The Retailer Winter edition_2020

retail disruption and innovation

Dipping into retail’s future with Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha

JAMES PEPPER CEO Vista Retail Support

THE ONLY THING THAT IS CONSTANT IN RETAIL IS CHANGE. As difficult as it may be to remember a time without technology, there was once a time where retail relied solely on in-store footfall, where products were highly localised to tastes and preferences. Only towards the end of the twentieth century did retail undergo a change in the way it reached out to new consumers. Mass appeal, advertising and production owned the spotlight for retailers in their efforts to extend their products to the wider nation. However, a new generational wave has once again driven retailers to rethink how they reach their consumers. Much like its roots, personalisation, experience and convenience have empowered retailers to adapt the ways in which they target and satisfy the demands of today’s latest generation of shopper. Generation Z have been the catalyst behind technological disruption in almost every industry over the past decade. Of all industries, retail has faced perhaps some of the biggest disruptions made by young consumers such as Gen-Z as a result of their unique shopping preferences and increasing expectations from brands. They are arguably today’s youngest set of ‘mature’ shoppers, capable of using their own finances to make decisions about how and where they shop. What’s in store for the future? The wild-scale adoption of self-service technologies Having grown up in sync with technology, Gen-Z expects information to be immediately available, and they want to be able to help themselves. They value retailers who respond to their needs and can provide them with an engaging, personalised and hyper-relevant experience. They crave experiences where a retailer knows exactly what they are trying to achieve in real-time. We work with retailers of all shapes and sizes who have found innovative ways to implement self-service technologies to provide enriched shopping experiences for their customers. From endless aisle kiosks to customer service and loyalty stalls, interactive digital signage and more, in-store self-service solutions are giving customers like Gen-Zers more information before they have to ask for it, creating a more valuable interaction and bypassing the need to interact with store personnel. But this might only be the start of what’s yet to come.

Preparing for the Alpha Generation Although it may seem like it was only yesterday we were introduced to Generation Z, our society is now making room for the next generational wave, recently named “Generation Alpha”. Made up of 6 – 16-year olds, Gen-Alpha are set to once again change the ways in which retailers consider their targeting and marketing efforts, both online and in-store. There has already been significant research into the ways that Gen Alpha are predicted to impact retail, and that’s not so far from where you might think. According to various research, we will hit peak Gen-Alpha only five years from now. So, now is an exciting but essential opportunity for retailers to prepare for tomorrow’s shopper, as this new consumer group is set to drive the next desirable shopping experience.

Insights from industry-leading groups have all revealed the influence that Generation Alpha will have within retail, particularly in inspiring a powerful high-street resurgence. Interestingly, although children of today are presumed to practically be born with a technological gadget in hand, mass survey results have shown that digital does not outweigh the physical just yet for Alphas. Multiple research studies have already shown that they strongly value the presence of physical retail in their shopping experiences.

64 | winter 2020 | the retailer