In Case You Missed It: Where Gen Y Shops

With increased levels of shopping and spending, people are visiting stores to both browse and buy. Because of this, stores are playing a bigger role in online purchases. The majority of consumers who pick up online orders, go on to make additional in-store purchases.

Fueled by innovation and inspiration from some unlikely places, brands are stepping up to capture consumers’ attention every which way. In the latest Quarterly Retail Spotlight Report, consumers are demanding a level of convenience that retailers must make work. And each year, the growing demand increases. From 2012 to 2018, an estimated 23% growth of customers who regularly order online, collect in store. With this type of growth, it is no longer a trend, but a need. Retailers must execute well to avoid losing the customer experience.

Key takeaways from this report include:

• Store visits are increasing. After a number of years of declining satisfaction with physical stores, consumer opinions of them are now starting to improve.
• Leisure and experience are key. Although younger shoppers are still visiting stores, their needs are more focused around leisure and experience than older shoppers. They are also much less likely to visit stores for the sole purpose of buying a specific product.
• Ownership is less important to younger generations. The millennial generation is used to streaming music, films and books via subscription packages, allowing them huge choice, but not ownership of the product.
• Confidence around household finances continued to strengthen into late summer. This bodes well as we move into the peak trading of the holiday season: consumers are in a much better mood than they were at this point last year.
• For the first time since 2008 (when recession fatigued customers were desperate for a bargain), the proportion of regular shoppers visiting physical stores over the Black Friday weekend increased.

For more insights, explore the Quarterly Retail Spotlight Report | Winter 2018.