Millennials have been receiving plenty of press for their shopping habits and how these habits are changing the retail world. But what about even younger shoppers?
Turns out these consumers — known as Gen Z — are pushing retailers to further embrace the omnishopping ideal, the combination of brick-and-mortar and online options designed to attract the greatest number of shoppers.
According to marketing firm GfK’s latest FutureBuy study, 46 percent of all Gen Z shoppers — those from the ages of 18 to 26 — have researched an item on a mobile device and then bought it in a store. GfK refers to this strategy as webrooming. The survey found, too, that 32 percent of Gen Z shoppers in the United States researched a product in a brick-and-mortar location and then bought it online with a mobile device. This shopping strategy is known as showrooming.
Both shopping strategies are examples of how the omnishopping experience works: Retailers that want to succeed today need to focus on both their online and physical presences.
Overall, webrooming was a common practice among 34 percent of all U.S. shoppers, while showrooming was was a common practice among just 21 percent of all U.S. consumers.
