Gen Z Shoppers Stand Out with Strong Omnishopping Growth

When it comes to combining in-store visits and online product research or purchase, Generation Z (ages 18 to 26) leads all other shopper age groups in the US, lending some spark an otherwise flat “omnishopping” environment.

Just-released findings from GfK’s annual FutureBuy study show that nearly half (46%) of all Gen Z shoppers in the US have researched an item on a mobile device and then bought it in a store—a strategy known as “webrooming.” That level is up 5 percentage points from 2015 and beats other generations by 12 to 27 points.

One-third (32%) of Gen Z US shoppers report they researched a product in a bricks-and-mortar store and then bought it online via a mobile device (“showrooming”). This compares to 24% just a year ago, and bests other generations by 11 to 20 percentage points.

Frequency of showrooming is also higher among the younger generations, with Gens Y (ages 27 to 36) and Z much more likely to say they showroom at least once a week. Generation X (ages 37 to 51), on the other hand, tends to fall into the “once every few weeks to once a month” category.

Overall, webrooming—reported by one-third (34%) of all US shoppers—is much more common than showrooming (21% of US shoppers).                                                                         

Somewhat surprisingly, Gen Z was also most likely to cite concerns about credit card and personal information security as a reason to avoid shopping online. One-third of all Gen Z shoppers in the US mentioned this worry, up from 26% last year. But the top reason for avoiding online shopping remains the cost of delivery, cited by 50% of all shoppers and 51% of Gen Z. “These findings really illustrate that generation is a major factor in determining how someone prefers to shop,” said Joe Beier, EVP on GfK’s Shopper and Retail Strategy team. “They also offer a stark reminder of the importance of tightly defining the target audiences for any activation initiatives. The days of ‘one size fits all’ are clearly over.”