Our guest on today’s episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast is Kimberly Palmer, senior editor at U.S. News & World Report and author of the upcoming book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.
Our podcast producer and host, Tom Dziubek, speaks with Kimberly about the typical Generation Y consumer, their personal finance tendencies and ways that retailers can more effectively reach them in the marketplace.
Also, thanks to everyone who helped The Consumerism Commentary Podcast win the First Annual Plutus Award for Best Personal Finance Podcast! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Generation Y Consumers, Kimberly Palmer
Production/Segment: S03E03 / 73
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Table of contents
[00:00] Introduction from Flexo
[00:39] Interview with Kimberly Palmer
– [00:56] Defining “Generation Y”
– [01:41] How Gen Y differs from other generations
– [04:08] Financial goals and concerns
– [05:26] The recession’s impact
– [09:25] Gen Y’s handling of personal finances
– [10:49] The type of consumer that Gen Y is
– [12:31] Retailers’ success marketing to Gen Y
– [13:26] Investing tendencies
– [14:39] Customer service vs. saving money
[18:50] End
We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.
Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published May 9, 2010. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Excellent interview. Kimberly/Tom, you are spot on regarding how the downturn really crushed Gen Y disproportionately more than others. This is why there’s the whole “lifestyle design” movement… which may end in tears, as people wake up and realize they can’t make enough money, and save while they globe trot the world.
It’s part of my thesis in “The Dark Side of Retirement” which is getting a lot of heat. But, oh well.. it’s the truth. If the economy comes back, I believe the whole digital nomad movement dies down as opportunites rise again.
Best,
Sam