Fickle young users a big risk for Snapchat

Kids don’t use email any more. Facebook is for mom and dad. And Yik Yak is so 2015.

When it comes to communication in 2017, Snapchat is where it’s at.

Snap Inc.’s ability to court a young demographic with its ephemeral photo and video messaging app Snapchat has been one of its defining characteristics, and the pillar of its success. But as the company prepares for its stock market debut, its reliance on users younger than 25 could also be one of its biggest liabilities.

“(Young people) are not as loyal as they move on. As they start to get older, they don’t want to do what they did as kids,” said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

And Snap Inc. knows this. In its S-1 — a form that companies planning to go public file with the SEC — the company pinpointed as a risk the fact that the majority of its users are between 18 and 34 years old, a demographic that “may be less brand loyal and more likely to follow trends than other demographics.”

Worse, Snapchat usage appears to taper with age. Users younger than 25 opened the app more than 20 times a day and spent more than 30 minutes viewing photos and video. Users older than 25 visited Snapchat about 12 times a day and spent a total of 20 minutes in the app.

Some analysts believe Snap might have the chops to hang onto its current users while also appealing to tomorrow’s tweens and teens.

“To do that they’ll need to innovate, and we can see that Snapchat has already been able to hit a nerve several times,” said Robert Lang, chief executive of social media analytics firm Socialbakers.