How Gen Z Views Retail Shopping After the Pandemic SELFHOOD is a market research agency that prides itself on our next-gen insights. We’ve always looked towards the future: Youth, passion, game-changers, mould-breakers. But, ever since 2020, that has left many uncertainties and concerns wide open. As we look forward and consider how our world has changed after the Pandemic, businesses also need to reconsider how they will interact with their young audiences going forward. Consumer behaviours have been affected by the experience across the board. Especially physical retail stores have to reconsider how they will appeal to their audience after the pandemic. After all, online shopping has become the norm for the vast majority of customers. Smaller local stores can’t meet the convenience of online shopping. But according to our NextGen Insights, retail stores have something else to offer to young customers.
Gen Z and Physical Retail Physical retail had nearly vanished from our daily lives for several long months across the last few years. Where non-essential retail stores had to close their doors, more and more businesses moved online and embraced digitalisation. Now that many countries have fully eased their regulations and returned to a new normal, things are changing yet again. You might think that young people would appreciate the increasing comforts of online shopping above all else. But after a long time of little social contact, Gen Z is looking forward to returning to physical stores. It’s essential to understand how Gen Z values their local brands in comparison to older generations. Most importantly, the buying decision and research about a brand often occur before visiting the store and online. Therefore, Gen Z comes to stores already fully prepared and view the visit to local brands as a social excursion. It allows them to disconnect from social media and be present.
This means for physical retail stores that their main advantage is no longer just a product that could also be ordered online. Instead, they have the opportunity to facilitate an experience and make an outing worth their customer’s while.
Retail as an Escape Brands that want to draw Gen Z customers time and time again need to create spaces in which their young audiences can decompress from the digital world. One effective way to do this is by offering sensory stimulation. Allowing for opportunities to focus on one sensation or the tactile feeling of fabric or surface creates a meditative calm in the shopping experience. Retail stores post-pandemic will have to present new storefronts that break away from old concepts. That’s why many retailers embrace more flexible, modular ideas to their stores that can be dismantled and assembled in new ways.
The Community Drive Continues We already knew that Gen Z cares about the community. Taking a social stand is a must for this conscientious generation, and they care most about brands that support their viewpoints and efforts. The post-pandemic world may be a chance for brands to reinvent themselves and their brand strategies. Engaging with more community-driven campaigns could prove to be valuable. After local artists and communities have suffered isolation throughout the pandemic, businesses can become spaces to re-invite the vibrancy of community back into consumer’s lives. Importantly, it won’t be enough to be another generic outpost of a global brand. Instead, each local branch should offer a unique store experience and integrate themselves into the community. As per our previous point, the retail experience should no longer cater to the individual. Instead, it should facilitate experiences for groups that connect over the shopping process. Social commerce is full of untapped potential. We are sure to see brands embrace this model for a richer customer experience in the near future.
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