Social Media

Everyone is talking about the huge impact millennials are having on retail. Also known as Gen Y, they are usually considered to occupy the 18-to-35 age demographic. But what about Gen Z, the younger siblings (or even children) of millennials?

Based on what we’ve seen so far, here are three ways Gen Z will change retail in the next few years.

Video Killed the Retail Star

Everyone is talking about the huge impact millennials are having on retail. Also known as Gen Y, they are usually considered to occupy the 18-to-35 age demographic. But what about Gen Z, the younger siblings (or even children) of millennials?
 
Based on what we’ve seen so far, here are three ways Gen Z will change retail in the next few years.
 
Video Killed the Retail Star

Consumers know the perfect gift when they find it, and 1-800-Flowers.com is trying to make the search a little easier.

The specialty gift retailer is offering a beta of “GWYN” (Gifts When You Need), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered intuitive shopping experience across its brands. GWYN is based on the Fluid Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) software platform, which in turn is supported by IBM Watson.

There are a lot of options in decorating a home, and Los Angeles-based Z Gallerie wants to match its offerings to customer tastes.

“We’ve been known for one particular style, which our customers love and that we’ve done quite well with,” said Chris Nicklo, VP customer and chief marketing officer of Z Gallerie. “But to grow, we knew we would need to appeal to a broader spectrum of customers.”

James Rhee is a tech-savvy numbers and operations guy, but the private equity investor-turned retailer relied on more than business smarts and technology to help revive Ashley Stewart. Realizing that the plus-size brand inspired a deep love among its customers, he developed a core strategy of kindness and loyalty, a strategy that recognized Ashley Stewart represented respect, community and joy to its shoppers.

User data from Pinterest shows that more than one-in-three of its 100 million global users are millennials. In addition, 79% of millennial Pinterest users say the platform is a “guide to life and is a place to teach me how to do things,” compared with 71% of all Pinterest monthly users.

Other notable millennial-related findings include:

One of my favorite times of the year is teaching at the ICSC University of Shopping Centers. I co-teach “Marketing & Social Media: Shopping Centers in the Digital Age” with Tim O’Connell, assistant VP, director of digital marketing and communications, at RPAI. While we present stats, trends and case studies, what energizes me most are the collaborative class discussions on how other shopping centers owners are progressing with their social media efforts.

Whatever you may have been doing at age 17, it was likely less impressive than launching a new e-commerce/ social media platform aimed at sneaker aficionados.

But that’s just what New York-based 17-year-old sneaker enthusiast Anthony Debrantt has done, founding a new online and mobile marketplace called Sneakmart. The site has offers hundreds of thousands of new and used sneakers, including major brands.