Magazine: Young shoppers economise and want physical stores to stay

According to the results of the Cetelem Panorama 2018, a survey conducted in 17 European countries, optimism returned to Europe. Rated on a scale of 1 to 10, respondents gave their countries 5.2 points on average – a year earlier the score was 4.9 points. As for their personal situations, the score jumped to 5.8 points, while a year before they only gave 4.8 points. The survey revealed that 47 percent of consumers reckon that they will spend more money in the 12 months to come. In Hungary 28 percent of respondents plan to spend more and 43 percent opined that they would be able to put more money aside.

Péter Szabó
CEO
Magyar Cetelem Bank

What about Generation Y, the consumers in the 18-35 age group? The survey found that they prefer the cohabitation of online shops and physical stores. For 57 percent of Generation Y consumers it is fun to shop in a brick-and-mortar store – among consumers older than 35 years this ratio is only 42 percent. What is more, 73 percent of Generation Y shoppers economise instead of consuming and 76 percent try to spend money on useful things only.

Digital connection with stores is strengthening: 55 percent of Generation Y consumers follow some kind of retailer in social media and one third of them communicate with them in social media. 72 percent of 18-35 year old respondents expect major changes in the world of physical stores, e.g. longer opening hours, special, stylish shops, original products that can’t be bought in other stores, fast and easy payment, and services that make shopping fun. Péter Szabó, president-CEO of Magyar Cetelem Bank told: Generation Y consumers are radically rewriting typical consumption attitudes and their weight in the consumer society is getting bigger. //