I bet you’ve heard all the stereotypes of millennials: entitled dreamers who will never be able to afford a home due to their relentless appetite for avocado toast. Millennials are a complex and often misunderstood generation, but what they want from brands is clear: genuine experiences, customer engagement, and convenience.

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with tech and figure out what it all means in life and business. They played computer games as kids, had access to high-speed internet in high school, and are the first generation to prefer reading on a screen. They were the first to explore social media, be bombarded by ads online, and stay up late answering emails on their phones and scrolling through news feeds. They remember when Facebook was just for college students and was the first generation to engage in meaningful communities and causes online.

Four Design Patterns to Capture Millennials’ Attention

Make it Fast

This generation, who still remember the sound of dial-up in their homes growing up, is no longer patient when it comes to tech. Any lag time at all and you’ve lost them. Products designed for millennials must load instantly and effortlessly. Shifting between channels and touchpoints — phone, desktop, watch, retail — should be seamless. If your customers notice the tech at all, there’s something wrong. Millennials are obsessed with time management and cherish products that offer convenience and time savings.

The news media company Skimm has done a standout job appealing to millennials because of its speed and convenience. It sends a daily email with quick bullet points about what’s going on in the world. And if you want to dive deeper, their paid app offers you a daily 10-minute audio summary. Speaking of audio, millennials are the fastest-growing consumers of podcasts, especially millennial women. If you’re designing content for a millennial audience, you may want to consider an audio format.

The Decline of the Homepage

Because millennials are entering websites through search engines, social media, and aggregators more often than not, chances are they won’t ever see your homepage. So it’s up to you to retain visitors once they reach your site, no matter which page they land on. Suggestions for related items are a great way to move millennials seamlessly from one article, video, or product page to the next.

Holistic End-to-End Experience

Above all else, when you’re designing for millennials, make sure to look holistically at their end-to-end experience with your brand. Millennials value experiences over things. They buy from companies that make them feel special. This could be in the form of a story about the product, personalisation, great customer service, or in-person events just for them.

In recent years, millennials have started to crave more real-life interaction. Companies like Amazon are working to meet these needs by creating offline stores. Even organisations that start online are gathering people in person more often. This is especially prevalent for political groups, non-profits, and organisations that do social good.

Conclusion

In the end, the key takeaway for millennials is that they crave convenience, personalisation, and above all else, an authentic experience. Designing with these principles in mind will not only capture their attention but also earn their loyalty.