Natives vs. Immigrants: Digital natives and digital immigrants (defined as those younger than 30 and older than 40, respectively) have more in common than you would think, according to a new report by WD Partners. Walmart topped both demographic groups for brand awareness (95% each), while Amazon did the same for best brand (83% vs. 77%) and Justice ranked worst (63% vs. 55%). The cohorts differed, though, in favored retail concepts. The younger set named retail mobile apps (73%) and experiential retail (68%) as most influential, while consumers older than 40 gave high marks to showroom stores (57%) and endless aisle (50%).
Smart Homes: According to GfK research, half of US consumers—and 64% of millennials—own at least one smart-home technology, and 27% have more than three devices. Consumers also think these items, like connected lightbulbs and voice assistants, are going to have more of an impact on their lives than the other emerging technologies presented in the poll. Some 58% cited smart homes, while mobile payments came second (52%), followed by wearable tech (39%), cloud computing (38%) and connected cars (31%).