The generation that grew up entirely online is now shopping in person more than any generation alive today.
And this isn’t just a trend. While 88% shop across both online and in-store channels, 64% of Gen Z prefer in-store shopping—a higher share than millennials, Gen X and Boomers. Close to three-quarters shop in person at least once a week, and many see the experience as something far richer than a simple transaction. That’s reinforced by discovery habits as well, with 61% of Gen Z now favoring in‑person browsing for new products—up sharply over the past year.
For specialty retailers, that's worth paying attention to. The latest generation of shoppers, between 13 and 28 years, already command about $450 billion in direct spending power, and they're projected to drive 60% of retail sales growth by 2030. And right now, many of them are looking for exactly what specialty retailers already offer—depth in a single category, people who care whether you walk out with the right thing, and the confidence of buying from someone who stands behind what they sell.
The story we've been told about retail—that convenience and price win everything, and that smaller independent stores are fighting a losing battle against scale—is increasingly not holding up. Something is shifting, and the shift favors Main Street.
Why? The answer isn't all that surprising: Because everything else in their lives is already online.
School, work, friendships, entertainment—for Gen Z, almost everything defaults to a screen. Physical retail offers something their phones genuinely can't: the ability to touch something, get recommendations from staff who know the merchandise, to be in a place that has a genuine point of view. After coming of age during COVID, amid what many researchers have called an epidemic of loneliness, this generation is actively seeking real‑world experiences—and retail has become one of the places they find them.
You can see it clearly in the culture. TikTok hashtags like #mallhaul and #shopwithme rack up hundreds of millions of views, as young shoppers capture their in-store finds and turn them into shareable content. Shopping in a great store isn't just an errand for this generation—it's something worth posting about. The in-store experience has become social currency.
And the real-world proof is mounting across categories. Independent bookstores—once considered a relic of the past—added 422 new locations in 2025 alone, a 31% jump from the year before, with the total number of indie shops in the U.S. growing 70% since 2020. Vinyl record sales have grown 18% annually for five years straight, driven largely by Gen Z buyers who shop at local record stores. Thrift stores are outperforming traditional apparel retailers on foot traffic, with visits up more than 25% since 2022.
The pattern holds wherever a store offers something specific, curated and worth experiencing: Younger shoppers show up.
This isn't a niche trend. Gen Z are what researchers call "hybrid shoppers"—they move fluidly between online research, social discovery and in-person purchasing. More than half discover new products while browsing in physical stores, making in-store discovery as important to them as social media. And their behavior backs it up: Over 60% of their spending happens more than 10 miles from home. They’ll drive past an Amazon locker to get to the right store.
Let’s be clear about what’s actually happening. Large retailers and e-commerce platforms aren't going anywhere, and they shouldn't. They serve a real purpose. But the idea that shaped so much of retail strategy over the past decade—that small businesses needed to plug into big platforms just to stay relevant—is worth rethinking. Some of that has helped. But a lot of it has pulled Main Street into a game it can’t win, where scale matters more than anything else, and at the expense of the things that actually make specialty retail irreplaceable.
Small retailers aren't immune to pressure—they feel the same tariffs, the same inflation, the same tightening consumer sentiment as everyone else. But their model isn’t built on razor‑thin margins or growth through sheer size. Their value comes from curated selection, trusted guidance and relationships that hold steady even when external conditions don't.
Specialty retailers must lean into what sets them apart—knowing their customers, delivering thoughtful, personal experiences across every channel, and turning first visits into lasting loyalty. With independent retailers accounting for over half of all retail sales, a strong small business economy is a strong economy overall, and this generation of shoppers is ready to support it.
The youngest generation of customers are out there right now looking for the real thing. You may already be offering it. The opportunity now is simple: Be easy to find, deliver an experience that stands out and give customers a clear reason to come back.
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