As part of my role, I spend a lot of time visiting different supermarkets. I can see that the nature of shopping in the UK is changing. The days of the big weekly shop are in decline; now we see a large number of smaller shops, driven by convenience. These are often topped up with a bigger shop for essentials, but this is often done online and delivered to home.
This got me thinking: is this change down to the way we all live our lives now - time poor, convenience driven - or is it something fundamental in the way that younger generations do their shopping? Do Gen Y, as 18- to 30-year-olds are known, still shop as we do or is this changing?
Fortunately, my colleagues in the St Ives Group at Incite have recently just conducted a wide-ranging study on Gen Y and another one on supermarket shopping habits, so we can analyse the differences.
Interestingly, there definitely do seem to be some marked differences between Gen Y and the ‘older generations’, with much of what we are seeing aligning with more general Gen Y research trends:
• Gen Y-ers do seem to be even more promiscuous than their older counterparts. On average we have seen the average number of shops per month creep to just over 4 per person. However, when we split that down we see 6.3 different retailers visited in the last month against 3.9 for older consumers. Gen Y shops around.
• In terms of reasons for trying out new supermarkets, Gen Y-ers are more likely to give reasons like ‘looking for a more convenient location’, ‘recently moved house’ and ‘looking for better loyalty scheme’. Older consumers are more likely to be looking for ‘range to cover their needs’. So lifestyle clearly plays a part; Gen Y will tend to be busier and looking for a convenient shopping experience.
• When asked why they chose the supermarket that they use, Gen Y is less likely to cite reasons relating to range, price and ‘good size car park’ which I guess is a function of the less demanding nature of the life stage they are at i.e. no kids!
• Gen Y consumers appear to be more open to new products/brands and are more likely to make spontaneous choices in store. Potentially there is much more scope for in-store marketing aimed at this group, something that is often missed by retailers.
• This generation also seem to be more immersed in brand communications and are more likely than their older counterparts to report having seen an ad, read a review or seen some other form of information about the brand/product before buying. This is in line with our findings from the Gen Y research which outlines the thirst for knowledge in this group. Content is desired by this group on a pretty constant basis – retailers need to ask if they are satisfying this.
• They are more likely that older generation to seek recommendation from a friend or family member before making a purchase. This shows how social media influences life in that seeking advice is now the norm for this age group.
From a retailer’s point of view, the younger shopper often feels ignored as they are perceived as being lower value and not ‘sticky’. However, as we all know, decisions made in your 20s often stay with you for life. To attract and keep the shopper of the future, retailers would do well to consider the Gen Y generation today.
They can, and indeed want to be, influenced and in-store and online marketing could drive profit today, and further down the line.
By Catherine Parkin, Sales Director, Tactical Solutions.
This article first appeared in the Fresh Business Thinking Guide to Digital which has been produced in association with Microsoft and the www.digitalmarketingshow.co.uk and examines some of the key issues that every business is facing in the world of digital. Download your copy or view the magazine online here.
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