A new report by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. indicates 28 per cent of Gen Z and young Millennial (18-34) Canadian shoppers rely primarily on TikTok for their shopping needs.
In a news release, Lightspeed said retailers hoping to make the most of the upcoming holiday shopping rush should keep generational differences top of mind.
Online retail stores and websites (35 per cent), review websites (31 per cent), referrals (28 per cent), and Instagram (27 per cent) join TikTok in top-ranked preferences for the 18-34 shoppers, signalling the importance of social media as a critical part of retailers’ marketing strategies to reach a younger demographic, added the report.
“Retailers need to understand where shoppers are, and how they behave in order to properly address their needs. With those insights, they can assess and get creative with how they connect to generate a smooth shopping experience. To slay the holiday retail game, retailers should stay ahead of trends,” said Dax Dasilva, CEO of Lightspeed.
Lightspeed’s State of Retail Report reveals that the ways different generations are shopping varies – significantly– and the importance for retailers to be prepared to meet them where they’re at.
“In addition to prioritizing platforms like TikTok for their shopping needs, the younger generations of shoppers revealed an increased likelihood to subscribe to retail memberships such as Amazon Prime, with 75 per cent reporting that they are subscribed to one or more such services and 14 per cent stating they exclusively shop with retailers they have subscriptions with. The 18-34 age group also showed the most interest in VIP services from retailers such as skipping lines, personalized shopping recommendations, and early access to products, with 37 per cent saying they would be interested and willing to pay more for this,” added the report.
New opportunities for retailers
Lightspeed says new preferences of the younger generations bring with them new opportunities for retailers to expand and improve customer experience and meet customers where they are. Additional insights unique to Gen Z and young Millennial shoppers include a willingness to pay more to have an item immediately available to them from another merchant rather than waiting for it to be restocked (49 per cent) – all other demographics would prefer to wait to purchase. Insights like this signal the critical importance of maintaining stock well into the season for last-minute shoppers.
“For retailers targeting an older demographic (55+), those buyers are most frequently using a retailer’s online store (56 per cent), friend and family referrals (38 per cent) and online review sites (35 per cent) to research their purchases, reflecting a more traditional shopping approach. Middle-aged buyers (35-55) have similar preferences, but rely more on a retailer’s online presence (47 per cent) and review sites (37 per cent) than on friends and family (32 per cent),” adds Lightspeed.
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