Gen Z Shoppers Stand Out with Strong Omnishopping Growth in US
December 21, 2016
When it comes to combining in-store visits and online product research or purchase, Generation Z (ages 18 to 26) leads all other shopper age groups in the US, lending some spark an otherwise flat “omnishopping” environment.
Just-released findings from GfK’s annual FutureBuy® study show that nearly half (46%) of all Gen Z shoppers in the US have researched an item on a mobile device and then bought it in a store – a strategy known as “webrooming.” That level is up 5 percentage points from 2015 and beats other generations by 12 to 27 points.
One-third (32%) of Gen Z US shoppers report they researched a product in a bricks-and-mortar store and then bought it online via a mobile device (“showrooming”). This compares to 24% just a year ago, and bests other generations by 11 to 20 percentage points.
Frequency of showrooming is also higher among the younger generations, with Gens Y (ages 27 to 36) and Z much more likely to say they showroom at least once a week. Generation X (ages 37 to 51), on the other hand, tends to fall into the “once every few weeks to once a month” category.
Overall, webrooming – reported by one-third (34%) of all US shoppers – is much more common than showrooming (21% of US shoppers).
Somewhat surprisingly, Gen Z was also most likely to cite concerns about credit card and personal information security as a reason to avoid shopping online. One-third of all Gen Z shoppers in the US mentioned this worry, up from 26% last year. But the top reason for avoiding online shopping remains the cost of delivery, cited by 50% of all shoppers and 51% of Gen Z.
“These findings really illustrate that generation is a major factor in determining how someone prefers to shop,” said Joe Beier, EVP on GfK’s Shopper and Retail Strategy team. “They also offer a stark reminder of the importance of tightly defining the target audiences for any activation initiatives. The days of ‘one size fits all’ are clearly over.”
