Understanding how each generation shops is essential for retailers looking to stay ahead in 2025. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, every age group has unique consumer behaviors, digital preferences, and expectations from brands. Whether you’re targeting tech-savvy Gen Zers or loyal Baby Boomers, optimizing the retail experience to match their values can drive stronger engagement and conversions. In this article, we’ll look at their particularities and how retailers can leverage specific tools to engage with them in a meaningful way.
Baby Boomers (Born 1946–1964): Loyal Shoppers Who Value Service and Convenience
Baby Boomers wield significant purchasing power in 2025, with many enjoying retirement or flexible work schedules and prioritizing value, service, and trust in their shopping experience.
Key Baby Boomer Shopping Trends:
In-store first: Despite growing eCommerce capabilities, Baby Boomers still prefer shopping in-store for the personalized service and immediate access to products.
Online research matters: Over 80% of Boomers use search engines and retailer websites to research products before visiting a store.
High customer service expectations: One negative experience with a store associate can lead Boomers to abandon a brand altogether.
Selective social media usage: While most Boomers are active on platforms like Facebook, they are less likely to rely on social media for purchase decisions. Instead, they trust brand reputation and customer reviews.
How to Reach Baby Boomers:
Boomers are a responsive generation and proactively contact brands for information. In fact, a recent Statista survey found that the most popular interactive channels for boomers are email, web chat, and phone. They are also quite tech savvy: 69% of boomers own a computer compared to 58% for the other generations (16-60).
This is why it becomes critical to Implement omnichannel clienteling strategies to reach this audience effectively. By allowing them to take in-store appointments and by sending targeted and personalized contents by email, you will foster more engagement and loyalty from this generation. We suggest using the connect™ widget to boost the reach out opportunities they seek.
Generation X (Born 1965–1980): The Research-Driven Shoppers
Often overlooked, Gen Xers are digital adopters who combine the practicality of Boomers with the tech-savviness of Millennials. In 2025, they are a powerful consumer group, accounting for a significant share of household spending.
Key Gen X Shopping Habits:
- Skeptical but loyal: Gen Xers respond best to transparency, product performance, and reviews rather than flashy advertising. 70% of U.S. respondents and 30% from other English-speaking countries reported that brand loyalty was the highest in Gen X consumers according to a Retail Dive study.
- Omnichannel behavior: They research online, read reviews, and often prefer to buy in-store, especially for bigger purchases.
- Responsive to personalized email: This generation frequently checks email and responds well to personalized offers and curated product suggestions.
- Pragmatic decision-makers: Time-saving tools like curbside pickup, reorder reminders, and online appointment scheduling are appealing.
How to Reach Gen X:
Using web review sites to drive traffic and build trust in your products is a good option to gain traction with Gen X. Targeted and personalized email campaigns have also shown effective amongst that generation. Last but not least, we also suggest building authenticity by allowing sales associates to recommend products by using web Storefronts. Storefronts allow sales associates to display their top picks on a personal web page, which can help the undecided navigate through specific types of products as well as answering the need for authenticity Gen X are seeking.
Millennials (Born 1981–1996): The Experience-Driven, Omnichannel Generation
Millennials, now between their late 20s and early 40s, are navigating careers, families, and increasingly complex spending decisions. They are known for valuing experiences, social proof, and convenience in their shopping journey.
2025 Millennial Shopping Trends:
- Mobile-first shoppers: Smartphones play a central role in how Millennials research, browse, and buy.
- Omnichannel loyalty: Millennials often browse online, check out in-store, and follow up with reviews or feedback on social platforms.
- Influenced by social proof: Millennials trust user-generated content and customer reviews over traditional ads. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram remain powerful shopping influencers.
- Community-driven consumption: Sustainability, inclusivity, and ethical business practices are top of mind for this demographic.
How to reach Millenials
“92% of millennials own a smartphone and use it frequently for social media apps or music. One of the biggest trends we’re seeing on these platforms is video, being consumed by 89.2% of millennials.” according to Forbes.
This is why investing in social media presence and shoppable contents on Instagram and TikTok is becoming a must to reach this generation. They also crave personalized product recommendations made by authentic people rather than through traditional advertising. This is why we suggest retailers should implement personalized Customer Boards in their selling journey strategy.
Generation Z (Born 1997–2012): Digital Natives Who Prioritize Personalization and Value
Gen Z, the youngest shoppers with rising spending power, are redefining retail expectations. They’re hyper-connected, highly informed, and expect brands to offer seamless and meaningful interactions, online and in-store.
Gen Z Shopping Behavior in 2025:
- Digitally dominant: Gen Z uses multiple platforms to research, compare, and purchase products. They expect brands to meet them across channels with consistent messaging.
- In-store for experience: Despite being digital natives, Gen Z still values physical retail for instant gratification and group shopping experiences.
- User-generated content rules: Reviews, peer recommendations, and influencer endorsements carry significant weight in their decision-making process.
- Expect brands to listen: Gen Z is vocal. They expect responses to reviews, comments, and DMs. They also want to co-create through polls, contests, and feedback loops.
How to Reach Gen Z:
Similarly to Millenials, Gen Z are seeking product discovery on social media and TikTok in particular. They are seeking authenticity and are less likely to be influenced by traditional advertising. But as a generation born with technology, they also expect instant service when it comes to having their questions answered. Moreover, they are also used to web tools that allow them to self-serve to an extent. This is why we suggest the implementation of AI powered conversational bots that would deliver the type of self-serve, instant response that they are seeking. According to a recent Vogue article, Gen Z are already increasingly adopting AI as a personal stylist tool. Companies that implement AI technologies specifically developed for retail should thrive with this audience.
Final Thoughts: A Personalized, Omnichannel Future
Retailers in 2025 must be prepared to serve multiple generations with vastly different preferences. While Baby Boomers value service and familiarity, Gen Z demands innovation and interactivity. Gen X wants efficiency and reliability, while Millennials crave connection and social engagement.
By using advanced retail technologies like AI-powered product recommendations, digital clienteling, and social commerce integrations, retailers can create inclusive experiences that adapt to each generation’s needs.
If you are interested to learn more about how Salesfloor can help retailers by implementing clienteling tools in their sales strategy, don’t hesitate to book a free demo with one of our specialists.
