SuperData: Millennials Spend More on Microtransactions Than Any Other Demographic

A NielsenTV presentation has provided some interesting tidbits of information on the spending habits of millennial gamers. Drawing on data compiled for her latest report, SuperData’s Bethany Lyons joined Nielsen Editor-in-Chief William Quinn to provide insight on the demographic’s composition and gaming preferences. Most notably, her research confirms that millennials spend more than any other age group on in-game microtransactions.

“Something that really sets Millenials apart is how much they are willing to spend on games. That comes from it being a lifelong habit, and that over half of the Millenials are full-time employees… They spend more than Gen Z or Gen X,” Lyons explains.

The demographic Lyons refers to as the “first group of lifelong gamers” currently makes up 40% of the US gaming population.

Interestingly, SuperData estimates the gender split is dead even at 50% male/female. This they attribute to the impact of mobile devices, which have opened the hobby up to new audiences within the demographic.

Millenials aren’t just spending on full game purchases, Lyon explains.

“They are also spending on in-game content. That ranges from extra lives in mobile games to character cosmetics in games like Fortnite that are a more hardcore PC demographic. So we’re seeing them spend on more things across different games than other demographics.”

She continues: “We are seeing a lot more microtransactions today than we did in the past, and those range from one buying time consumables that help you progress in games, from extra lives in mobile games to character cosmetics in games like Fortnite.

Those are really important to our Millenial spenders. They love to have the latest and greatest character cosmetics.”

You can watch the full presentation for yourself here.

Analyst group SuperData is a preferred source for Twinfinite’s reports on digital spending habits among gamers. Recent noteworthy updates included Fornite’s revenue slump back in May, which also revealed that PUBG continues to “quietly sell millions of copies.”

Image credit: B&T Magazine.