The emerging consumer demographics are demanding different things from retail, and why not? So many of today’s everyday experiences are interactive and cater to the way this shopper is used to living their lives. They order transportation on demand, connect directly with brands and celebrities on social and curate their own television lineups. When it comes to shopping, millennials and Gen Z expect connected experiences.
The Retail Revolution webinar highlights some of the tools retailers are using to capture this shoppers’ attentions, provide the services they’re looking for and create a smooth, engaging atmosphere they’ll want to return to again and again.
Here are a few excerpts from the discussion:
Matt Suraci, head of commercial, North America at Klarna, on why providing flexible payment options is key when connecting with a young consumer base who may not own credit cards:
“The times where we were once encouraged to own credit cards and buy a house to build credit, it seems to be fading socially. It’s important to remember that we have to focus on what they—and we—were all raised in. Social factors such as the ‘08 recession and being buried in college tuition debt has instilled a level of fear or at least awareness on how this younger generation approaches the world of debt, credit and money. As a result, they need a new financial brand and messaging.”
Joshua Brueckner, fashion and lifestyle partnerships lead at B8ta, on how to engage these shoppers in a way that feels authentic rather than sales-y:
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“I think customers these days can smell when you’re pushing product and so when you start making it about discovering and experiencing product, and make it about the brand ethos and what they’re all about, you can nail home the product specs and educating the customer through explaining why the brand is so cool.”
Craig Crawford, founder of Crawford IT, on why the old metrics for retail success are no longer adequate in a connected, data-filled world:
“What retailers struggle with is understanding what a consumer is doing in store if it’s not a direct sale or a return. Those are the metrics that traditionally retail has looked at—what’s my inventory level, what’s selling, what isn’t selling—but the ability to understand what people are looking at and what they’re not looking at, what they’re picking up and putting down but not even taking to the till or the fitting room, gives you invaluable insight that can be fed back into the supply chain and product assortment and visual merchandising.”
Watch the webinar to learn what consumers really want when shopping across all platforms, how retailers can bring some of the convenience of online shopping offline and the role that both e-commerce and physical stores play in brand loyalty and consumer satisfaction.