March 2021 – NPD Group – Consumers are increasingly integrating e-commerce into their lives. The percentage of total U.S. retail sales generated online grew to 21% in 2020, up five percentage points from 2019, our Checkout data shows.

In this ever more omnichannel landscape, competitors are only one click away and switching costs are low for the customer. To keep pace in this environment, brands and retailers must develop new customer engagement strategies to keep their existing customers loyal and win new shoppers — shoppers who have more options than ever before. 

The good news is that there are more tools than ever before to enable greater customer centricity. Retailers and brands have the means to tailor their messaging and product offerings to the individual tastes of each customer. Additionally, digital shopping has made it imperative to improve omnichannel capabilities such as buy-online, pick-up-in-store (BOPUS) and curbside pick-up. These fulfillment methods provide consumers even greater flexibility.

Fundamentals such as segmentation, targeting, and positioning will remain, but the speed at which these principles will operate will increase as digital shopping accelerates. To better engage with various customer segments, it’s critical to stay abreast of consumer shopping preferences and how they are evolving.

We used Checkout’s Omnichannel Tracking Panel to take a multigenerational look at the evolution of online purchasing. In exploring this data, several themes emerged. One is that Gen Z has increasingly adopted DTC, while the dot-coms of mass merchant retailers have done well with Millennials. Additionally, the 65+ age group has grown the most in online spending, which means there are new opportunities to reach these customers online.

This article explores the factors that influence cross-generational shopping behavior and provides expert analysis to help brands and retailers effectively adapt to consumer shifts in an increasingly digitally powered market landscape.

Read more at NPD Group.