TREND 4 The mall experience digitized

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30%YES

US

Have you ever used Augmented Reality to trial a product? e.g. previewed what a haircut/pair of glasses/outfit might look like on you before buying

24%YES

UK

Have you ever used Augmented Reality to trial a product? e.g. previewed what a haircut/pair of glasses/outfit might look like on you before buying

When you’re shopping in-person, how important are these elements to you?

US UK

Customer service

Very important
Somewhat important
Not important

Handling/testing a product

Very important
Somewhat important
Not important

Scents/smells

Very important
Somewhat important
Not important

Concept stores/decor

Very important
Somewhat important
Not important

In-store music

Very important
Somewhat important
Not important

Welcome to the metaverse

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp – formerly known as Facebook Inc – recently announced a new name: Meta. “3D spaces in the metaverse will let you socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can imagine”, the website reads.

While the metaverse is a futuristic rendering of what life could look like online, it points to something that Gen Zs have been telling us for years – we need in-person experiences to function. Or, at least, something that resembles them.

Gen Zs are digital natives. This doesn’t mean they default to online experiences over in-person ones. In fact, when shopping for health, beauty, food and drink products, UK Gen Zs are still more likely to shop in-store. In the US, there’s a clear preference in every category to shop both online and in-store – which indicates that mall culture means a lot to Gen Z. Ecommerce retailers need to ask themselves: what can I learn from the mall?

Augmented Reality

If you think “the future”, it’s likely that Augmented Reality (AR) plays a part in what you’re imagining. It will be a big theme for 2022, says Danny Denhard. “We are starting to see this as a trend in high-end retail, and with tech improvements and cost reductions we will see many adopt AR to reduce returns and improve experiences”.

AR has been around in e-commerce for some time now – homewares brands like IKEA and Dulux have enabled users to virtually paint and furnish their homes before investing in high-value products. While these product categories tend to cater to an older demographic of homeowners, there’s clearly demand for them among Gen Z, too. For 71% of US students, testing, handling or touching a product is very important to the shopping experience – this is also true of 64% of UK Gen Zs.

Among younger shoppers, AR is starting to make waves. 30% of US students and 24% of UK students have used AR to trial a product. ASOS, GlassesDirect and MAC have experimented with short or long-term AR solutions. The latest development, though, is the brainchild of Snapchat – and brings another level of luxury to the lives of young consumers. Farfetch and Prada have been quick on the uptake.

Keeping things experimental

AR is a fantastic way to blend the phygital together for a generation of digital natives. But Gen Zs want more from their digitized shopping experiences. One of the big draws of ecommerce is the seamless user journey and speedy delivery it offers.

Moving into 2022, ecommerce retailers will need to find ways to preserve and integrate the elements of the IRL experience loved by Gen Z.

UK and US Gen Zs are united in that neither is ready to forego customer service.

UK
69%

69% of UK Gen Zs and 71% of young US shoppers said that it was very important to their shopping experience

US
71%

While chatbots and AI have made excellent headway in solving problems in real-time, Gen Zs are signalling that they need more than just a troubleshooter. As social commerce continues to move from strength to strength, every brand will need to have an interactive voice if it wants to function online.

Expert perspective:
Danny Denhard,
Founder and CEO, Focus

We have seen a swing towards online shopping and we will see that continue to grow, the store and pop-up will be important for presence and speedy local delivery, alongside being seen as a marketing activity. We are, however, likely to see many classic retailers have to focus their moves online and concentrate their efforts online to cut costs to bring their brands into 2022.

I predict we will see a rise of in-store only exclusives that combat the lower order values of online shopping and attempt to drive consumers in-store and retain customers.

One recommendation for large stores is to introduce the option to book bespoke shopping trips and offer a personalised experience versus the generic pop in and out. Connection is key to winning in the world of in-person shopping.

Supermarkets will continue to be a blend of in-person shopping and online delivery. The rapid deliveries app companies will have to consolidate, meaning reliance back on the major supermarkets, especially with the major supermarkets and Amazon building out their offerings and building cashierless stores.

Marketplaces have become essential shopping destinations, and this won’t go away any time soon – we will continue to actively buy from people versus large businesses.

I predict we will see younger marketplaces market their sustainable angle, while the larger marketplaces will market on price and convenience.

This will force many stores to consider how to bring in local sellers and high-end products in store.

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