4 Reasons Why Millennials Are Avoiding Brick-and-Mortar Retail

NEW YORK –Millennials are increasingly shopping online. Thirty-nine percent of this age group were interested in shopping entirely online in 2018, an increase of nearly 10% from 2017, according to the 2019 Millennial Shopping Report, conducted by CouponFollow, an online couponing platform that helps shoppers save money.

New York-based CouponFollow surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. millennials—53% males and 47% females—between the ages of 22 and 37 who have an annual household income of up to $200,000. The report highlights how millennials’ shopping behaviors affect the evolution of commerce and the future of retail.

"Millennials have officially grown up, and so have their shopping and spending habits," said Marc Mezzacca, CEO of CouponFollow. "As millennials move toward a fully digital shopping experience, online retailers—like Amazon—have a tremendous opportunity to further increase their market share by prioritizing speed, convenience and savings across each touchpoint of the consumer journey." 

Here are four highlights from the report …

Sixty-percent of millennials said they make all of their purchases online, a 13% increase over the past two years, according to the report. And although older millennials—those between the ages of 32-37—are more likely to shop at brick-and-mortar stores than their younger counterparts, most still prefer online shopping over in-store. Fifty-seven percent of older consumers said they shop online, compared to the 43% who prefer brick-and-mortar, said the report.

Millennials make online purchases on mobile devices, such as phones or tablets, more than on desktop computers. Mobile purchases have grown 20% in popularity over the past 18 months and is now the leading platform for online purchases among millennials, according to the report. Desktop and brick-and-mortar purchases have dropped 7% and 13% during this period, respectively.

Nearly all (97%) of millennials said they use Amazon for some portion of their online shopping, the report said. Additionally, two-thirds of millennials make half or more of their purchases on Amazon, with nearly one-third making at least four out of five purchases on the retail platform. Both a product’s price point and its reviews are the greatest factors for millennial shoppers on Amazon: the generation is nearly split between which of the two is most important (43% vs. 41%, respectively), according to the report.

Millennials increasingly seek discounts when shopping online. Ninety-five percent of the generation said they look for coupons before an online purchase, with more than half (55%) estimating they spend 3 minutes or more looking for discounts—a 10% increase over the past 18 months, according to the report. Furthermore, 73% of millennials would try a product from a competitor of their favorite brand if a 20%-40% discount was offered.