How Millennial spending habits have redefined retail
Some would call me an avid online shopper. I rarely ever step foot into a department store with the intention to buy something. Online shopping is much more appealing stemming from its accessibility via mobile or laptop giving you instant access into a limitless catalogue of products which are easily comparable, immediate insight into functionality and user reviews. It would seem that my shopping habits are reflective of majority of Millennial’s All of these factors combined with digital platforms such as Instagram, Afterpay and Zip pay create a highly convenient but dangerously tempting avenue for shoppers where it is easy to become subject to impulse buying and over spending. These digital platforms have become reflective of millennial buying habits. Millennial’s crave instant gratification, convenience, flexibility and personalisation
Instagram recently announced that they will be introducing a ‘checkout’ feature within their app. This means that users can shop directly from photos they view on Instagram when tap to view a product on an Instagram post they can purchase it directly through Instagram without leaving the app. The whole process takes about 30 seconds and once your checkout information is saved for the next time this will become even quicker. Millenial’s have grown up and matured with mobile technology and expect to be able to use it in every aspect of their life. Hence why technologies such as the Instagram checkout are essential in attracting and maintaining Millennial customers.
More than 10 per cent of online sales in Australia are now funded through Afterpay and it claims to have attracted one in every four Millennial’s to its platform. CEO of Afterpay Nick Molnar explains how the payment method taps into Millenials spending habits and wallets “sequencing payments, providing instant gratification to the customer while also appealing to their sense of restraint”. The whole concept is deceiving in that it seems much more feasible to pay four lots $50 payments rather than $200 upfront. I for one can definitely vouch for this, because prior to Afterpay being existent I would not have splurged and purchased half the clothing items I own so willingly and mindlessly. Items that once seemed so out of reach are now seemingly accessible. Afterpay provides the instant gratification which is what our generation crave. Terrence Shulman, the founder of the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending and Hoarding states that “the psychology is similar to things like flash sales or offers to make a purchase without interest for a year, however that still doesn’t mean you can actually afford it. You feel like you’re getting a deal and that’s very seductive, but it doesn’t mean you’re not spending above your means”. All in all, it is evident that Afterpay is one of the ways in which retail has been redefined as a result of of Millennial spending habits, boosting retail sales that may not have occurred otherwise.
These are just two of the prime examples of the ways in which the retail landscape is transforming in order to cater for the Millenial market’s consumer behavior. The demand is certainly present with fifty per cent of people under 35 say they shop on their mobiles in bed before going to sleep. PayPal’s Australian director Elaine Herlihy states that the behavioral shift in online shopping towards “retailtainment” means technology such as augmented reality and voice assistance will eventually become mainstream. These platforms will all just be apart of the next wave of digital advancements driven purely by consumer demand.
