Younger fashion shoppers leading bricks-and-mortar retail revival

According to new research from RetailNext, which offers retail analytic solutions, Gen Z and Millennial shoppers are leading the bricks-and-mortar revival as the most frequent visitors to UK stores.

Despite frequent digital-first and social media-dependent stereotyping, Gen Z consumers are over twice as likely as the average UK consumer to head into fashion stores every week, 28 percent compared to 13 percent.

RetailNext research of more than 1,000 shoppers reveals that while 40 percent of UK consumers now visit non-food stores once a week, 46 percent of Millennials make weekly trips to stores, up 6 percentage points compared to the average UK shopper.

It isn’t just fashion getting a youth boost, the research adds that Gen Z shoppers are also 1.7 times more likely to visit health and beauty stores weekly, while 5 percent more Millennials also take trips to health and beauty shops each week, compared to the average UK consumer.

This trend towards younger consumers shopping in physical locations is prompting pureplays, such as Gymshark, Trinny London and Lookfantastic, all of whom have opened physical stores, to invest in bricks-and-mortar retail presence, RetailNext adds.

Gary Whittemore, head of sales EMEA and APAC at RetailNext, said in a statement: “All too often assumed as being solely creatures of social commerce, younger consumer cohorts are embracing physical retail.

“Whether that’s through a desire to reduce screentime, seeking more authentic shopping experiences or human interaction away from digital enclaves, or connecting and engaging with the brands they love IRL (in real life), we’re seeing rafts of younger shoppers leading the store revival both here in the UK and over in the US, choosing the store as their channel of choice.”

Outside of younger cohorts, UK shoppers as a whole are also expressing support for the high street, with 75 percent of consumers calling on the Government to do more specifically to support retailers, while a further 70 percent believe bricks-and-mortar retail businesses should be given rates cuts to level the playing field between online competition. This echoes recent calls by retail leaders, including executives from M&S, Primark, Ikea and Tesco, to Chancellor Rachel Reeve, demanding more relief for the sector through business rates reform.

Whittemore added: “For many years now, we’ve heard death knell after death knell sounding the impending doom of the high street. But the reality is physical retail remains an important and compelling component in omnichannel buying journeys, prompting strong support for the high street amongst shoppers, which is why we continue to see many pureplays actively investing in growing their physical retail offerings.”