Jim Caudill - DD Admin
Survey: Young Consumers Still Favor Brick-and-Mortar Stores
By Stephanie Schaefer, Editorial Assistant
Posted on January 23, 2012
More than 68 percent of 18–25-year-olds prefer to shop in stores rather than online for apparel and shoes, according to a new survey by a group of LIM College students in conjunction with the National Retail Federation Student Association.
"Retail observers have been significantly overestimating our use of online and digital technology for shopping,” said Nicole Flasch-Mihalko, a member of the LIM College NRFSA team, in a statement. “We like shopping in stores and are not as engaged in shopping on the Internet as many have touted. I guess the demise of the brick and mortar format of retailing—at least for 18-25 year-olds—is grossly exaggerated."
Olivia Cornell from Cornell’s Jewelers inRochester,N.Y., tells JCK that younger customers want to come in and try on jewelry. “I see a lot of young women shopping for special occasions like graduations, a new job, or a promotion,” she says. “Girls nowadays are much more sophisticated. They have a handle on their own style.”
“We are finding more younger people looking at engagement rings,” says Sharran Selig from Bill Selig Jewelers inWindsor,Conn.“Our customers typically look online, but generally want to come in and see the jewelry in person.”
Other findings include:
Sixty-six percent of 18–25-year-olds use the Web to browse and compare prices.
Only 23 percent shop from a tablet or a smartphone.
Sixty-six percent like to think about their purchase before buying.
Fifty-six percent pay for most of their purchases via debit cards as opposed to cash or credit cards.
Only 20 percent shop from flash sale sites such as Rue La La and Gilt Groupe. In fact, the majority of those surveyed do not know about them.
Many 18–25-year-olds said they would "like" a brand on Facebook, but more than 88 percent do not yet want to shop through Facebook or Twitter. >end<
I continue to be impressed by segments of this demographic. It is my observation that there are those in this age group who are influenced by or accept what is portrayed in certain media, most notably reality television, and emulate similar disturbing behavior. Others however, are certainly more capable of discerning fact from freak show than their peers and some previous generations. They accept it as a form of entertainment and would never be influenced significantly as to participate in such behavior, vigorously rejecting it instead. There seems to be a conspicuous awareness of what is behind the curtain, simply because that is the way trends evolve with adequate exposure. The coming generations who make the effort have a lower probability of being duped because of available information. The logical progression is proof, touch it… see it… kick the tires if you will. There are many supporting socioeconomic variables at play here making the results of this survey plausible at this time in space.