A quantitative social science study from Brodeur Partners finds that while the ideal shopping experience for Boomers is finding a decent deal on a quality product, the Gen Y crowd is looking more for a stimulating, sensual, "sharable" experience.
"Think sensible shoes vs. smart phones" is how Brodeur Partners in a statement summed up the "practicality divide" between generations.
The Brodeur Partners Retail Relevance 2012 Study asked 2,000 American consumers to think of their favorite place to shop and identify those elements that were most and least relevant.
Among the findings:
- "Sharability" of the experience (an experience that I'd want to share with others") and "association" (I'm okay if people know I'm associated with it) was twice as important to Gen Y (18-34) than Boomers (55-plus).
- Sensory appeal and the ability of a retailer to "make me smile" are one-third more important for Gen Y than versus Boomers.
- Practical decisions drive choice of retailers for eight out of 10 Boomers, but only half of the Gen Y respondents.
"Put simply, younger shoppers view their ideal shopping experience as less functional and much more social, expressive and sensory-driven," said Jerry Johnson, Brodeur's EVP of strategic planning, in the statement. "Retail shopping is probably more intertwined with social networking than we've realized. When a Gen Y consumer checks in to a retailer on Foursquare or 'likes' a retailer on Facebook, that's very valuable to a retailer. Peers by nature are ready to have the experience their friends just did."