Segmenting the toy industry: A study of pre-teen Millennials

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to investigate the preferences of young Millennials for a salient product category (toys) and to investigate possible within-group differences that have relevance for marketers. Design/methodology/approach – The study carried out analysis of commercially collected survey data (538 pre-teen Millennials) from Harris On-Line using cluster and correspondence analyses. Findings – Segments exist within the younger Millennial cohort. Specifically, four clusters emerged including enthusiasts, social/intellectuals, creatives and the disengaged. Research limitations/implications – One limitation is the selection of the toy characteristics included in the cluster variate, which were based on scarce published research and the opinion of Harris On-Line experts. A second limitation is that the toys were never differentiated between traditional toys and electronic toys. A third limitation revolves around the maturation of the Millennials and how that may affect the clusters over time. Practical implications – The cohorts are not homogeneous and the marketers should attend to the differences within the Millennial cohort when preparing promotions and in new product development. Originality/value – To date, few, if any, academic studies have been done that segment the Millennial generational cohort. The research paper utilizes both cluster and correspondence analyses, which are the most appropriate for investigating segmentation in this setting.