Retailers warned to get ready for Generation Z

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Retailers warned to get ready for Generation Z.

Retailers should be bracing themselves for Generation Z (individuals born after the late 1990s) suggests a survey commissioned by delivery platform, Shutl. The survey of 2000 UK consumers, carried out by Red Dot Research, found that almost twice as many (60 percent) 18-24 year olds than 45-54 year olds (33 percent) have higher expectations of retailer delivery performance compared to two years ago.

This increased demand from younger shoppers is replicated elsewhere in the findings. For instance, 86 percent of 18-24 year olds stated that delivery options are a key factor influencing their choice of retailer when buying online. This figure however declines steadily as shoppers get older - 83 percent (25-34s), 82 percent (35-44s), 73 percent (45-54s) and 64 percent (55+).

Given that today's younger generation already control every other aspect of their online world, retailers should not be surprised to learn that nine out of 10 (90 percent) 18-24 year olds would shop online more often if they were in control of more convenient delivery options. This is less of an issue for older respondents at 60 percent (55+); 69 percent (45-54s); 79 percent (35–44s) and 88 percent (25-34s).

Commenting on the findings, Tom Allason, CEO, Shutl says: "While retailers are providing the flexibility and choice that millennials expect today, such as m-commerce, it's important to keep an eye on who's coming around the corner. If the trend for growing expectations among younger consumers continues, they need to be thinking about how best to attract the Generation Z shoppers of tomorrow.

"A two-day delivery window will seem archaic to people who have grown up downloading entertainment in seconds. Retailers therefore need ensure they have the delivery options and mechanisms in place needed to give this iGeneration the control of purchasing what they want, when they want it. If they don't, shoppers will simply switch to a competitor that can."

Additional Survey Findings:

• More older shoppers than younger ones feel that a two-four day delivery timeframe is acceptable – 73 percent (55+), 67 percent (45-54s); 66 percent (35-34s); 46 percent (25-34s) and 58 percent (18-24s)
• Delivery options are a key factor when considering an online retailer for 64 percent of the 55s and over, rising to 72 percent (45-54s); 81 percent (35-44s); 83 percent (25-34s) and peaking at 86 percent for the 18-24s.
• Over two thirds (68 percent) of respondents across all age groups have been discouraged buying online at some stage.
• 77 percent of respondents across all age groups said that in recent years a busy lifestyle had prompted them to increasingly shop online
• Shoppers based in more rural locations are less demanding than city dwellers. While 34 percent of urbanites consider under a day a reasonable timeframe for deliveries, 61 percent of their rural counterparts are prepared to wait between two days and a week.