While the digital transformation seems to be affecting every industry, particularly rapid changes are affecting the retail sector. One group of customers is almost completely responsible for this: Generation Y.
This year, mobile shopping will break all records yet again – at least that is what the Mobile Holiday Shopping Survey from Dynatrace predicts. Almost two thirds (60%) of smartphone and tablet owners between 18 and 34 years old, Generation Y of the so-called millennials, as well as 42% of all people who own mobile end devices, want to do more of their Christmas shopping online than last year. And this has already reached historic record levels.
Digital shopping in store
All in all, millennials already do 50% more of their Christmas shopping using their mobile device than in actual stores. In Great Britain, as many as 60% more shop using their mobile device compared with on the high street.
The trend for mobile end devices is visibly changing stationary trade – both indirectly and directly, since the smartphone is even playing a completely new role in sales areas. Almost four out of ten millennials (37%) use their device to shop online while they are in a retail store searching for presents. Almost two thirds (62%) use their devices to compare prices on site, read product reviews or download vouchers. In the USA, as many as 71% of respondents use these kind of online additional offers while they are in the store.
Patience runs out after three seconds
Generation Y also has incredibly sensitive reactions to technical barriers: 81% of millennials say that they abandon the purchase and look elsewhere if a mobile site or app is faulty, too slow or likely to crash. This customer group is least patient in Germany, where 87% interrupt the buying process if an app is susceptible. Almost half of millennials and all smartphone/tablet users switch to a different shop if a mobile site or app does not load within three seconds at the latest. And only 68% of all smartphone/tablet users call up a mobile site or app again if it does not work at the first try. This means that those online shops lose one third of their potential buyers.
Apps are popular – but only if they work well
If apps work badly, then customers will let the operator know: More than one half of millennials then complain about the online shop on social media. Australian users are particularly critical. There, 59% of users would report on their bad experiences on the social web. Apps are also very popular: More than half of millennials prefer to use a mobile device to access suppliers’ apps rather than use the company website. 62% of respondents explained this by saying that mobile apps are easier to use and perform better than websites. Brits are the leaders in this category, where 71% of the millennials who responded have this opinion. (Source: Dynatrace/bs)