Data tracker: Digital bridges the generation gap

At 270 million, millennials make up the largest age group in India today, which in turn makes them the most coveted segment for marketers. But from 2019, their size will start diminishing, encouraging marketers to expand their focus to consumers across other age groups especially because, as a survey by Nielsen shows, older age groups are taking to digital transactions with greater enthusiasm in India

• Trends in digital adoption and usage reveal that Gen X consumers are increasingly growing their appetite for budding technology
• Demonetisation has sped up the adoption of online financial transactions among Gen X and older age groups
• Today, millennials and Gen X are spending an equal amount of time using financial apps
• Birth rates have begun dropping in India. So, while the dominant age group of 25-35-year-olds have been growing for the past decade, they will decline starting 2019, as less children grow into that bracket

• According to census data, by 2019-2020, people between 25-35 years of age will account for 22 per cent of the Indian population. The tide is expected to turn soon after, with year 2019 becoming the tipping point
• Starting 2019, the size of the 25-35 age group is expected to begin declining. Within a decade from now, India’s population will keep growing, but the population of 25-35 year-olds will be about 263 million, which is less than what it is today
• According to the latest census data, 41-50 year-olds, who fall in the Gen X category, is the fastest-growing population segment in India. While these consumers constitute just 28 per cent of the population, they contribute up to 42 per cent of the population growth
• Post demonetisation, both Gen X and older consumers have increased the use of their smartphones for financial activities

Source: Older generations warm up to newer digital transactions, Nielsen

Note: 

People born between early 1980s to late 1990s are referred to as Millennials. So, today, anyone in the age group of 18-35 is a Millennial

Gen X is the generation immediately preceding Millennials who would now be in the age group of 36-45 years

There are 270 million Millennials between the ages of 25-35 in India today