Bid Farewell: Why Millennials Are Abandoning the Nightclub Nightlife
Who are these impactful millennials?
According to GFK, the global research firm, millennials are people who were born between the years 1977 and 1994. Being between the ages of 21 and 38, (Wait a minute did you just call me a millennial; I'm Blushing) they are the target demographic for all club owners and other nightlife vendors. These millennials are very unlike their Generation X parents (could've sworn I was a Gen X'er born in 77) considering that they are very tech savvy, entered adulthood equipped with cellphones, up to date with social media, and would certainly much rather spend money on experiences rather than material things.
Considering such preferences, millennials sound like the ideal group to be regularly enjoying themselves at various nightclubs. If this is the case, why are nightclubs and alike venues suffering massive declines in numbers? Millennials favor experiences over material things and nightclubs should be benefiting from that. Where are these millennials going instead?
Are millennials going to nightclubs?
Simply put, not really- at least not as frequently as their Generation X parents did at popular disco-techs. Countless studies and observations have shown that millennials are not going to nightclubs the way the former Generation X did. A survey by ULI/Lachman Associates show that only slightly more than 60% of all millennials spend time at nightclubs. Of that 60%, only 25% spend time at nightclubs more than once a month.
Why aren’t millennials patronizing night life venues?
We know that millennials aren’t frequenting nightclubs often, but why? What are their reasons? An anonymous online survey set out to find the answers. Millennials who were not regular nightclub attenders were asked for their reasons for not attending. This is what they said:
- Expensive cover charges
- Overly-priced drinks
- Long lines
- Slow bar services
- Rude staff
- Being pushed around in crowded atmosphere
- Poor male to female ratio
- Better ways to discover new music
- Inability to have a conversation
The last two reasons are especially important.
(I'm still beaming I'm considered a Millennial)