Engage Gen Y Online With Immediacy

November 13th, 2008

Bruce D. Temkin

With contributors:

Rachel Zinser , Andrew McInnes

Summary

Gen Y is a unique breed. Firms can't interact with these young consumers in the same way they do with older consumers. That's why Forrester identified four design approaches for reaching Gen Y online: immediacy, Gen Y literacy, individualism, and social interactivity. To examine best practices in one of these approaches, immediacy, we examined the online experiences of 20 large companies. Some good immediacy design practices we found: Old Navy features sneak peeks at new styles, T-Mobile presents an interactive plan selector on its home page, and Zappos adds a sense of urgency with inventory alerts. Customer experience professionals can start infusing immediacy by identifying the specific paths that Gen Yers take through their sites.

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