{"id":73882,"date":"2024-03-28T05:53:20","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T09:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/?post_type=insight&p=73882"},"modified":"2025-05-12T04:42:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T08:42:04","slug":"gen-z-and-millennial-shopping-trends","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/insights\/gen-z-and-millennial-shopping-trends","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z and Millennial Shopping Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Marketers and retailers agree: Gen Z and Millennials are distinctive generations heavily influenced by their relationship with technology, their values, and their social media engagement. They require a unique approach. e-commerce retailers selling to these generations need to understand how to curate their sales approach, marketing, and brand values to meet these economically powerful audiences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Who are these shoppers? Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 (they are anywhere from 28-43 years old in 2024), and Gen Z were born between 1997 and 2012 (they\u2019re 12-27 years old now). Millennials are in a more mature life stage with established careers, getting married, buying homes, having children, etc. Gen Z are still in adolescence, college, and early careers.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Both generations grew up with the internet, smartphones, and broadband, making their digital fluency a defining trait. While Millennials recall life before tech, they quickly embraced it; Gen Z, meanwhile, has never known a world without it. For this article, we focus on these two tech-native cohorts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Technology has shaped their way of relating to retail and e-commerce is as natural to them as breathing. Ironically, these generations are also showing increasing resistance to digital marketing tactics, making them harder and harder to convert to sales.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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So what motivates these shoppers? How do they engage with e-commerce brands? What characterizes them? Here\u2019s what e-commerce retailers need to keep in mind when interacting with these generations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They ignore channels; they experience brands.  <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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While many retailers are still moving from multichannel to omnichannel strategies, Gen Z and Millennials are already there. They view brands holistically, blurring the line between physical and digital\u2014a trend known as \u201cphygital<\/a>.\u201d Think mobile shopping in-store or using digital wallets at self-checkout. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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For retailers, phygital means delivering a seamless brand experience across all channels. Order fulfillment is a key part of this, with customers expecting options like buy online, pick up in store or ship-to-home. A partner like Radial helps meet these demands by managing fulfillment <\/a>across channels. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They buy what makes them happy.  <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Millennials and Gen Z often buy on impulse<\/a>\u201474% and 63% say they do\u2014but their habits differ. Millennials split purchases between phone and store, rarely using computers, and tend to buy what feels good in the moment. Gen Z is more cautious, often delaying purchases and needing more info before spending over $50 online or $100 in-store, likely due to tighter budgets. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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View Full Infographic<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n

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What categories are they splurging on?  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Across the board, Electronics & Technology, Health & Wellness, Beauty & Personal Care, and Clothing & Fashion take the lead for 16-44 year olds<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Image Source: <\/span><\/span>5WPR, 2024 Consumer Culture Report<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n

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Retailers can work with a 3PL partner like Radial to optimize real-time inventory visibility<\/a> and promote products that fall into these categories, within the parameters of these generations\u2019 \u201csplurge comfort zone\u201d. As we\u2019ve seen with the Stanley cup craze<\/a>, making sure your 3PL can scale order fulfillment quickly is imperative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They value sustainability and spend more for it.  <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Both generations prioritize sustainability. Two-thirds say they are likely to buy from brands committed to sustainability<\/a>, and 69% believe brands need to be responsible for decreasing their carbon footprint. Further, they use their wallets to prove their values, as 54% of Gen Z and 50% of Millennials are willing to pay 10% more for eco-friendly products<\/a>. Gen Z is particularly known for valuing sustainability, which means retailers can help reduce consumer \u201cgreen fatigue<\/a>\u201d by communicating their commitment to the environment in ways that matter to this demographic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They can also work with a 3PL<\/a> partner, like Radial, to use sustainable packaging, reduce carbon emissions with ground transportation rather than air cargo, and drive efficiency with automation<\/a> and robotics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They shop and share on social.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Nearly 75% of Gen Z follows influencers, who shape their buying choices more than traditional ads. They discover products through peer content and influencer posts, with one-third buying from influencer-founded brands in 2023. Social commerce fits naturally into their daily habits, making personalized, shareable unboxing experiences\u2014like those enabled by 3PLs such as Radial\u2014a key opportunity for retailers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Nearly 75% of Gen Z follows influencers<\/a>, who shape their buying choices more than traditional ads. They discover products through peer content and influencer posts, with one-third buying from influencer-founded brands<\/a> in 2023. Social commerce fits naturally into their daily habits, making personalized, shareable unboxing experiences<\/a>\u2014like those enabled by 3PLs such as Radial\u2014a key opportunity for retailers. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Image Source: <\/span><\/span>eMarketer<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n

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They\u2019re susceptible to fraud.  <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Gen Z is more vulnerable to online fraud<\/a>\u201433% have been scammed<\/a>\u2014likely due to their digital upbringing and trust in online content. As they grow more cautious, they\u2019re becoming increasingly security-aware. Brands can earn their trust by educating them on fraud prevention and showing how they protect customer data. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Understanding Gen Z and Millennials and working with your 3PL to implement measures that meet the expectations of these powerful buying groups will help e-commerce brands maximize revenue and curate customer experiences that generate loyalty.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Follow Radial on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and Instagram<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":73151,"template":"","insight_type":[],"solution":[399],"class_list":["post-73882","insight","type-insight","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/73882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insight"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/73882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75160,"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/73882\/revisions\/75160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"insight_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight_type?post=73882"},{"taxonomy":"solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radial.com\/eur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/solution?post=73882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}