age groups: Gen Z: ages 18-29 Millennials: ages 30-44 Gen X: ages 45-60 Baby boomers: ages 61+ One intriguing detail underscored throughout the report was the enduring appeal of brick-and-mortar stores over online shopping in most categories and across most age ranges.  It should be noted that younger generations are more inclined to shop in-store due to in-store exclusive releases, limited-edition and new products, and pop-up events, while the older generations are driven by their desire to test out products in a convenient setting.  Coresight also revealed several large behavioral differences between these cohorts, ranging from their perspectives on personal financial and economic conditions to the retailers they prefer to shop with.  Key differences between younger and older shoppers  Variation in activities by generation Coresight analyzed generational behavior toward select shopping activities that consumers undertook in the two weeks preceding each survey, which showed some interesting results.  The data indicated a strong correlation between age and the type of shopping centers that consumers visit.  For instance, younger consumers, like those within the Gen Z age range, are more inclined to visit enclosed malls. This is largely because this generation highly values the social aspect of mall visits. To tap into this interest, many malls have added entertainment venues restaurants and experiential retail offerings.   Meanwhile, older generations, like boomers, skew toward open-air shopping centers largely because of the convenience allowed by easy access to parking lots and layouts that minimize walking.  Generational channel preferences Coresight’s findings also showed that shoppers from older generations, such as Gen Z and boomers, are more inclined to shop in-store for daily essentials, health and home-improvement products than younger shoppers. At the same younger shoppers are much more inclined to shop in-store for more “fun” products such as apparel, media and electronics products. Discount retailing preferences When it comes to discount shopping, these consumer groups shop at different retailers.   For example, Shein is disproportionately shopped by Gen Zers, thanks to the retailer’s wide array of trendy styles at competitive prices and successful social media marketing strategies.  Whereas, millennials, many of whom are facing financial challenges, such as student loan debt or low asset ownership, prefer retailers like Old Navy, Ross Stores, and TJ Maxx. This is because these retailers align with this group’s need to shop affordably without compromising on style or quality.  The necessity of essential shopping  One area of opportunity businesses can tap into across these different consumer groups is within the daily essentials retail category.  Essential goods, such as groceries, presented the largest shopper penetration rate across all generations who shop in-store for this category, as these shoppers strongly prefer buying perishable goods in person, mostly likely because they can better check for quality.  However, Coresight’s research revealed that older generations skew towards traditional grocers, like Albertsons, Kroger and Publix, while younger shoppers skew towards mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs and dollar stores.  The advisory firm suggested that this is likely due to younger shoppers perceiving traditional supermarkets as lacking in both innovation and trendiness compared to retailers such as Target and Walmart.  This interest in innovation and aesthetics may partially explain why so many Gen Zers are gravitating towards luxury food retailers like Erewhon to get their groceries.  For nonfood essential goods shopping, the report disclosed that younger generations skew toward retail players like Target, Temu and TJ Maxx.  Retailers need to look to the younger generation  After taking a step back from the data collected, Coresight Research noted that it “appears that younger generations simply shop more than older generations, meaning that most retailers continue to see strong shopper penetration among younger demographics.” In order to attract new customers, Coresight advised that retailers should focus on younger demographics for both their greater projected value over time but also because they appear more willing to shop over a wider variety of retailers.  However, before retailers set their sights solely on Gen Z consumers, it’s important to remember that this generation of shoppers is extremely internet-savvy. This means that while they are more willing to shop from a variety of retailers, they are reluctant to stay loyal to specific brands. This can be seen in their tendency to research specific products to purchase from individual brands and the plethora of options available to them after just a cursory online shopping sweep.  From home goods to apparel, winning over Gen Z shoppers is not easy, and it may be a fun challenge or a big headache, depending on how executives choose to approach the situation.