The millennial factor in mobile

The millennial generation – born between 1980 and 2000 – is projected to reach 800 million people in mid- to high-income countries by 2020. This is larger than both Generation X (570 million) and the Baby Boomers (490 million). The impact on advanced economies will be felt from a shift in purchasing power, a redefinition of traditional life planning, asset ownership rates and – our focus here – technological adoption and reliance. Mobile internet will become the central platform of economic transaction and social interaction. Millennials are a driving force in the transition to digital economies as Boomers were in the shift to service-based economies in the 1970s and 1980s – only more so and at a faster rate.