Gen Z needs to take a chill pill – preferably in your store.

Kids these days! They’re stressed – but you can help. According to recent survey analysis from the consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Gen Z shoppers (ages 14-24) are more stressed out than Millennials, Gen Xers, or Baby Boomers.

Surprisingly, one way they cope is shopping in brick & mortar stores. Before we go any further we must identify the source of their stress. According to the survey, Gen Z angst stems from the daily news cycle and social media. The barrage of today’s news coverage is unlike anything experienced by previous generations during that time in their lives. The only thing worse for a teen or young adult is the social media anxiety – which is like yesterday’s peer pressure on steroids!

For relief, Gen Z finds browsing through retail stores a welcomed opportunity to unplug and disconnect from the stressful media environment. But moving them from “browser” to “buyer” is not as simple as just providing a stress-free retail space. They do have some complex purchasing factors:

• Peer reviews are very influential in their store choices and product selection.
• Positive experiences may be rewarded, but negative experiences can be damning for sales.
• Due to their stress, they are more inclined to purchase health and wellness products.
• Over half want to buy environmentally sustainable products, but only 38% are willing to pay a premium price for it.

Based on disposable income, Gen Z is not the strongest mattress shopping demographic – for now. Today you might be able to capitalize on their stress by selling less-expensive bedding accessories like pillows, dorm room items, bed spreads, and sheet sets. Call it “comfort food” for the body. This positive shopping experience primes them for the day when they mature into a more powerful shopper. Let’s face it, at some point every generation harkens back to a comforting experience of the past, and if you’re a part of that – cha-ching!

So, do you have environmentally sustainable products they can afford? Can you claim your bedding products are healthier than your competitor’s? If not, don’t stress out – the new XT9 Stitch Bridge machine can help in both areas – and save you a bunch of money too! The XT9 stitches together the top layers of a mattress instead of using chemical-based glues, and it can cut the cost of this process by over 95%.