Gen Z Eager To Shop In Physical Stores

Could younger generations of consumers save the brick-and-mortar business model?

Such a scenario might be hard to believe, but new research suggests Generation Z is surprisingly eager to shop in physical stores.

This Black Friday and Cyber Monday nearly half (47%) of Gen Z shoppers plan on visiting a traditional brick-and-mortar store to buy gifts for the holidays, according to a new report from Brainly.

That the finding is somewhat counterintuitive was not lost on Bill Drolet, vice president of sales at Brainly.

“It’s interesting this younger generation, unlike millennials before them, want to unplug, step out from behind screens and have traditional shopping experiences,” Drolet notes in the new report.

Marketers should also be mindful that older consumers often rely on their younger counterparts to make purchase decisions.

Regarding Gen Z, Drolet said: “This formidable block of consumers has already been entrusted by their parents to make important purchasing decisions-including where, when and how they want to shop.”

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Among 1,500 Gen Z respondents, half said they plan on doing their e-shopping with their mobile phones, while the other half expect to rely on their trusty desktop computers.

As for shopping categories, Gen Z says fashion and electronics are top of mind when it comes to purchasing gifts, (34% and 34%, respectively).

On the shopping destination front, Walmart (16.3%) and Amazon (16.2%) are the most popular stores for Gen Z looking for gadgets, followed by Best Buy and Apple Stores.

When it comes to ‘big box’ stores, Walmart remains king (16.5%), followed by Amazon and Target, which are tied at 14%.

For fashion items, Gen Z respondents said they prefer to spend their money at Forever 21 (13.6%), H&M (11.8%) and Urban Outfitters (11.1%).

One-third of respondents said they plan on making in-store purchase using cash, while about a fifth plan on using debit cards (21.1%), another fifth will use gift cards (19.8%), another fifth plan on using credit cards (18%), while 9% plan on using payment apps.

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