18-34 year olds and customer documents: what the GEM Junior Conseil study for major billing companies reveals

Banking , insurance , energy, telecoms , the public sector : what do young adults really want when they receive a letter, a bill, or a contract? The 2026 study conducted by GEM Junior Conseil for the TDE (Trophée de l'Editique) provides clear answers—sometimes even challenging conventional wisdom. Analysis and concrete solutions offered by NAELAN provide concrete approaches to address these questions .

A more robust study, more definitive answers

One might have expected yet another observation about a "100% digital" generation. The 2026 study by GEM Junior Conseil, the Junior Enterprise of Grenoble School of Management, says something else entirely – and it does so with a significantly larger sample than the previous edition.

In 2025, 82% of respondents were between 18 and 24 years old. In 2026, the distribution is more balanced: 39% aged 18-24, 30% aged 25-29, and 31% aged 30-34. More than half of the respondents (51%) are employed, 38% are students, and 11% are looking for work. In other words, the study surveys people who have already faced their first loan, filed a claim, moved house, or changed energy providers.

The key questions were also reformulated. As a result, the rate of "no opinion" on the use of personal data dropped from 49% to 13%, and the perception of different sectors, previously uniformly neutral, became differentiated. It is these differences that make the study useful.

Lesson #1: Paper is not dead, it is hierarchical

This is the most counterintuitive result. 76% of 18-34 year olds open their mailbox at least once a week, with 26% checking it every day. Only 10% never do.

But this attention is selective. When asked which documents they wish to continue receiving in paper format, respondents ranked the following at the top:

• contracts and legal documents (61%),

• official administrative documents (51%),

• large bills (49%),

• health documents (39%).

Conversely, only 10% say they prefer a fully digital operation.

The relevance of paper documents therefore follows the level of commitment involved. For documents issued by public institutions, 73% consider them relevant—the highest score in the study. For banking documents, the figure is 62%. For energy-related documents, however, 52% consider them of little or no relevance; for telephony documents, the figure is 64%.

And when paper remains in a hybrid process (claim declaration, for example), it is not imposed: 73% of respondents indicate that it was not required by the insurer. It is a choice made by the user.

What this means for billers: the question is no longer "paper or digital?" but "which format for which document, and when?". The monthly statement can be digital; the loan agreement, insurance amendment, or official certificate still requires paper.

Lesson #2: Paper informs and reassures, it doesn't sell.

The same public that checks its mailbox every week overwhelmingly rejects promotional mail (71%). Paper is a channel for reassurance, not for prospecting.

But it can become a gateway to the digital world. Ranked by interest, the most popular enriched content on paper is QR codes linking to online content (100%), followed by targeted promotional content (97%) and augmented reality (96%). 18-34 year olds see paper as an entry point to a digital experience, not as a standalone medium.

Lesson #3: The telephone remains the preferred channel for customer service

Another surprise: despite the variety of channels offered, 56% of 18-34 year olds prefer the telephone to contact customer service, far ahead of online chat (12%), mobile apps (11%), and physical stores (11%). Email is capped at 7%, and social media at 2%.

The telephone is perceived as the most effective channel for obtaining a quick and personalized response. The study's recommendation is explicit: make it an enhanced channel, not an abandoned one.

Lesson #4: Personalization is earned

51% of respondents accept targeted use of their personal data if it provides real added value; 36% prefer a discreet, even less suitable, approach; 13% do not express an opinion.

Perceptions of personalized communication vary significantly across sectors. Banking receives 78% positive feedback, telecommunications 70%, and energy 57%. Conversely, public institutions (52% negative feedback) and insurance companies (48%) are the areas of greatest dissatisfaction. Companies with a long history of personalized customer journeys are viewed more favorably than those associated with administrative or regulatory procedures.

Lesson #5: Life moments are opportunities to seize

When moving, respondents expect to be primarily assisted by their insurer (52%) and their energy supplier (50%), followed by public institutions (40%) and their bank (36%). Telecom operators are less expected to provide support (28%).

The expectation is clear: it is up to the supplier to take the initiative, with proactive and contextualized communication that simplifies the process.

Lesson #6: Price dominates, due to a lack of discernible value

Price is the primary selection criterion in all sectors: 30% for opening a bank account, 60% for insurance, 69% for telephone services, and up to 78% for energy. It also explains 66% of switching energy suppliers or operators.

The study suggests this stems from a lack of clarity regarding value rather than a disinterest in quality. One indicator: for a mortgage, 63% prefer a traditional bank, primarily due to trust. When the stakes are high, the credibility of the lender takes precedence over price.

How NAELAN solutions meet these expectations – for all generations

The six recommendations of the study converge on the same need: to produce communications that adapt to the document, the channel, the time and the person - without multiplying the tools or the teams.

This is precisely the scope of Customer Communication Management (CCM) , and the core business of NAELAN for more than thirty years.

NAELAN publishes KSL Suite, a customer communication platform used by over 1,700 organizations in more than 20 countries, available as SaaS, on-premises, or integrated with Salesforce. Here's how it addresses the study's findings point by point.

1. A documentary logic based on level of engagement

The study recommends adapting the medium to the level of commitment of the act: paper for contracts and loans, digital for statements and current invoices.

KSL Suite generates documents from centralized templates and distributes them via the appropriate channel: paper mail, email, customer portal, mobile app, or SMS. The same document template, populated with data from the information system (CRM, ERP, business applications), can be generated in batches for monthly statements and interactively for contracts or amendments. Channel selection becomes a business rule, defined once and for all, rather than a manual decision made on a document-by-document basis.

This also makes it possible to serve all generations without duplicating production lines: a 60-year-old customer who wants to receive everything by mail and a 25-year-old customer who wants their statements in the app but their loan contract on paper are processed by the same platform, with the same graphic charter and the same regulatory content.

2. Paper as a gateway to digital

The study ranks QR codes as the most desired enriched content feature on paper. KSL Suite allows for the integration of personalized elements into each document – QR codes linking to a savings simulator on a bank statement, to the claims section on the annual guarantee letter, or to personalized advice on the annual energy audit. Paper remains an informational and reassuring document, while simultaneously opening a gateway to value-added digital content.

3. Readable documents to make the value visible

When price becomes the primary concern "due to a lack of clarity in the value statement," the document itself is the first to be criticized. An insurance policy presentation deemed illegible, an energy bill that fails to highlight savings, a bank statement that doesn't explain charges: these are all missed opportunities.

KSL Suite relies on a collaborative content repository (multilingual texts, images, appendices) and shared style guides across templates. Business teams can update the presentation of a warranty or pricing without requiring software development, ensuring editorial and graphic consistency across all channels. Generative AI, leveraging the organization's own models, assists with content creation while securing content and data.

4. Anticipating life events

When moving, up to 52% of respondents expect to be contacted first. The study recommends a welcome kit sent to the new address by the energy provider, an automatic review of home insurance policies by the insurer, and proactive notifications about administrative deadlines from the public service.

Because KSL Suite integrates directly with business systems, an event detected in the CRM or ERP—such as a change of address, first payment, or new contract—can automatically trigger the creation and sending of a contextualized communication via the channel best suited to the customer. Proactive relationship management becomes scalable.

5. The telephone as an augmented channel

A telephone advisor is all the more effective when they can immediately generate the right document. With KSL Suite's interactive forms and web-based document editor, a bank advisor can generate a certificate, an insurer can confirm by mail a claim validated over the phone, and a service provider can send a personalized local offer—during the call or immediately afterward, without re-entering data. The telephone remains the human connection; the document becomes its extension.

6. Personalize while respecting data

51% accept useful personalization; 36% prefer discretion. To earn the right to personalization, it must be conditional on an explicit benefit, and transparency regarding data usage must be maintained.

In KSL Suite, content composition rules (what content is displayed to which customer, under what conditions) are separated from graphic design and managed centrally. This allows for the application of explicit, auditable, and consistent personalization rules across all channels—helpful alerts rather than intrusive promotions, and warranty adjustments rather than sales pitches.

And compliance, for all sectors

Large billing companies also have obligations: electronic invoicing (Factur-X format), legally valid archiving, and digital document accessibility. KSL Suite integrates these requirements into the document production chain, thus meeting the expectations of 18-34 year olds without creating regulatory debt.

In summary

The GEM Junior Conseil study for TDE overturns some long-held beliefs: young adults open their mail, want their contracts on paper, prefer the telephone to contact customer service, and accept personalization provided it is useful to them. They don't reject any channel; they demand that each channel be used for what it does best.

For large billing companies, meeting these expectations while continuing to serve older customers, some of whom are attached to paper-based systems, requires a customer communication platform capable of orchestrating documents, channels, and life events from a single foundation. This is the purpose of KSL Suite: one model, all channels, every generation.

Do you want to assess the maturity of your customer communication in light of these results? Contact the NAELAN teams for a demonstration of KSL Suite.