Where is the consumer? The CX experts want to know. If you’re wondering where your consumers are … look no further than the palm of your hand.

“Look around you. What devices are your colleagues using? Your kids? Your parents, even?” asked Tony Marlow, Head of Sales Insight at Yahoo. “[You can’t ignore] the shift toward mobile.” 

A recent Yahoo survey ranked user preference by device on a scale of 1-to-5, with five representing ‘love’ for the product. An astounding 77 percent of respondents claimed to “love their smartphone.” Nearly 40 percent of 18-to-34 year-olds surveyed claimed to be “addicted.” The lesson: Use addicted Millennials to your advantage.

Their growing presence is no secret. Most of us know that Millennials will account for almost half of the U.S. workforce by 2020. They will also represent about $1.4 trillion in spend – about one third of all retail sales projected for that year. Despite these facts, huge discrepancies remain between where companies are spending their money and where consumers are spending their time.

Exhibit A: Mobile. It is the only channel in the U.S. that is growing in share time by media. Traditional media such as television, radio, print, and even digital, have either plateaued or are decreasing in share time by user. This disparity represents a whopping $25 billion gap in the U.S. alone, according to Yahoo’s research.

It’s time to close the gap. Lobby your company today to better engage Millennials. They are not frugal, but they do know the value of their dollar, Marlow says. Start looking into branded content and couple it with your native advertising efforts to win the race for their dollar. Both streams resonate with discretionary Millennials who, for all their perceived downfalls, are more brand loyal than other generations.

Once you’ve won them, you own them. The icing on the cake is that they will not only be some of your most loyal customers, but they will become brand advocates on your behalf.

Watch out for more on my recap from the CX Impact Summit in New Orleans earlier this month …