Millennials are at the forefront of influencing change across multiple industries. From Applebee’s to Harley’s, real-estate to football, millennials are changing how the economy works. Following basic economic principles, if you don’t meet the demands of this generation, your industry could lag behind. Of these demands, none other are more satirized or ridiculed than the perceived lack of patience. The Psychology of Waiting, a survey conducted by Vanson Bourne and commissioned by Volt Active Data, spells potential disaster for those who commit the cardinal sin of being non-real-time with the fastest growing workforce generation.

Millennials are both a blessing and a curse for the online advertising industry. People who spend more time online are going to see more ads in theory, but millennials are more likely to block them. The survey data shows that millennials are much more likely to not click on ads than any other generation. In order to generate clicks from this demographic, you need to have the right ad at the right time. In fact, 78% of people responded that they will only click on an ad if it’s served at the right time. Having real-time accurate ad serving will allow you to reach millennials.

Commerce and economic activity is moving online. Most millennials report using a banking website and/or mobile app. With the ability to check account balances at any time, millennials expect their account information to be up to date. About 40% expect transactions to appear immediately after they happen;

70% of millennials expect transactions to appear within an hour.

These requirements get even more stringent when fraud is introduced.

Over half (56%) of millennials want to be notified the instant there is a suspicious transaction involving their account.

That increases to 72% want to be notified within an hour. 67% expect that banks catch fraud the instant a single fraudulent transaction occurs. The potential repercussions here are grave:

Over 65% of millennials say they would leave a financial institution if fraud was not caught before they reported it.

30% of millennials report they already have. Financial services need to implement real-time account updating and fraud prevention to meet these growing demands.

Video games are a common pastime for millennials, so it’s no surprise that developers are trying to monetize their games. Over 90% of millennials have received real-time offers or in-play microtransactions. However, just over 50% purchase or use these “always” or “most of the time”. However, they do not hate the idea of real-time offers or in-play microtransactions. Over 80% of millennials want these, provided that they are timely and relevant to their player experience. Game developers can monetize much more effectively by providing offers that meet these criteria. Those who don’t, will suffer; almost 60% of millennials say that being subject to offers that aren’t timely or relevant make them less likely to play the game again.

Despite all the bluster about millennials relying on texting, over 98% of millennial respondents stated they regularly make at least 5 voice calls a week. And they are bringing their impatience with them. Over 85% of millennials get annoyed when they place a call and the phone does not immediately start ringing (for 48% of those, this happens frequently). Over half of millennials don’t feel that their provider accurately monitors their usage in real-time. These issues cause cause issues for millennial retention as well. Over 60% of millennials say that delays and inaccuracy cause them to look at other carriers; 44% of those have already made that switch at least once. CSPs need to monitor customer information and usage in real-time to capture this audience.

Summary and Next Steps

Millennials live in real-time, and demand that their services and products do as well. By sticking with legacy technology and service models, you harm your chances at capturing and retaining this market.

Check out the full survey report to learn more about the importance of real-time for consumers. Looking for the best way to leverage real-time data? Download and try Volt Active Data today!