Since the start of the pandemic, Gen Z have adopted the concept of living life ‘online.’ From social media to online learning – it has become more of a lifestyle change rather than being away from the norm.
Apart from Gen Z having to adjust in pursuing studies online or creating new videos with the latest filters to fit in with what’s trending, there has also been a significant rise in online shopping. Even though lockdown restrictions have eased, Gen Z still prefer to do their shopping online from the comfort of their home and get their items delivered instead.
With banks pushing for the use of digital banking by offering low transaction fees and great rewards on their respective digital platforms, Gen Z have been encouraged further with this increased spending power.
Just to put this into context, a recent study conducted by App Annie suggests that 61% of Gen Z (and growing!) prefer to use their mobile devices to shop online compared to 39% from individuals over the age of 25. Also, in a survey conducted last year, Vogue Business has also stated that due to the pandemic, 60% Of Gen Zs are much more conscious about fashion items they purchase – hence opting to spend more time online browsing their options. Moving locally, ecommerce itself in South Africa has grown by 66% since last year! If you’re keen on the getting to know the ecommerce trends for this year, iKhokha has developed an eBook with around the expectations from ecommerce in 2022 as well strategies to take your business to the next level. You can get it here.
This has sparked business owners to invest in taking their businesses online and offer much more competitive pricing, eliminating the operational costs of being in a premises.
The feel-good factor of this changeover/addition to having a walk-in store is that the process is relatively easy. WordPress has an open-source e-commerce plugin known as WooCommerce which allows online merchants to kick start their business online.
Tech companies have seen this as an opportunity and acted promptly by offering services to aid the purchasing process online. For example, iKhokha has recently launched its payment gateway which is an easy and affordable way to accept card payments on your WooCommerce-enabled WordPress website.
Retailers are also using this as an opportunity to incorporate images, videos as well as personalization technologies to filter the shopper’s sizing and style preferences along with their budget to help them find the correct items.
Social media has also played a significant role with influencing Gen Z in terms of what they purchase online. Apart from the valued opinions of their peers, another major purchasing decision comes from the number of ‘reactions’ or ‘likes’ along with the tone of the comments beneath the post of that specific product.
Gen Z shoppers love content that engages with their lifestyle and speaks to them on a personal level when it comes to purchasing a product online. Therefore, retailers place a lot of focus in their landing pages on their online stores making sure they deliver diverse and multi-channel customer experiences whilst taking 2 major factors into consideration: pace and scale.
A powerful statement made by Daniel Heaf, VP of Nike Direct – “Digital is more than just a sales channel. It is a way to build connection and community.”
