viamedia, "2013 Television & Advertising Survey" conducted byHarris Interactive, July 17, 2013161212 www.eMarketer.com

The payoff for young men need not always be in the form of a discount, however. Entertainment, for instance, is a commodity they particularly value. Speaking of millennials in general, Abraham said, “We do know that millennials want brands to entertain them. That did come through very, very clearly in our research.” Beyond that, he also emphasized the importance millennials give to “co-creation” in their relationship to brands. “They want to be able to have a two-way dialogue with brands, to be heard and perhaps be able to influence the products or the messaging or the content around it,” Abraham explained.

The Intelligence Group’s Kessler also noted the appeal of such collaboration. “I don’t think it’s coincidental that Kickstarter has become this phenomenon while Gen Y is going through its prime years,” he said. “The idea of participating in the creation of something is extremely important to them.”

Of course, the ultimate test is whether the marketing young men encounter makes them more inclined to buy something. Here again, the Google survey offered mixed indications. A significant minority of male respondents said ads prompted them to seek more information about the advertiser. For example, 20% of the 18-to-24 group and 21% of the 25-to-34 group said they clicked on an ad. However, few young men—7% of the 18-to-24s and 9% of the 25-to-34s—said they made a purchase in-store after noticing an ad; 8% and 11% said they had made a purchase via smartphone; and just 4% and 13% bought via a desktop PC.

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 13

CONCLUSIONS Young men have fallen behind young women in the US by some significant measures, particularly educational attainment. They seem less ambitious about their career than young women or than men of earlier generations, and many are drifting along in an extended adolescence.

But for now, their average earnings are higher than those of young women—as is their general contentment with work and life. Young men in the US don’t seem to regard themselves as losers, despite what their elders might assume. And while some may be struggling to figure out what masculinity should mean to them, many are enjoying the freedom to take up nontraditional pursuits such as cooking, fashion and so on.

Young men in the US are avid users of digital technology. While lagging slightly behind young women in mobile and social adoption, they are well ahead of other US consumers in those respects. And they make extensive use of digital entertainment, notably games and online video.

Convenience is key for young men as shoppers. While they don’t hate to shop as older men often claim to, they do want the process to be quick. This has helped create a large constituency for ecommerce and mobile shopping among young men in the US.

They have mixed feelings about the marketing activity aimed at them. Humor is important to them. But so is a sense of collaboration with the brand—a feeling they have a say in how the brand presents itself and even in what products it makes.

EMARKETER INTERVIEWS

No Longer Just for Moms, Crystal Light-Like Drink Big with Millennial Men

Joe Mele Brand Manager

Kraft Canada Interview conducted on September 3, 2013

Alex Abraham Senior Vice President, Director of 8095 Millennial Insights Group

Edelman

Interview conducted on August 21, 2013

Jen Handley COO and Co-Creator

Fizziology Interview conducted on August 14, 2013

Joe Kessler President

The Intelligence Group Interview conducted on August 27, 2013

Jessica Blumenthal Managing Editor, The Trendera Files

Trendera Interview conducted on August 22, 2013

Ryan McIntyre Executive Vice President of Marketing

Thrillist Media Group Interview conducted on August 21, 2013

Barbara Ray Founder

HiredPen Interview conducted on August 16, 2013

TAKING THE MEASURE OF MILLENNIAL MEN: AS SORT-OF-GROWNUPS, AS DIGITAL USERS, AS CONSUMERS ©2013 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 14

RELATED EMARKETER REPORTS

Millennials and Autos: How the Young Can Be Won

Millennials in the Marketplace: A Generation Moving on Its Own Unpredictable Path

Millennials in Aisle 2.0: Keeping Young Supermarket Shoppers Engaged With Brands

RELATED LINKS

Break Media

Burst Media

CBD Marketing

DDB Worldwide

FleishmanHillard

Google’s Our Mobile Planet

Harris Interactive

Ipsos/Reuters Poll

JWTIntelligence

nRelate

Pew Research Center

PHD

ULI Foundation

Urban Land Institute

US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

Viamedia

EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTORS

Cliff Annicelli Senior EditorKaitlin Carlin Copy EditorJoanne DiCamillo Senior Production ArtistStephanie Gehrsitz Senior Production ArtistDana Hill Director of ProductionNicole Perrin Associate Editorial DirectorHeather Price Copy EditorAllie Smith Director of Charts