Millennials are increasingly skipping trips to the store to make their purchases online, and now some retailers are fighting back with innovative in-person experiences.
Though Millennials still prefer to shop for many things in person—76% would prefer to shop for casual clothing in-store, and 57% would prefer to shop for home accessories in-store—convenience, among other factors, has clearly been shifting them away from stores and into online shopping. Some categories are already decidedly online purchases in their minds: 61% would prefer to shop for electronics online. At the same time, 51% say they would rather make an inexpensive purchase online than in-store, which indicates that even more retail categories could shift over to online buying for the generation.
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While older Millennials remember the heyday of brick-and-mortar shopping, younger Millennials are growing up in a time when a trip to the mall seems almost retro. In fact, galleries of images of “dead malls” are objects of fascination online, and dead mall Facebook groups even exist to chart the rise in abandoned (post-apocalyptic looking) malls across the country. The next generation will have even less of a connection to the idea of shopping as an in-person event.
It makes sense that retailers would attempt to lure in the generation known for craving experiences by making in-store visits more unique and by adding new elements beyond the racks and registers. Lately, some brick-and-mortar locations have been thinking outside the box to draw young consumers into stores. In March, Uniqlo—which is planning a major U.S. expansion and is already aiming to stand out to Millennials by being “the anti-fast fashion” chain—transformed the second floor of their New York flagship into a concept they’re calling SPRZ NY (Surprise New York). The gallery-like space features products made in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art—each item corresponds with a piece of art in the museums collections, with a dedicated micro-site providing a lesson on the art and artist. SPRZ also includes an in-store Starbucks, making them the first specialty retailer to include the coffee giant chain in a location.
Uniqlo is not the only retailer amping up the brick-and-mortar experience with added bells, whistles, and dining options. Urban Outfitters recently launched a concept store in Williamsburg Brooklyn called Space Ninety 8 to create a more local and unique shopping location that offers more than your average Urban products. The retailer has been losing ground with Millennials and Space Ninety 8 is a clear effort to charm the generation. The location is a five-floor warehouse, with each floor dedicated to a unique retail approach. The first floor, Market Space, is completely dedicated to local designers, other floors include music-dedicated areas that sell records, record players, and books, a bar and the restaurant The Gorbals live on the upper floors, and the rooftop is dedicated to open seating and a view of the Manhattan Skyline.
Urban Outfitters new in-store concept targeting Millennials with a unique buying experience. (Click Image To Enlarge)
But will creative brick and mortar approaches be enough to draw them in? While we’ll likely never return to the halcyon days of mall culture, it’s possible that these collaborations between retailers and creative enterprises will bring Millennials into stores. However, until more Millennials are on steady financial ground, they might be more interested in price tags than experiential retail. When we asked the importance of various factors when deciding where to shop in-store, 80% named low prices.
COMMENTARY: Millennials are not angst-filled, skinny-jeans-wearing, side-swept-bangs-sporting hipsters. A survey conducted by Mooslyvania, an independent digital advertising agency, refutes the most common myths associated with this generation and unveils a treasure trove of data on what really motivates them in how they think, shop, buy and continue purchasing their favorite brands.
While there's no cookie cutter recipe for defining a Millennial, the 2014 Moose Millennial Study Data can help marketers eager to please this generation – defined as anyone between the ages of 13-33 – better understand how to connect and create a long term friendship with them. Millennials in general account for nearly $1.3 trillion in consumer spending and spend the second most amount of time of any generation online – 87 percent as much as Gen X'ers.
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Overall, Millennials identify with themselves as being incredibly self-confident and independent and, yet, seek constant reassurance from friends and family when it comes to shopping, buying and making purchases. Whether shopping alone or in a group, they remain digitally connected contacting friends and family for advice or opinions via text, phone call or social media. While 57 percent surveyed said they tell their friends about their purchases, 44 percent prefer to "show off" their purchases, even if it's in subtle ways. Millennials are not alone -- of the 1,000 surveyed nationwide, the study revealed 85 percent of them live with a significant other, roommate or parent.
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In addition, it's not about major brands, but brands that have done their homework to connect with the Millennial consumer across multiple touch points -- to Friend them, so to speak. For example, when asked – unprompted – to name their top three favorites, 58 brands were mentioned five times or more. The survey results reflect what these 58 companies are doing right to connect with them.
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Millennials fully expect marketers to be upfront when it comes to answering questions, to practice what they preach, and build trusting relationships with them by using context-driven content spread across a variety of platforms. It's definitely not a one-hit ad crowd.
Norty Cohen, founder and CEO of Moosylvania said.
"For years, advertising served the role of reassurance and endorsement. That role has changed tremendously. Our job as marketers is to understand how dynamically the connectivity of the next generation of consumer is evolving. For example, forty percent of these Millennials have signed up to receive emails from their favorite brands. Think about that – the average person looks at their phone more than 150 times a day – and email is right in there with social media for this hit of self-assurance."
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They are definitely head over heels for certain brands they perceive to be as authentic as themselves. In addition to Facebook (59%), the top ways in which Millennials advocate for their favorite brands include telling their friends (57%) and shopping in-store (54%). Facebook is also a natural stopping-off point for Millennials to learn more about brands they love. In fact, the ubiquitous social media platform outranks brand websites almost two to one as the go-to for product discovery.
With regard to advertising, Millennials desire ad experiences that are more context-driven and spread across multiple platforms. Videos, product reviews and How-To's for many product categories resonate with this generation.
Methodology
The 2014 Moose Millennial Study Data surveyed 1,000 people about their buying, shopping and purchasing attitudes. The online study was finalized in January 2014 by Moosylvania and Great Questions, LLC.
Courtesy of an article dated May 9, 2014 appearing in MediaPost Publications Engage:GenY and an article dated April 2, 2014 appearing in The Shelby Report
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