By Kyle Arnold
Orlando Sentinel
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) A new survey reveals that a majority of Gen Z shoppers (shoppers age 18-22) prefer to make purchases in a store versus online.
Orlando Sentinel
If millennials are killing brick-and-mortar stores, then their successors might save it, according to new surveys that say some young shoppers actually like to shop in person.
A survey from analytics firm Profitect, Inc. said about 42 percent of shoppers age 18-22 (the post-millennial age group) prefer to shop in-store versus online. And 34 percent of respondents said they like both equally, while only 23 percent they preferred online.
Surveys like this a relief to brick-and-mortar retailers such as Macy’s and Gap Inc., which have been closing stores in recent years as online sales grow.
Amazon at the end of August opened a new fulfillment center south of Orlando International Airport to fuel the growing demand for online purchases in Central Florida.
It also follows a survey released last week from the National Retail Federation, which said 98 percent of Gen Z shoppers prefer to make purchases in a store versus online.
However, the Profitect survey said younger shoppers demand that a retailer’s website needs an accurate count of
what’s in stock at a particular store and that bad customer service can turn away those customers.
“They are killing the idea that online and offline are separate,” said a statement from NRF director of retail and consumer insights Katherine Cullen says. “They’re really intertwining the digital and physical worlds and balancing digital experience with what they expect in the physical environment.”
