The cliché about students is that they have little money, and most of that goes on alcohol and fast food. Actually, that view is pretty outdated.
Now you understand how today’s college student shop online, it’s time to dig deeper to discover what makes them click the ‘buy’ button and checkout, rather than abandoning their online basket.
Today’s 16 to 22-year-old students are members of Gen Z, a generation which is cautious with their money, and demands high quality and good value from the brands they buy from. Here are 4 ways to directly influence students purchasing decisions and increase your student sales…
1. Must-have product
To convince someone who has a limited budget that your product is the one they can’t live without, you need a brilliant marketing campaign. Take a look through the Student Beans blog for inspiration from some of the most innovative and creative businesses in the youth market today.
2. Affordability
Affordability of a product or service is an important factor that influences students purchasing decisions. 83% of students say that if a retailer offers a student discount they are more likely to shop there. Student Beans student verification enables brands to offer discounts to legitimate students, and collect their data for future marketing purposes. A payment plan option, such as those offered by Klarna, can also make bigger purchases more palatable for students.
3. Quality guarantee
Research shows that Gen Z are looking for quality products that will be a good long-term investment. They feel more confident parting with their cash to established, familiar brands like Apple and Amazon, but they will purchase from smaller startups when their peer group can validate their trustworthiness. Offering a warranty is especially helpful with higher-end products such as electronics.
4. Easy returns
Brands like Topshop have led the way in making returning unwanted online purchases as easy as trying on an outfit in a shop fitting room. They supply the packaging to return the item via Freepost within the original package, and you don’t even have to queue up at the post office to do it. Many local newsagents and supermarkets now act as drop-off points for services such as Pass My Parcel and Hermes.
Get in touch with the Student Beans team to find out how your brand can grow its student customer base.
