Value of Convenience Crosses Generations

CHICAGO — When it comes to shopping convenience in-store and online, a recent study from Numerator found that 82 percent of shoppers say convenience is extremely or very important to them.

For millennials, this number jumps to 87 percent, while for boomers and older generations the number falls to 77 percent, according to the study entitled Mythbusters: Convenience.

Overall, respondents ranked convenience third in importance for a shopping experience, behind price and quality. However, 40 percent of respondents ranked convenience as their first or second shopping decision-making factor.

When it comes to what makes an in-store shopping experience convenient:

• Store location is the top in-store convenience factor. One in five respondents said store location is the most important factor for convenience, with another 50 percent saying it plays a role. 
• Close to four in five (78 percent) respondents consider the most convenient store location to be the one that is closest to home, followed by one along a route they travel regularly (54 percent). 
• Gen Z respondents prefer having a store within walking distance (25 percent) and along a public transportation route (13 percent). This is because Gen Z respondents are 20 percent more likely to live in urban settings and 45 percent less likely to own a vehicle, according to Numerator.
• Gen Z respondents are 30 percent more likely than respondents of other generations to consider self-checkout a key component of convenience. 

When it comes to what makes an in-store shopping experience convenient:

• More than four in 10 Gen Z consumers (44 percent) prefer online stores that make it easy to use promotions/coupons.
• Almost three in 10 millennials (28 percent) like the ability to store payment information, and 20 percent of boomers and respondents from older generations find customer service the most convenient aspect of online shopping. 
• More than four in 10 of all respondents (43 percent) find online shopping somewhat or much more convenient than in-store. Millennial respondents are the most likely generation to favor online shopping (48 percent), followed by Gen X (46 percent). Gen Z finds in-store shopping "somewhat" to "much more" convenient (32 percent) than other generations.

The Numerator study also revealed that respondents find it more convenient to shop in-store for perishable food and beverages (77 percent), frozen or refrigerated food and beverages (74 percent), and large home goods or furniture (55 percent).

Alternatively, they find it convenient to shop online for pet food and supplies (31 percent), small appliances or electronics (29 percent), and baby and toddler items (24 percent).  

Chicago-based Numerator is a data and technology company reinventing the market research industry with first-party, consumer-sourced data.