Since online purchases have become part of everyday life, retail has been in a state of upheaval. In the near future, even some rituals that currently seem self-evident could rapidly lose their importance. This is suggested by the current study “Next Generation E-Commerce – Insights into the current and future buying behavior of young people”.
The study, the results of which were published on Thursday, was created at the suggestion of the “Research and Teaching” roundtable initiated by the German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association (Bevh). The University of Rostock then surveyed 930 consumers aged between 18 and 25 in a random sample over the past few months.
Shopping in 25 years: window shopping “few people think of anymore”
The results document that the study participants, who already make a significant part of their purchases online, expect a further fundamental change in consumer behavior. “When asked how they imagine shopping in 25 years, almost 75 percent of those surveyed stated that they will do the majority of their shopping online, around 50 percent only want to enter stores in urgent cases and 57 percent only when if interesting and suitable products are available there, ”explained the Bevh in a message.
The prospects for retailers in the city centers are therefore extremely bleak: “Window shopping – otherwise important for the fashion trade – only comes to the mind of a few,” says a statement. 53 percent of those questioned “couldn’t imagine still making spontaneous purchases in the city center in 25 years, a further 25 percent are undecided”.
According to the study, the current purchasing behavior of the young consumers surveyed is shaping topics that have been the focus of the industry for years. This includes the increasing importance of social media platforms as a source of information, inspiration and trigger for specific purchasing decisions. According to the survey, YouTube and Instagram are currently playing a dominant role here. Tiktok follows “with a small gap” in third place, while Facebook, Pinterest and Twitch are “far behind”.
Bevh: Digital natives are “challenging” for retailers
Sustainability, a convenient shopping experience and new technologies also play a major role for those surveyed. However, it was also determined that “digital natives have low customer loyalty and are more pragmatic than previous generations when selecting providers,” says the Bevh.
The results of the survey showed “how challenging digital natives are for retailers,” emphasized the association. “In the data we see a new generation that buys very value-conscious, but is far less ‘disruptive’ than widely assumed,” summarized Martin Groß-Albenhausen, the organizer of the Bevh “Research and Teaching” roundtable and Deputy General Manager of the association, in a statement. “It’s a generation that thinks about protecting personal data and the environment. However, she is quite pragmatic in this regard, does not cultivate any social romanticism and is open to new technologies in retail.”