The new consumers – the networked society

Over the past 5 years the way we communicate and socialise has changed for many with the introduction and adoption of the many social networking websites such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, YouTube etc, where it is estimated that 60% of the UK population have accounts on at least one of these sites. If this is coupled with the move of the Millennial generation into the workforce as will as continued immigration the make up of society and its values, culture and the changing way we live our lives, the impact on the mail and delivery industries could be significant.

The Millennial generation – those who have high expectations, have never known a world without computers and a very different view of life, work and society are making an impact in the workforce as they start to climb the corporate ladder. This generation are highly networked have little loyalty and a propensity to seek out the best ‘deal’ whether that be in terms of a career, a camera or a bank account.

This generation have no loyalty to mail as a medium as they have no history of receiving ‘quality’ mail and have grown up in a world where high volumes of direct mail. The question is, as this generation become householders and get to significant positions in industry and commerce what will their view of mail be – will they see any value in it, will they see the possibilities or will they view the mailing industry as irrelevant?