Impatient. Focused. Digital experts. If you can’t reach Generation Z in less than five seconds, you are unlikely to reach them at all – so how are retailers going to win over this latest generation of potential customers? With minimal brand loyalty, Gen Z not only has high expectations but a different way of shopping. If retailers are to capture the next generation, it is time to focus less on brand development and concentrate heavily on online customer experience, says Duncan Keene, UK managing director,  ContentSquare.

While retailers may have just got to grips with the expectations of millennials, the arrival of Gen Z in the market is truly set to shake things up. Born after 1996, Gen Zs only know a time of smartphones and streaming – they are the first generation of digital natives and that means they have high expectations and incredibly low tolerance. While Gen Xs will be more likely to push through a poor online experience or a glitch at the check-out, especially with a favoured brand, Gen Zs will just leave. They have minimal brand loyalty and will bounce to a competitor without a backward glance.

It’s estimated that Gen X has an attention span of about 40 seconds, millennials of about five seconds, and Gen Z, even less. And the implication for retailers’ UX teams is severe: according to research conducted by ContentSquare, 60% of Gen Zs will not use an app or website that is too slow to load and 62% won’t use an app if it’s difficult to navigate. Retailers must find a way to capture their limited attention – and that means brands must simplify their customer journey and make it completely seamless.

Valuable market

On the plus side, this dynamic, determined generation knows what it wants and goes for it – they convert about twice as much as the rest of the population. Clear a smooth path for them to convert and they will – a lot!

Indeed, get it right and deliver an immersive experience and Gen Zs respond well. They do their research across platforms, and they respond to cohesive, engaging experiences. In a browsing session, they view 62% more pages and bounce 51% less of the time than the rest of the population, meaning there’s a big opportunity to create an engaging, addictive experience with free-flowing, comfortable, or even fun mobile navigation.

Clearly the speed with which UX teams can surface and fix issues is going to be critical to capture Gen Z spend. And with minimal brand loyalty in this generation, retailers are going to have to rethink investment. Does it really make sense to invest heavily in brand development when it is the speed, convenience, and overall online experience that determines whether or not a Gen Z consumer will buy?

Experience first

This generation shops differently. They arrive, for example, from Google Shopping – and that traffic is super fickle. Most of it bounces because they have zero affinity with the brand at that point. Plus, they are focused and impatient – fail to capture them immediately and they are off. Providing clear information about delivery options, confirming the Google Shopping pricing plus some company USP is a great start. In addition, this digital-first generation grew up with Google – and the first thing they do on a site is search rather than use the navigation. Does the search function work well? Is it easy to find and will it land them on the right content? If not, for Gen Z, the experience will be sub par.

Adding in enhanced interactivity on product pages, nurturing and displaying user-generated content such as reviews and product images, and in-depth ways to explore products (through video, galleries, 360 views and more) – especially on mobile sites – are imperative to tap into this tactile generation.

Gen Zs may be digital natives, but that also makes them experience natives. For the first time, retailers have to deal with a generation that prioritises online experience over brand – and that will require some serious new thinking.