Generational Shoppers Who Use Paper Vs. Digital Coupons In The U.S. In 2022
According to Statista, the graph above expresses by generational cohort who uses paper coupons compared to digital coupons. Gen Z consists of shoppers from ages 10–25, Millennials consist of shoppers from ages 26–41, Gen X consists of shoppers from ages 42–57, and Boomers consist of shoppers from ages 58–67. The graph shows that every generational cohort except Boomers uses digital coupons more than paper coupons. This represents that our society is becoming more electronically innovated, and is evolving digitally.
This representation is consistent with the fact that more people shop online now since that has become a convenient option. Many businesses currently do not even have a specific location, and are not brick-and-mortar stores. Many start up businesses start online and do well enough that they do not need a physical location.
Another interesting fact that can be interpreted from the graph is more millennials (82%) than Gen Z (74%) shoppers use digital coupons. This can convey that Millennials use coupons more than Gen Z. Gen Z shoppers tend to focus more on buying the product, and not as much if it is on sale or has a promotion. Gen Z shoppers do not take as much time to search for a coupon code, they tend to want products instantly, and are used to a more fast paced environment. Millennials, however, are made up of parents and adults with more responsibility than Gen Zers, who are looking for a deal and to save money on the product they are buying. They are more of “searchers” for a product and take more time to research what is the better product, rather than what is trending. This is not based individually, but by majority.
The article I linked above gives more insight about how Gen Z shoppers’ trends are changing the shopping industry. It discusses the feature “Buy now, pay later (BNPL).” This feature allows shoppers to purchase a product right then and not pay the full price for it, it then divides the payment into how many months you want to divide it among. This shows that Gen Z shoppers want the product instantly and do not want to have to wait for it.
This article also discusses how Gen Z shoppers have increased the amount they budget for leisure spending, and that they make purchases to stay relevant and lift their mood. This proves Gen Z shoppers are wanting to stay with the trend and what is currently popular. Vogue Business describes how Gen Z shoppers are taking advantage of being able to shop wherever suits them best in the moment, which shows the increase of shopping online and going digital. They suggest that Covid-19 accelerated the generational shift to digital and consumers will not go back. This seems extreme to mention. A statistic in the Vogue Business article says that more Gen Z shoppers shopped in store than online in the past three months, but after people have only been able to shop online during the pandemic, some are intrigued by having the opportunity to be able to come back out and shop in brick-and-mortar stores.
Overall, Gen Z shoppers have accelerated the pace of the increase of online shopping and society becoming more digitalized. People enjoy the convenience of having things right at their fingertips, and being able to order any product on their smartphone in seconds, and having it shipped to their front door step. Boomers did not grow up being able to have this convenience and are not used to or as comfortable as Gen Z shoppers with shopping digitally.
- This article was written for a marketing brand promotion course BUS 465 at North Carolina State University.
- #ThinkAndDo
