Jonathan Asher, of Perception Research Services.

As a collective, America’s Millennials are usually viewed as young, self-centered narcissists.

However, results from the latest shopper research survey conducted by Perception Research Services (PRS) indicate that these shoppers are also open-minded do-gooders.

The PRS study shows that the primary reason shoppers claim they are more likely to purchase “Made in the USA” products is to “help the economy.”

According to the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Center for Consumer and Customer Insight, U.S. Millennials are receptive to cause marketing and are more likely than non-Millennials to purchase items associated with a particular cause – 37% versus 30%.

Considering that Millennial shoppers may still be feeling the effects of the last recession, it makes sense that they want to ‘do good’ and reinvigorate the U.S. economy.

Another reason many shoppers claim to prefer Made in the USA products is because they are perceived to be higher quality and worth paying more for. According to the BCG, “when considering similar products made in the U.S. vs. China, the average American is willing to pay up to 60% more for U.S. made products.”

However, this may vary greatly based on the specific product category. Recent sales data suggest that many shoppers are willing to forgo some level of product quality in order to pay less. According to industry analysts at NPD, many T-shirts that are bought today are lighter than they used to be since manufacturers had to take things out to keep the price the same.

Importantly, for the shoppers in our study, the majority of products they say they would prefer to purchase if American-made are food, medicine, personal care items and cosmetics—suggesting that quality and safety may be the true motivating factors. This may be, in part, because for these lower priced items, the cost savings may not be substantial enough to sacrifice quality.

A wide range of companies such as Wal-Mart, Apple, General Electric and Brooks Brothers are also experimenting with making more products in the U.S.

However, the shift to more American-made products may not be entirely patriotic. For many, manufacturing abroad no longer makes sense. Either it is becoming too costly or they feel they are lacking a competitive edge.

In some cases, they want to meet consumers’ desire for American-made goods, or they simply want to get merchandise from the design phase into stores within weeks rather than months in order to be “of the moment.”

Manufacturers of American-made products would do well to clearly state this fact as it is a meaningful point-of-difference. This is certainly true if all else is equal, and in some cases, being made in America could provide a sufficient level of quality assurance to justify a higher price.

As Millennials enter their peak purchasing power years, it will benefit manufacturers to provide more “Made in the USA” products, and overtly tout this claim since the brands that win with Millennials often help them feel better about themselves or allow them to feel that they have contributed to a greater cause.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jonathan Asher is executive vice president, director of account management, at Perception Research Services (PRS), where he oversees the company’s client services function including account management and marketing communications, and also manages client relationships for both qualitative and quantitative studies. PRS specializes in consumer research to develop, assess and improve shopper communications, including packaging and POS systems.