Gen-Z are becoming the fastest growing group of shoppers


Gen-Z are becoming the fastest growing group of shoppers

New findings from Planet, a global technology leader providing integrated software, payment, and technology solutions, reveals that the level of Tax Free shopping among Generation Z is growing faster than any other age group.

Planet’s latest Intelligence report shows that in January of this year, Gen Zs spent roughly the same amount as they did back in 2019. But fast forward to October and Gen Zs are spending three times as much as they were in 2019 with European retailers, as they continue to take advantage of Tax Free shopping. Every other age group accounted for roughly the same or less spending compared to 2019.

Even though they’re the fastest growing group, Gen Zs still only represents just over 7 per cent of total sales in store however, compared with nearly 43 per cent for Gen Y.

Gen Zs from the UK accounted for 10 per cent of all sales in store made to Gen-Z shoppers across Europe’s Tax Free market, beaten only by US Gen-Zs with a 19.8 per cent share. This shows the importance of the UK’s youngest group of shoppers to European retailers.

As this age group’s spending power continues to grow, retailers need to not only focus on what they buy, but how they buy. Gen Z is the most tech-savvy of all age groups and has high expectations for swift, efficient services including payments which they expect to be easy, offer them a full choice of payment methods and be almost invisible. They tend to be the group that are less tolerant of clunky systems and painful processes.

This is where connected commerce comes into its own, helping retailers to power a more seamless and memorable omnichannel shopping experience which meets the demands of their Gen-Z customers.

European retail sales boosted by the re-emergence of APAC

The easing of Covid restrictions across much of the Asia Pacific region has provided a boost to European retailers with Planet Intelligence data showing that consumers from Korea and Singapore have now joined the US in the top three sources markets for Europe’s retailers.

US shoppers continue to lead the way in European Tax Free shopping

US tourists continue to be the most prolific visitors, with US tourist year-on-year spending significantly up in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

With tourists keen to take advantage of Tax Free shopping, European countries have also been the beneficiaries through months that are not typically known for their high tourism numbers. For example, year-on-year sales to Saudi Arabian tourists in France is up 60 per cent.

Luca Cassina, President of Retail at Planet commented: “Today, Generation Z make up 30 per cent of the world’s population so getting their attention is crucial. The most difficult challenge for retailers is keeping up with their preferred channels of communication and shopping.

“Providing a seamless connected commerce experience across all channels is vital, so retailers must arm customer experience teams with a fully integrated platform that drives sales growth and boosts efficiency wherever their Gen-Z customers choose to shop, including across new and emerging social media platforms.

“It should connect all stock management systems with payments, providing the most seamless experience for even the most tough to please in Generation Z.”

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