Retailers: like it or not, the Millennial mindset is here to stay. And it’s going to continue to change the way you think of retail sales marketing.
Millennials—or those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s—are a HUGE market, with roughly 80 million members. It has become increasingly important for merchants to understand Millennials’ shopping and buying habits in order to “stay alive” in an ever-changing retail sales market.
Here are 4 Millennial-focused retail sales trends to keep in mind for the coming year:
1. They want more.
Millennials are a special group of consumers unlike any we’ve seen before. Millennials want more, more, more out of their purchases. Extremely value-driven, many Millennials came of age during the recession, which forced them to shop around for the best product at the best price.
2. They want things fast.
Once you’ve convinced a Millennial to buy something, you don’t want to lose him or her because your checkout process is too slow or you don’t have the item in stock. Retailers must continue to update their payment and inventory management systems, so that the buying process can be as streamlined as possible—in-store and online.
3. Mobile & e-commerce technology is going to continue to play a big role in the way they shop.
In the 2015 holiday shopping season, about one-third of shoppers purchased their items online and opted to pick them up in-store (“click-and-collect”). Millennials especially like to take advantage of the convenience of online shopping, while still being able to look at, touch, and take home the items that day. This is good news for brick-and-mortar retailers, especially those who also have an online presence, since nearly 70% of shoppers who used click-and-collect during the 2015 holiday season purchased additional items in the same store and another one-third purchased items in adjacent stores.
4. If you’re not on social media, get there—fast.
Social media continues to be a big deal for retailers. Nearly three-quarters of Millennials rely on social media to get more information or to see reviews on items they want to buy. Whether it’s through embedded “Buy!” buttons on Facebook or product sharing on Instagram, social media retail sales are a hot market you don’t want to miss.
Most merchants are going to need to cater to millennial consumers in order to stay alive—and thrive—in today’s retail sales marketplace. Retail Control Systems can help retailers better understand the importance of an all-encompassing, customized Point-of-Sale solution that will manage online and in-store retail sales, track inventory in real-time, and ensure the checkout process is quick and easy. Call 1-800-417-3030 or CONTACT US to learn more about helping your millennial customers have a better shopping experience.
