Millennials may have ditched afternoons at the mall for virtually perusing hot fashion finds at the tip of their fingers, but studies show their successor, Generation Z, is going retro with its shopping habits.
It seems young shoppers between the ages of 13 to 21 — the generation after millennials — actually prefer hitting brick-and-mortar stores over shopping online, according to a new study released by IBM and the National Retail Federation. Of course, there’s a catch – that store better offer a lot more than your basic displays, racks and perfectly folded product.
As noted recently in Racked, of the more than 15,000 participants polled for the survey, more than half said they want stores to offer fun, engaging experiences so the shopping experience doesn’t feel stale.
With these stats in mind, stores do have an opportunity to reach the next generation of customers. Think pop-up shop experiences or unique in-store features such as Tailor Shops found in select Levi’s® stores, where shoppers can customize their purchases with stitch work and patches, turning a staple into an authentic piece tailored to the individual.
There’s also the fact that Gen Zers are a lot more hesitant to dole out their credit cards and other personal info online. According to the study, “while 62 percent are prepared to share purchase history details with brands, a mere 21 percent said they would share more sensitive personal data,” the study stated. “Also noteworthy, only 18 percent said they are comfortable sharing their payment information.”
Still, when it comes to apparel, clothing is obviously king. The study noted that 52 percent of Gen Zers would drop a brand in a hot second if the quality weren’t there. Luckily, quality means as much to Levi’s® and Dockers® as it does to this new generation.
Collaborations with some of the industry’s top designers, including Virgil Abloh, keep the Levi’s® brand fresh and fashion-forward, while thoughtful additions to our tried and true classics, including and especially the Levi’s® 501 jeans, prove that established quality and market-driven trends can and should coexist.
