What Do We Know About Gen Z’s Shopping Habits and Why It Remains Such an Enigma?

Exactly when brands thought they had Gen Z-ers all figured out, this ever-so-fickle generation is throwing the retail market for a loop. Is it because personal economies are changing? Is it politics affecting their daily habits, with winds of conflict blowing around the world? Or is it just that age-old brands have a hard time adjusting to changing times and evolving habits and end up being left behind, sometimes making way to new, more responsive retailers willing to listen? It is probably all of these factors put together, but there are ways of getting to this riddle-posing generation and it often starts with finding them in their natural habitat- digital.

Shopping around and price sensitivity

Within this age-group even the wealthy do not shy away from price comparison; with the Internet at their fingertips they do their research, even before visiting a physical store, ensuring they receive top deals and pick and choose how and where they shop. When looking for inspiration for their purchases, Gen Zs turn to dedicated websites, such as Amazon and eBay. But, for recommendations, most of them turn to family and friends (34%), making social networks a main source for decision-making. To them, a physical store might just be a pitstop to touch and try-on their coveted product, but it might not be the end point of their shopping journey, as their next stop might be the brand’s online store, YouTube or TikTok, which makes one’s digital presence even more crucial and forces the need to make those movement between those ‘properties’ as seamless as possible. Neither brick-and-mortar nor e-commerce properties can be strictly about ‘shopping’, it has to be about the experience, whether it is a luxury or a high-street brand; the journey needs to evoke an emotion, present a unique identity and leave a long-lasting impression, one that’d make the visitor linger a few minutes longer than planned and come back for more. This is precisely where the emotional reaction overpowers the price factor, convincing a shopper to choose one vendor over the other.

Quiet luxury turning loud

Brands like Loro Piana, The Row, and Bottega Veneta are known for their timeless designs, luxurious materials, and subtle branding. These brands showcase wealth through refined craftsmanship rather than flashy logos. This has been a growing trend over the past few years, with shoppers discreetly showing off their financial standings, but are we seeing a shift? Whereas brands were gaining off of the demand for scarcity, comfort and high-end materials, there are early signs of consumers trying to prove their financial stability, in the face of global financial uncertainty, through the carrying of flashier garments. Big GG logos, LV prints or YSL stamps are being seen more and more often, taking over the world’s fashion capital streets and social media’s show-off unboxings, yet again. Is Gen Z out to prove its resilience by turning its back to quiet luxury!?

Basic chatbots just won’t do

AI is no longer a slogan, it presents a set of technological advances, ones that improve customer experience and brand positioning. The ability to provide a true, accurate product detail, shopper reviews and carry a sensible, ongoing conversation, in the form of a shopper assistant (albeit digital) means that online guests feel more confident clicking on that “buy” button. Gen Zs are frequently in contact with the brands they consume: 61% of them said they connected with brands on social media. Compared to this, 53% of Millennials said they connected with brands. As a result, Gen Zs are more aware of the brand’s online presence, brand identity and relation to customers than most consumers that came before them. While GenZ wants to be heard, it also values speed and an abundance of information, both can be provided through the implementation of virtual chats. No boring automated one-liner replies, but elaborate, visual, 3d-based inquiry responses, which provide a balanced image of a product, one that has been evaluated by one’s peers and provides a professional description of size, material and fit, at the same time. Remember it is the generation that researches? That very investigation means that GenZ-ers often leave a brand’s website to gather more details about a product, moving between a puzzle of product review websites, social media, streaming services and news sources, trying to build that confidence in purchasing a particular item. Why not make this journey more coherent and ensure that shoppers remain within your online property by providing this information, all contained within one solution?

A virtual store is an elevated store

Virtual stores is a way to visualize your standards, your quality, tell a story and express what your brand stands for. It is far more than shopping; it is a vessel to bring your vision into life and reach audiences, way beyond your physical locations.

What virtual stores can provide that physical stores struggle so much to achieve today is an experience in one’s own, private space, without the need to leave the house. From a 3D product viewing, as accurate as seeing the real thing, to virtual try-on, product details and gamification elements, immerse your virtual shoppers in everything…you. Virtual stores have no physical limitations, take advantage of it, use your creative spirit and pour it into those virtual experiences, taking your shopper through a memorable journey, bigger than life.

Virtual experiences essentially elevate the e-commerce experience by adding new capabilities to the online experience that never existed before. From the ability to try-on products, to customizing them to one’s own taste, to providing individual alerts and a personal shopping experience and many more, there is really no limit.

To overcome GenZ’s short attention span, remember to keep updating those virtual spaces, the same way you’d do with your physical stores, addressing seasonality, new product lines and evolving market demands. A great example is Walmart Realm, a digital commerce breakthrough which utilizes social media trends to create interactive, shoppable spaces, curated by digital creators, has been visited by over 2 million guests over the past year, seeing an engagement time of 5-8 minutes,  333% higher than the industry benchmark. Your virtual store is your new growth hub…an elevated store.

When numbers start speaking

Digital isn’t merely “a project” it should be an ongoing venture, one that adjusts and evolves over time. While e-commerce websites and virtual stores often sit with the Innovation, Marketing and Digital teams, those ventures should be a collaboration with Revenue and Sales officers, becoming an integral part of a retailer’s growth strategy.

Your next loyal shopper is online, why not tap into their natural habitat!? While their parents used to drag them to the local mall for shopping, this generation spends most of its time online, even while outdoors. With the oldest of this generation being born in 1997, GenZs are considered digital natives. As such, it’s no surprise that they spend a lot of their time on their smartphones (an average of 6.5 hours per day) and online, and they utilize the digital medium as a resource for everything from shopping to learning and news.

We could criticize this habit and try to go against the grain, but why not go with it and gain off of it? Find them anytime, anywhere, on any screen, 24/7, entertain them, engage them and convince them to buy, essentially investing in your future consumer and increasing your bottom line, overcoming these times of hard-to-navigate, choppy waters. 

They are the ‘Digital Age‘

Say what you want about this generation, it is an age group of tech-savvy, detail-oriented, emotionally-driven individuals, ones that can drive a brand to international success or straight to the ground, with a small, insensitive, wrong move by a retailer. If you are not online, presenting yourself in a sincere, authentic, direct fashion, they will read through you and simply ignore you. But find the right way to present your brand digitally and you will gain both their dollar and loyalty, causing them to organically spread the word and keep coming back. So put your best face forward and start focusing on your brand’s online presence today, making sure GenZ takes note, coherently convincing enough to add your app to their precious mobile device, carrying you around, and watching your every move (in the right direction). So yes, this generation is as unpredictable as the current times but you can turn this challenge into a growth opportunity.