Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – Everyone shops, but not everyone shops the same. Online ordering, curbside pickup, delivery, cashless transactions and standard perusing a brick and mortar store give consumers the ability to shop any way they want.
But it can be complicated – and expensive – for small business owners to offer all the shopping experiences preferred by the array of customer preferences on top of keeping up with products consumers want.
The shopping experience pretty much stayed the same for decades, but as Boomers age and become less impactful consumers, the younger Gen Z and Millennials are the sought-after shoppers. But they don’t shop like their parents, prompting small businesses to adapt if they are going to attract these new generations.
Two studies by GoDaddy surveyed the shopping habits of young adults and also looked at how small businesses are keeping up with these tech-savvy shoppers. According to the survey, 73% of Gen Z and 75% of Millennials say they would shop more at small businesses if they offered the same convenience as larger chain stores.
More online options
Before Grant Sherfick opened H&H Hometown Hardware this past November, he made sure the hardware store on Main Street in Shoals had the technology to serve all customers.
“We’ve invested in a lot of technology not only to run our store better but to be able to let our customers know what we have,” Sherfick said.
H&H Hometown Hardware’s website has more than 70,000 items. The website offers ship to store service allowing customers to purchase items from the site. The store’s website also shows its live inventory.
“We can real-time show customers what we have in the store, they can purchase it off the website, we get notified, we pull the item and they come to the store to pick up,” Sherfick said. “Or they can see it, call us and we get it ready for pickup.”
The option lets customers pay online or pay in store.
For the tech savvy younger generation, the service is a huge selling point, Sherfick said. The survey backs that up. According to the survey, 73% of Gen Z and 83% of Millennials said “Buy Online, Pickup In-Store” is important to them, but only 1 in 3 (34%) small businesses offer it.
“Small businesses and retailers definitely need to pay attention to the shopping habits of customers,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we can meet all generations that are potential customers.”
Older generations of shoppers, he said, might be comfortable looking up items online, but may not be comfortable ordering online. Sherfick said those customers will find the item online, then call the store and an employee places their order.
Digital payment is also favored by younger consumers. The survey reported more than 80% of Gen Z and Millennials said it’s important for small businesses to accept contactless digital payments, yet 27% of small businesses do not accept digital wallet payments.
Meeting expectations
Stephanie Williams of Williams Mercantile, a clothing and lifestyle store in downtown Bedford, said she’s seen the differences in consumer behavior and expectations and has adjusted her store’s approach.
Some changes were brought on by the pandemic.
“The way we adjusted to these changes at first was through video try-ons of our items to give customers confidence in fit, a closer look at fabrication and details which led to huge growth in our online sales, replacing in many ways, our in-store sales because of the convenience to shop from home online and choose local pickup,” Williams said.
Williams Mercantile also adjusted its return policy to an open-ended timeline with returns for store credit or exchanges, giving consumers more control over their online purchases.
“Nothing scares this consumer group away more than a ‘no returns’ policy,” she said.
The growth of online sales led Williams to offer multiple ways for customers to pay online.
“From PayPal to Apple Pay or even Sezzle (a payment plan option), our customers didn’t have to go through layers of screens or hoops to easily and securely pay online,” she said.
Social media, convenience of shopping
Social media also plays a role in small businesses attracting the coveted Gen Z and Millennials.
An overwhelming majority of young consumers said small businesses should have storefronts linked to their social pages for easy shopping, according to the survey.
As a new business, Sherfick has used traditional media and social media to promote H&H Hometown Hardware.
“We’ve advertised with the Shoals News and that’s been very effective across all generations. Almost on a daily basis, someone says ‘We saw that in the paper,’” he said.
The hardware store uses Facebook to promote new products like water heaters and generators as well as let customers know the store is stocked with shovels and ice melt ahead of a winter storm.
Williams uses social media to launch new products, sales and live events.
“Consumers are ultimately looking for convenience, and if small businesses aren’t meeting these expectations, they’re likely losing business,” said GoDaddy Trends Expert Amy Jennette. “The most important thing is that small businesses are adapting as Gen Z and Millennial preferences evolve beyond what’s been the status quo.”
Offering the GenZ/Millennial shopper online and payment conveniences are effective, Williams said, but ultimately it’s about having the product they want.
“We can do all of these upgrades as retailers but if we do not listen, research or stay current with the trends or product assortment they are looking for, our investments in these technologies won’t return as much as we hoped for with that demographic,” she said.
“I feel we have worked hard to build the ‘technology stack’ foundation we need to provide the experience Gen Z & Millennials prefer and we hope to continue to grow with them, serving them in a way where we can build loyalty and trust.”