This story is part of Glossy and Modern Retail’s series breaking down the big conversations and innovations at NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show. Click here for more stories in this series.
At the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in Manhattan this week, executives at retail companies spoke about the need to better target Gen-Z shoppers both online and offline.
As younger shoppers age into the peak of their purchasing power, retail brands are working to stay on top of how those consumers prefer to shop. A 2023 survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers found that Gen Zers who prefer to shop online and those who prefer to shop in-store are equally split. Glossy’s sister site Modern Retail reported earlier this week that few main stage sessions at NRF this year focused on Gen Z.
But retail executives off the stage told Glossy that younger shoppers remain on their minds. Kristen D’Arcy, who was appointed CMO of True Religion last summer, said the company has been doubling down on TikTok and YouTube in an attempt to keep up with its younger customers. True Religion has also orchestrated several collaborations with celebrities including the rapper Quavo and organizations like the Los Angeles Rams to bring in a more youthful audience.
On TikTok and YouTube, True Religion has been posting short videos featuring these public figures. A recent post features Quavo revealing that he has a True Religion tattoo, which D’Arcy said the True Religion team was unaware of until the day of the shoot. YouTube is especially popular with the brand’s male customers, D’Arcy said. And True Religion has seen its TikTok follower count increase by 500%, to over 100,000, since she took on her role.
“That definitely has a halo effect on the business,” she said. “When we do well on TikTok, we see it positively impact our other social channels, our revenue and our search traffic.” True Religion’s revenue hit $260 million last year, and the company hopes to hit $500 million by 2027.
In October, the brand began experimenting with Instagram Shop, D’Arcy said. While she declined to reveal specific numbers, she said the revenue has been beyond the brand’s expectations and predictions.
“It’s convinced me that [social commerce] is a real and important new revenue stream for us,” she said. The next step in the brand’s social commerce journey will be testing TikTok Shop, she said.
Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, said the younger and older generations are more similar in their shopping habits than they are different. He used the example of his mother buying makeup from Glossier and his father wearing Gymshark, two brands known for their youthful hipness. But social commerce does represent a strong new channel for brands trying to stay on top of the latest shopping trends. Shopify already works with brands selling on Instagram, TikTok and other social channels, and Finkelstein plans to expand the company’s social commerce presence.
“It’s our ambition that we can be present in every area where a transaction can happen,” he said. “We power all of [beauty brand] Jones Road’s commerce, from their DTC to their social commerce. It’s one button to activate all of it.”
Ray Etzo, vp of North American retail at Cole Haan, took a unique view, saying that brands looking to target young consumers should look to off-price channels.
“Stores are great acquisition tools,” he said. “We have 80 outlet stores across North America and they are a great way to get new customers into the store, especially younger customers. I have a 26-year-old and a 22-year-old, and every time they’re in town to visit me in New Hampshire, they want to go shopping at the outlets.”
